lithium ion battery

[ecamiel]

Hi
It's time to replace my battery.
Street Elan, high compression, modern starter.
Has anyone installed a lithium ion battery. Which one? Which charger? What's your experience?

I'm interested not just for weight saving. I'm looking for more power to the coil while cranking or using lights and fans. Yes, car starts, everything works OK. Some voltage drop, of course but no excessive voltage drop.

I put a LI battery in my 1971 Yamaha 2 stroker racer and in transformed the bike. It now starts on the first kick, has more power and midrange torque and it holds a charge forever. It is delivering a higher voltage to the coils than the lead acid it replaced..

Thanks
Eric
64 S1 Hart

[nmauduit]

I initially tested LiPoFe batteries on my bmw r90s a few years ago (largest model of Shorai - I fitted a special regulator of higher voltage then), was very pleased with it so installed one in my street elan (high torque starter, converted to alternator standard Lucas ACR 17) a couple years ago : no issue so far, cranks strong for at least 2-3 min if required (not to be done continuously, there is a lot of current flowing and the stock cable would heat up)

I understand there are other brands now, probably cheaper...

[TomR]

I use an EarthX 680-size battery. Not cheap but has the quality protective electronics that make it a favorite of the aircraft crowd. Works great so far

[ElanDNA]

Hi
It's time to replace my battery.
Street Elan, high compression, modern starter.
Has anyone installed a lithium ion battery. Which one? Which charger? What's your experience?

Hi
Look there: http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=38812&p=268470

Last ride out yesterday. She works fine.
Cheers Urs

[Slowtus]

Hi


I'm interested not just for weight saving. I'm looking for more power to the coil while cranking or using lights and fans. Yes, car starts, everything works OK. Some voltage drop, of course but no excessive voltage drop.

64 S1 Hart

How will a Lithium Ion battery help here (other than more oomph when cranking) surely the voltage regulation will be the same when the engine is running?

Or did I miss something as I often do?

PS I am a big fan of Lithium Ion batteries.

[DJW]

Had one in my Exige 380. Had a trip out function when it got too low as my understanding is its easy to permanently damage the battery and at ?1300 for the Exige one, not something I wanted to experience. Only once in 18 months did it trip out and that was after 6 weeks not being used.

On a more modern car I couldn?t tell any difference in its function vs a standard battery.

Good pub bragging rights re weight and size savings I?m sure

[Slowtus]

On a more modern car I couldn?t tell any difference in its function vs a standard battery.

I doubt that you could tell the difference on an older car.

Aside from the placebo/seat of the pants dyno.

[ecamiel]

This is a fast moving field. Any updates on which specific battery to use? Something which will crank a street car in any weather?

Thanks


it's time to replace my battery.
Street Elan, high compression, modern starter.
Has anyone installed a lithium ion battery. Which one? Which charger? What's your experience?

I'm interested not just for weight saving. I'm looking for more power to the coil while cranking or using lights and fans. Yes, car starts, everything works OK. Some voltage drop, of course but no excessive voltage drop.

I put a LI battery in my 1971 Yamaha 2 stroker racer and in transformed the bike. It now starts on the first kick, has more power and midrange torque and it holds a charge forever. It is delivering a higher voltage to the coils than the lead acid it replaced..[/i]

Thanks
Eric
64 S1 Hart
[/i][/i][/i]

[Davidb]

I have a Yuasa motorcycle battery in my S2-now in its third season and works fine:

I misspoke--the battery I have been using is actually:

https://www.yuasabatteries.com/battery/ytx24hl-bs/

One advantage of this battery is that it fits snugly behind the seat even with a Safety Devices roll bar in place.

It is a bit bigger (and heavier) than what I previously posted:

https://fortnine.ca/en/yuasa-high-perfo ... BgQAvD_BwE

[69S4]

I put a LI battery in my 1971 Yamaha 2 stroker racer and in transformed the bike. It now starts on the first kick, has more power and midrange torque and it holds a charge forever. It is delivering a higher voltage to the coils than the lead acid it replaced..

Thanks
Eric
64 S1 Hart

I put an Odyssey battery in my Elan five or six (or maybe longer) years ago and it was half the weight / size of the std battery. So far it's been fit and forget. A Li battery might save a few more pounds but for a road car there isn't a lot more battery weight to be saved. Starting performance is interesting though. Anyone know where the 'choke point' is with the std set up - the battery? the cables? the starter motor? I certainly noticed the engine cranking faster with the Odyssey.

What's the Yamaha - TD2? For track use presumably you're running total loss on the battery. I've got a similar vintage road bike (YDS6) that I'm rebuilding for an overland trip this summer and electrical reliability improvements are high on my list of priorities

[Andy8421]

In principle, the voltage available to the car's electrics (coil etc) when the engine is running is independent of the battery chosen, its all down to the dynamo / alternator and its control circuitry. With this in mind, I find it hard to understand how a battery can impact how the engine runs.

That being said, there are certain applications where there is no charging circuit (some circuit racing series allow this I believe) which saves on the weight of the dynamo / alternator, the rotational inertia of spinning it up when accelerating, and load on the engine for charging. In this case the battery is all you have got, and the choice of battery would be key.

[TomR]

I second the EarthX. Has all the electronics to charge, protect and warn. Choice of light aircraft builders. I'm using a 900 series in my 2L Elan. I have a LI-specific trickle charger for periods of storage.

[Slowtus]

In principle, the voltage available to the car's electrics (coil etc) when the engine is running is independent of the battery chosen, its all down to the dynamo / alternator and its control circuitry. With this in mind, I find it hard to understand how a battery can impact how the engine runs.

Agreed. There is no difference between a properly working lead acid battery and any other, for starting a car.

Yes, Lithium Ion does have different characteristics related to efficiency etc but anyone who believes that simply swapping in a Lithium Ion in place of a lead acid will somehow allow the starter, coil etc to function better is deluding themselves.