For years now I've read about problems with relocating the battery to the trunk and wondered why.

Aside from just causing a lot of extra trouble, extra cost and grief, what is the reason for doing it?
I know there is no way it will make a car go enough faster to be worth the extra trouble to do it. :noway:

Battery to trunk is generally done to clean upthe engine compartment and also according to some people help with weight distribution for better traction off the line .

But i would have to say that at least 2 or 4 people that relocate a battery to the trunk have all sorts of starting/charging issues when doing so and its generally a pia to get corrected which some cant seem to do.

But some people do successfully run a trunk mounted battery,i think it comes down to having that type system properly setup & wired with proper size cables for that application,all grounds present from body to frame and motor to firewall-frame ,all grounds and connections in starting & charging systems all clean with no paint or corrossion along with a freshly rblt up to date hi trq GM starter if running a stock GM starter,hi output alt (80-100A),and very strong battery with 800-1,000CCA & HI AH rating too.

Scott

Sometimes relocating the battery to the trunk is done to add weight over the right rear wheel for better traction for drag racing. If one is really serious about this, then you get a huge truck battery that weighs a lot more than an automotive battery. For most of us this would be a lot of work with no benefit for everyday driving. And it kinda clutters up the trunk.

i put my battery in the trunk because i have a 68 chevelle.no locking steering for anti theft reasoning, i put a battery shut off switch in the trunk to... jeff

i put my battery in the trunk because i have a 68 chevelle.no locking steering for anti theft reasoning, i put a battery shut off switch in the trunk to... jeff

OK but I can think of a hundred different ways to accomplish the same thing with MUCH less cost and trouble. (would you believe 33 ways) :D

I'm thinking that a lot of people just want their car to LOOK like a race car.
I mean, to me the battery in it's original location doesn't make a "dirty engine compartment" and there is no way the weight can make enough difference to be worth the trouble.

But - different strokes for different folks. :yes:

I dont like to see a battery in the engine bay of a car with a really sharp looking engine. I plan to relocate my battery to the trunk when it comes home simply for cosmetic reasons.

My 66SS had the battery in the trunk when I got it. It wasnt a race car and it wasnt done the way it really should have been. I put a summit relocation kit in it and fixed the starting issues. I dont have any electrical problems.

The only reason I like it there is that it really does clean up the engine compartment. Not because I need it for traction reasons, my car isnt in a class where traction would be needed back there. Its just a street car.

However, im planning a bunch of work I still need to do to this car and most likely will be putting the battery back under the hood. Its not that bad of an eyesore so I can get used to it. It would be kind of nice to get rid of the cable running all the way to the engine compartment.

If you do everything correctly It will work fine. It may not seem like much but when you add up all the weight you take off the front end it will make a difference..How much weight do you ditch by

1) moving the battery
2)fiberglass bumper,
3)fiber glass hood.
4) removing all the a/c stuff including the condenser
5) p.s pump
6)aluminum heads and intake.

The list goes on and on...

For the most part it is considered a performance mod, and by the way it looks also considered a good looking mod.

Some common BMW's came stock with the battery in the trunk.

For years now I've read about problems with relocating the battery to the trunk and wondered why...aside from just causing a lot of extra trouble, extra cost and grief, what is the reason for doing it?

I think it's perhaps a sort of chic, "in thing" to do amongst some of those who fancy themselves as having a race type looking car.
I also think a "copy cat" mentality comes into play as well.





I dont like to see a battery in the engine bay of a car with a really sharp looking engine. I plan to relocate my battery to the trunk...for "cosmetic" reasons.

You know, I was at a local "cruise in" about 3 weeks ago.
There were a number of nice 60's and 70's cars with their hoods up displaying clean, sharp looking engine bays.

Never once did I look into one of those engine bays and think to myself..."Damn, this engine bay would look really sharp, if only he'd get rid of that god****ed battery.

Sure, if someone had a cruddy, dirty looking battery with acid corrosion on the posts it would detract from the engine bay.

However, a clean, new looking battery with new, well routed cables actually adds to the aesthetics and "cosmetics" of the engine bay.

Regards,
-Greg

i dont like looking at the battery and the additional wiring. its not because i want to be "in" or have a race inspired car. dse makes a nice closeout panel for the camaros that would hide a battery, so unless i do something like that, its getting moved to the trunk. jmho

take a 50 pound battery from its stock location a couple feet in front of the front axle center line and put that same 50 pound weight a couple feet behind the rear axle centerline, and it's like shifting 100 pounds to the rear of the car. i'm sure the extra cable length would add 10-15 pounds, but again, it's all behind the front axle centerline so the center of gravity is shifter rearward.
from a weight balance standpoint in a stock chassis car, that can only be a good thing.
i'm going to do it in my Regal some day- but i'm going to leave a gutted battery case in the stock location with some dummy cables hooked up to throw people off. no real reason for it, i just want to do it that way.

Didn't the reasoning originally come from race rule requirements? Such as having a battery box mounted on top of a frame rail?

OK, I guess on a REAL race car it makes sense maybe but not on a car that's not a race car.

Of course, that's just my own personal opinion, sorta like dolls displayed on show cars and the like and if people want to play like their car is a race car, that's what floats their boat I guess.
I just cant see causing all that extra cost and grief myself.

I like them to look like the way that they came from the factory myself and never considered a battery as making an engine compartment look "dirty".

But then, life would be pretty boring IF everybody liked the exact same thing, wouldn't it.