Re: Battery Education (BMW related, but not Oilhead related)

["Steve Oliver" <slosrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My Miata's battery is in the trunk.

Steve O
R1150RS
IBA

>Just wanted to let you guys 
>know that '60 Austin Healeys 
>were't the only cars with 
>batteries in the trunk.   In my 
>semi-young days, it was 
>common practice to relocate 
>the batteries of BMW 2002s 
>to the trunk to distribute the 
>weight better.   It made a 
>real difference for 
>autocrossing and track 
>schools.   Later, the first M3 
>(E30 body designation)  was 
>equipped with a 4 cyl, 4 
>valve, 2.3 liter inline that was 
>a toned down version of their 
>wildly successful Formula 3 
>engine.  It was one of the 
>first BMWs with a trunk 
>mounted battery from the 
>factory.   Both later versions 
>of the M3 also have the 
>battery in the trunk.   The 5 
>series V-8s also now have the 
>batteries in the trunk.  
>Batteries are heavy and 
>putting them in the back 
>evens out the weight 
>distribution quite a bit.  The 
>new V-8s in the 5er make for 
>pretty cramped engine 
>compartments, so they put 
>the battery in the trunk to 
>answer that problem as well.  
>Since they already had the 
>proven technology from the
>M3's it was the obvious 
>choice.    BMW seems to have 
>this down so that corrosion 
>and cranking issues are non-
>existant. It works well 
>nowadays.
>
>Somewhat less successful 
>was the Porsche 911 setup.  
>Engine in back and no room 
>for the battery in the engine 
>bay or the back seat, so it 
>went in the front bonnett in 
>the left side rocker panel.   
>The right side had the oil 
>cooler lines running up from 
>the back of the car.   
>Porsche's setup was always 
>causing corrosion problems in 
>the battery area.  I think 
>they neglected to use vent 
>tubes in their batteries.   A 
>vent tube gives the corrosive 
>gas from the battery a 
>route to the outside through 
>the wheel well.  It's a sealed 
>system as far as the inside 
>of the car is concerned, so 
>the gas is not trapped in an 
>enclosed space where it eats 
>on the walls of the battery 
>compartment.
>
>Little known facts.
>
>-TB
>
>
>> Hi Bob,
>>
>> You must not have worked 
>on a '60 Austin Healy. On 
>mine the battery is  not only 
>located on the opposite side 
>from the starter, it's located  
>way back in the trunk...about 
>as far away from the 
>straight line 6 as  it can get. 
>I'd chalk it up to English 
>design and Lucas 
>electronics...
>>
>> Karl
>> '94 R11RS

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