Underhood battery to trunk relocation for weight distribution...

[jibberjive 10+ year member]

I'm relocating my main and only Optima redtop battery from under the hood to the trunk of my car in an effort to help offset the front-heaviness of my car at the track. I'm going to be putting in an upgraded alty because my system will be running 3000+ wrms.

I've been around a long while and pretty much already know the answer to this question, I just want some confirmation from others before I commit to it: So the positive wire that I run from the alternator in the front to the battery in the rear only needs to be able to hold up to the max that the alternator can put out (in my case around 160 amps), so 0 ga should be big enough for that run from the front to the back, right? My amp will likely draw 200+ amps (Powerbass XA-3000D running just below 1 ohm), but the wiring that I need to worry about for that are the short runs from the amp in the trunk to the battery in the trunk, right?

Anyone see any issues with running 0 ga for the run from the alternator in the front to the relocated battery in the trunk when the system will be pulling more amps than the alternator can put out?

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[loopkiller 10+ year member]

There should be no issue with 1/0 wire for a 160A alt.

You will kill that Red top though with that much music //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[jibberjive 10+ year member]

So just to clarify, the size of the run from the alternator to the positive terminal of the battery is completely independent of what current the amps in back are actually pulling, right? (For example, hypothetically, even if my amp in the trunk was pulling 700 amps I'd be fine with 0 gauge for the run between the alt and batt since it only needs to handle ~160 amps, right?)

There should be no issue with 1/0 wire for a 160A alt.
You will kill that Red top though with that much music //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

I know, I'm in a moral dilema, do I buy a second battery in spite of the weight, or do I go for it and see how it is with one batt. I think I'm going to try it with all of the upgraded wiring and upgraded alty and see what happens

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

My buddy who used to race his neon went with a light weight easy to remove system instead of a 3000 watt monster. Dual 10 fiberglass box and amp rack pulls right out in under 20 minutes, all wires capped off and fuses pulled for the audio. He used a conector strip with a lid on it for all of his speaker connections (except the subs)

 

[jibberjive 10+ year member]

My buddy who used to race his neon went with a light weight easy to remove system instead of a 3000 watt monster. Dual 10 fiberglass box and amp rack pulls right out in under 20 minutes, all wires capped off and fuses pulled for the audio. He used a conector strip with a lid on it for all of his speaker connections (except the subs)

Yeah, I'm a little heavier than I'd like to be, but my subs are only 17lbs each and my speaker amp is going to small and light (Alpine PDX 4.150). My box is going to be a relatively small (1cu ft per sub) fiberglass box, and I plan on having some sort of quick disconnect for all of the connections. The only really heavy part will be my Powerbass XA-3000D, but that's a relatively small amp for 3k wrms as well. The amp rack and stuff will be in one easy to pull piece on one side of the trunk with the subs on the other side (with the middle free so I can still fold down my seats for cargo). I'll hopefully be able to pull all of it within 20 mins as well.

Now I've got to find a way to bolt it to the chassis of the car that will provide some theft prevention, yet be easily accessible/quickly removable if one know's how. If anyone has any good ideas, PM me

 

[infamous_e46 5,000+ posts]

just do it gangsta when you go to the track take ur gf and have her chill in the pit area with ur sub box and spare tire and all that crap that is removed for racing lol

p.s. i leave my amp in

 

[jibberjive 10+ year member]

just do it gangsta when you go to the track take ur gf and have her chill in the pit area with ur sub box and spare tire and all that crap that is removed for racing lol
p.s. i leave my amp in

I bring a bunch of tools and have my spare tire, tools, and rear seats at the pit area, but I take out the system beforehand How heavy is your amp, and what kind of racing do you do (drag, road course...)?