battery in back of c4

[ZR1 MK]

I wrote installation techniques of my battery for someone in another forum and figured it could be of some use here too.
Go to my website http://members.cardomain.com/zr1mk for pictures. Keep in mind there are quite a few ways to do the installation. The following is mine. Some run cable in the car and use two cables to original connections. I ran the negative wire to the right rear frame as pictured. The positive wire went over the tunnel and along the frame rail next to the brake lines to a disconnect switch located at original battery location. A piece of 4x4 wood was installed at the rear portion of the storage compartment so the battery would sit flush with the front bottom portion of the compartment. A steel plate is used on the outside bottom portion of the well to support the clamping rods.
I used cable designed for low voltage. I noticed Marc, who I respect to the fullest, used welding type cable. I actually used that type of cable on a previous car, but a few sources state that welding type cable is not as good for 12 volt systems. Its basically a small strand vs large strand issue. I didn't find a battery tray that I liked during installation so I neglected to use one. Felt I would get to it down in the future, but didn't. Thats why I put the foam in for track use and tool kits for street use. The battery can't be moved if you were to try and move by hand, but extreme G forces and vibrations require a tray for proper installation. I see cable kits (general kits and not specific to a Corvette) available with 4 gauge cable, but I recommend 1 gauge as the smallest cable to use. I use a Gel type battery, so venting is not a necessity, but did drill a small hole anyway. Gels do vent, but its so little, they don't require typical venting requirements. See Optima website if you would like to know more. I also didn't use a fuse directly off the battery. The portion of cable from the battery to the disconnect switch is unprotected. I don't think it is a problem for my use/needs, but you may want to consider this.
Mike

[tntcorvette]

thanks for the tip1