I just done what you are about to do. I ran the red top in the nose and then went to the D1600 xs volt. The D1600 is to wide to fit on its own. I took my car to my local chassis shop and they actually narrowed the upper bars, made a new hold down and welded a new bottom plate to the bottom of the chassis so the nose of the car wouldn't touch the top of the battery. It works very well. BTW, my car is a 2004 model.

I also have a friend with a 2006 car that did something similar. He had another chassis guy actually move the entire battery box back closer to the rack. They had to cut the rear battery mount bar out and put a new one in. It looks very nice also. He also runs the D1600 battery.

Hope this helps

thanks for the reply and I may have to do the same.

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:
I don't need a 16 volt battery, I want to try a 16 volt battery as I'm just not happy with the effort it takes to start my car which as built does not have provisions for a full size 12 or 16 volt battery.

Ed,

How is your engine grounded? Both of our cars have 12v Optimas but my wife’s car spins over like the plugs are out, sounds like 16v while mine is average. My engine is grounded to the chassis only. Her car has a fat ground cable from the battery that connects each ground stud with ring terminals on the right side of the car ending at the tab behind the driver where the engine is grounded. So the engine has a copper ground wire directly to the battery and that makes it spin over really fast compared to using the chassis as ground.

Ed I had Bill make a tray for that mounted in middle of chassis and installed a 16v xs. We have the 139 big dog also. I couldn’t be happier with the way it works.

I have that tray from Bill. Needs to be modified for my chassis but if I can fit 2 Go Lithium's in the nose I'm going that route. I'll know Thursday.

quote:

Originally posted by 183N:
Ed,

How is your engine grounded? Both of our cars have 12v Optimas but my wife’s car spins over like the plugs are out, sounds like 16v while mine is average. My engine is grounded to the chassis only. Her car has a fat ground cable from the battery that connects each ground stud with ring terminals on the right side of the car ending at the tab behind the driver where the engine is grounded. So the engine has a copper ground wire directly to the battery and that makes it spin over really fast compared to using the chassis as ground.

Besides the ground(s) as wired from Undercover, I added a 1 AWG that runs from the battery directly to the block last season. No noticeable difference in cranking and probably weighs 15 lbs.

quote:

Originally posted by GA.STROKER:
Ed I had Bill make a tray for that mounted in middle of chassis and installed a 16v xs. We have the 139 big dog also. I couldn’t be happier with the way it works.

When my car was brand new I had Undercover build a trey in the center just behind the charging port, Also use a XS 16V and 139 tooth flexplate. I switched to the HOP Ultimate Big dawg From a Meziere earlier this year and am extremely happy with the starter so far. I have a K&R compressor mounted up front where the batteries were originally suppose to go, same as Ed car.

For anyone running a battery in the front of a dragster, there are two common mistakes made that create starting problems that get the typical band aid fix, ie. 16v battery. The first is using a short ground wire from the battery right to the chassis. Cromemoly steel is not a good conductor, you will loose a good 0.5v if not more at the starter when you do this. The next is using too small cable for the positive side. 1/0 cable is less than 2 lbs heavier then 1 or 2 gauge cable. Other variables are connectors, soldered or just crimped, on/off switch and lastly the condition of the starter! The combination of all of the above can result in a poor starting motor that a 12v battery gets the blame for. You need 9 plus volts measured at the starter while cranking or you don't have enough. Like anything else, pay attention to the details. BTW I have no issues with 16 volt batteries either.

Al, I’ve gone through the entire system, have the right cables, connections, ground, starter, etc and still have less than 9 volts at the starter and always have.

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:
Al, I’ve gone through the entire system, have the right cables, connections, ground, starter, etc and still have less than 9 volts at the starter and always have.

Ed,

I believe you! No idea what could be the issue. I have a term for electricity, PFM! Pure F'in Magic! Didn't you got to 2 12v batteries?

One thing I didn't mention in my earlier post, start retard, seams to be another PFM deal as I have seen it varies too much from car to car even with similar motor combo's. I have used anywhere from 0 to 10 degrees, my current combo likes 5. Also some cars start better with the ignition off to get the motor spinning then hit the ignition and other like it on first.

FWIW we just moved the battery in our Racetech a bit further back so we could run any battery pretty much. We do use a GoLithium in it as well with an alternator. Had no issues so far anyway.

Top, yes two small 12 volt batteries, no start retard and crank it with the ignition on works better than spinning it then ignition on.

Al, how does the lithium batteries do when bumping to check lash?

Another vote for Go-Lithium batteries.

3 years of absolutely flawless performance......if you can count 2020 as a year. Have not done much running this year.

I have yet to see a single case of a Go-Lithium battery catch fire, something they claim will never happen.

Also......no idea how well a single battery would work, I put two in my junker and never looked back.

I don't deal with automotive stuff but on powersports, lithium batteries require a special charger. Lithium batteries typically stay at a little higher voltage than a traditional 12v lead acid or agm. In our case, about 13.8v +/- 0.2. They are shipped to us at about 60% charge, per DOT law, so we had to purchase a special charger to service them upon arrival.

worth mentioning, for what it's worth.

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:
Al, I’ve gone through the entire system, have the right cables, connections, ground, starter, etc and still have less than 9 volts at the starter and always have.

This is intriguing....

My cars will not rev up once my voltage hits 11.2 I am fairly certain 9 volts would not turn them over.

I have a voltmeter on the wing of my TS car that is powered directly off the batteries. It reads 0.1 volts more than the racepak does way up front. I get the same reading leaving the firewall solenoid heading to the starter, which is maybe a 12"-14" cable away. Never actually checked voltage at the starter. Never saw a reason to, and it would be a tight fit to get to.

Guess now I will slide under the car and do it.

I have numerous ground lugs on my chassis and also have hard wires return to ground. Have a huge ground wire going directly to starter and block. Probably more than needed but will not hurt anything.

Update...

I installed a new solenoid and rewired it, landing both battery cables on the same side and ran a 10ga. wire from the other side, directly to the starter solenoid. Gained .5 volts at the starter solenoid but still have less than 9 volts.





That said, it's cranking better than ever but with the help of a 5 degree start retard too.

Two Go Lithium batteries will not fit under the nose.

I looked into lithium batteries a few years ago and kept finding stories of cars and complete trailers burning to the ground. Is that not an issue anymore?

still happening and still a concern though Go Lithium claims their batteries have never overheated.

quote:

Originally posted by WHOMPWHOMP:
Ed I double enter quite often an my motor is 16.75 comp...I too have fought this problem but cured it with a 139 Big Dawg an the 3121 Braille battery’s

That's the battery we use(2) as well. I have wondered if a 139 would improve cranking speed. It isn't a real big deal in my car except for the first start of the day it seems. EFI with a belt drive fuel pump is a little challenging.

Actually I switched to the equivilant Deka battery for a much lower price, and virtually the same battery and performance.

I've used two Barile's 3121, replacing the original Total Power batteries for our 2nd season with the car. Keep them for 2 seasons and then went back to to Total Power aka Rock batteries because the Braile batteries were no better than what I had and what I still use.