Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Does anyone on the USA side of the pond know of a cheap conventional
battery that will fit an Elan (i.e. no more than 8"x5"x8" LWH)? I am
afraid to shell out $100 for an Odyssey battery while I still have
the original electromechanical voltage "regulator". I think I have
seen that the replacement batteries sold by Mazda dealers for Miatas
are the right size, but they run about $90! Why do such tiny
batteries cost so much? All the big chains seem to only list
batteries by make/model/year, so it is impossible to find out their
physical dimensions. Any ideas ?

Any ideas ?
Garden / lawn tractor batteries cost $20 US. Put out 250-400(?) amps.
Should be great for ok weather. Not a deep amoung of power, but plenty
enough for decent weather starting.

Steve

Not real cheap, but an Odyssey 680 (680 amps ) 7.0" in length, 3.0" wide,
and 6 9/16" tall, can be had on eBay for under $57.00 plus $14 for
shipping. (It's a size used mostly for motorcycles like the BMW K1200LT
and the Ducati Monster.) It seems to work well in my S3 + saves weight and
is sealed. There are other Odyssey MC batteries also listed.


At 06:22 PM 4/4/2005, you wrote:

Sears makes a Die Hard group 51R battery that is close to what you asked for
in size.

9-1/4" X 5" X 7-3/4"

The model number seems to be 30052 and the cheap one (WeatherHandler) puts
out 495 CCA. The Die Hard Gold version is the same size and puts out more
CCA's, but unless you drive in the winter, I don't know what the extra CCA's will
do for you.

Frank Howard
'71 S4 SE
Minnesota

Hi Steve

I used a garden tractor battery in my elan since 1998, it finally
died (the battery) this year. 7 years for $20 USD seems in keeping
with most owners. This is a car that didn't get out much, last fall I
had to jump it so I figured it was on its way out.

Gary
--- In ***@***.***, "foggyalfa" <sfog@o...> wrote:

The proper size is being sold as a larger size garden tractor battery now. I had to replace the battery in my S3-SS last year. It was about $40 and had the proper end tabs to work w/ the Elan hold downs. The terminals are nowreversed from the battery I used to have, which I think came from a Honda listing, but that Honda battery today does not have the tabs for the hold downs anymore.

Roger



Does anyone on the USA side of the pond know of a cheap conventional
battery that will fit an Elan (i.e. no more than 8"x5"x8" LWH)? I am
afraid to shell out $100 for an Odyssey battery while I still have
the original electromechanical voltage "regulator". I think I have
seen that the replacement batteries sold by Mazda dealers for Miatas
are the right size, but they run about $90! Why do such tiny
batteries cost so much? All the big chains seem to only list
batteries by make/model/year, so it is impossible to find out their
physical dimensions. Any ideas ?

























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What year and model Elan, since the early cars had the battery behind the
seat?

I went into the local independent auto parts place and said I need a battery
with these dimensions and the hold down tabs on the short sides. They said
let's see what works, and after we went through measuring their batteries I
left with an Exide 26-65. It says 525 CCA, 650CCA and 80RC, and it was
around $60 or so in 2001. The newer Miatas (MX5s) with the battery in the
trunk (boot) have a very small battery, but I haven't priced one out. I have
seen it while doing tech for autocrosses.

Rob LaMoreaux
Ann Arbor, MI USA
(734)-971-5583
Cell (734)-604-9280
Email: ***@***.***
Too many Hobbies.... Too Little Time
1969 Lotus Elan....It's not a restoration, it's a never-ending adventure.

I have an S2 with a Interstate battery behind the seat. It also has a
vent tube to the outside, which seems to be an important feature for a
battery that is in the cab. I can get you the model number when I get
home tonight. Interstate is not particularly cheap but they are a good
battery. My Elva Courier has a cheap Walmart battery, I have to keep
recharging it but it seems to work, barely.

I'd like to get an Odyssey or another gel cell battery, why would it not
work with an old fashion generator/control box/positive ground system?

Fred '65 S2

Kind of a late comment to the thread, but FWIW, I replaced the battery in my S3 last year with an Exide 26-60 for about US$50. It's rated at 630 CCA at 32 degrees F, and 525 CCA at 0 degrees F. I run the car occasionally only in the winter, and even though it took some time to start the car when the temps dipped into the single digits, the battery never needed any outside help to keep it going.

Fast forwarding to 70 degree springtime weather this past weekend and an oil and filter change, it made me wonder if anyone has done any work on their car and not come away with at least a scratch.

Jon Eckman
66 S3 SE