I would bet almost anything that dropping 50 lbs from the boot wouldn’t hurt your handling. It’s nominal and on top of this lighter is better in almost every situation.
What do you think would be quickest around a corner… A 3800 lb 50:50 stock Porsche 991 with some lead in the front boot, or a stock 3300 lb 40:60 rear biased 991?
Or better yet what is faster around the nurburgring…my stock 57:43 nose heavy 3925 lb RS4 (which was the fastest sedan to ever cover the nurburgring, and no car has since matched it without having a 125hp advantage (and even then there’s only a couple) … Or another stock RS4 with ten 50 lb sand bags in the trunk to make it ‘optimal’ 50:50?
Let’s take it down another notch…your b8 s4 is something like 56 percent front biased. Do you think you would be ‘better’ at a track day if you added a 50lb weight in the trunk to help that? Because by putting a stock battery back in the car in place of this 5lb battery posted above, that’s exactly what you’re doing.
+1 to sakimano. Nobody is ballasting cars, ergo it’s okay to pull weight from the edges.
I actually ended up ordering the i48cx, because when I ordered the i49cx Amazon couldn’t give me a delivery estimate (so I canceled it). I kind of want it done before I corner balance the car. The i48cx has already shipped. If you recall, this is the Aplina B3 GT3 battery.
The Boxster gets started every other day, but the Audi sits for 3-4 weeks at a time in a warm garage deep under a San Francisco house around the block from me. If I ever had trouble starting it, I’d put this “Group 48” battery into the Boxster. Then I’d spend the extra cash to get the i49cs for the Audi. It makes sense to start cheap with the simplest thing that could possibly work.
I know where you’re going with this, but please don’t misquote me.
In context, I am not saying weight reduction is a bad thing. I fully agree and I know that we all agree that less weight is better. What matters is where the weight is located.
This is why guys at the upper classes of stock autox actually retain the spare tire in the trunk when they race vs take them out. Reducing that 30lbs or whatever has a negative effect on handling–more negative than saving 30lbs would otherwise yield. Keep in mind, we’re not talking about 100lb weight savings (or 300lb, per the example you write in your post). We are talking 30lbs or so, from the very back and extreme rear end of the car.
The question should be “will the 30lb weight reduction benefit greater than the adverse effects of weight distribution?”
Talk to race shops who corner balance, and they will tell you that they will reduce weight where it counts–but once it begins to adversely affect weight distribution, it becomes a situational thing and may not actually be taken out.
But call me cray, go try it Find a car with a heavy spare tire and stuff…go lap it with the spare tire in the trunk. Then take out the spare, make sure fuel level is identical as when u started, and lap it again. Let me know when the car drove better, and which one got more consistent, faster lap times When we are dealing with 30lbs at the very back of the car, the ballast is more important than the weight savings.
My argument previously on this topic was…if one were to spend 1500 to reduce weight–why save it from the trunk?
Why not buy a proper bucket seat up front and take weight out where it counts. Not to mention, you will see a 50+lbs weight savings by going to a fixed bucket vs the stock seat for the same money.
But anyway, good discussion. Different view points. Can agree to disagree
I would take out the battery weight if other weight in the car can also be re-distributed accordingly. But if we are not talking about a hollistic change, and just a battery swap… I’m of the opinion that there are more important things to tackle first. I don’t think there is a “wrong” viewpoint here. Both are advantageous (that is, weight reduction is good. better weight distribution is also good. depends on your priorities and how you drive).
Anyone who starts their car with a lead-acid battery might as well use a hand crank IMO. Ancient technology robbing horsepower from your alternator to inefficiently recharge a carton of liquid acid.
I don’t think the solution to a pendulum like vehicle design is to double-end the pendulum, making a barbell. I’m getting to know well the handling characteristics of a mid engined car as I rack up thousands of miles on the Boxster throughout California. It’s a whole different animal on a constant radius 3rd gear turn. It enters and leaves the turn with the same centripetal force. You can feel it in your gut (or more likely your eardrum).
Auto parts retailers are the worst at fulfillment. If they even have an Internet presence, it’s typically ancillary to their core competency (though I’m not sure what that would be, either). The fact that you can get these batteries on Amazon delivered to your house 44 hours after you order on a Saturday is incredible. And at a deep discount from retail with free shipping.
In contrast, it usually takes me 3 weeks to get brake pads and I have to call a guy twice.
Edit: Can’t find our thread. Ours was thorough…we had google streetviews of the Braille headquarters (a little small unit in an office park) all showing that Braille just puts stickers on blank batteries, and then goes on the We even had someone call Penn directly and they confirmed. Same batteries. Different marketing (Penn sells to Braille…braille puts fancy sticker and markets to Lotus and Porsche owners…charges triple)
Apparently the S4 has a water cooled alternator that is $1300 to replace and is a pain in the ass to get to. This battery also mitigates the expiration of that part by taking 80% of the load off of it.
awesome battery! how are you going to secure it in the factory location? also if you have never taken out your battery before, I believe its the sports diff ecu that is attached to the bracket that you need to remove first.
Find a car with a heavy spare tire and stuff…go lap it with the spare tire in the trunk. Then take out the spare, make sure fuel level is identical as when u started, and lap it again. Let me know when the car drove better, and which one got more consistent, faster lap times