Battery Question

NYSpeed Automotive
1

I bought an Odyssey PC680 for my mini cooper s that I hope to track some day… I bought it for the weight savings, however the battery is only a couple months old to me and probably only has a couple hundred miles on it. This battery is now bulging at the sides and is clearly not working well… So I pulled it out of the car obviously…

So my question is, do I bother buy another one of these (I am going to look into warranty options)? or another lightweight option? or just get a regular battery and deal with the 10-15lbs you’re not a race car driver you nerd.

Thanks in advance.

PC680 for reference

2

Bulging? That’s definitely defective. I’d try to warranty it first. If the 2nd one craps out then move on to a different product.

3

Get a normal battery. The weight savings is the same as having 2 less gallons in the gas tank…

x…

4

Enersys made great batteries when I benchmarked them 5 years ago, so I think you might be overcharging that poor little battery. Does the Mini Cooper S have start-stop? If so, an AGM in the stock size is best, otherwise a flooded battery will do fine (unless it is mounted in the cabin, where you’d need a non-spillable battery).

With any rechargeable battery capacity and power will fade over time. The easiest and most popular method around this is to oversize the battery so it functions for the expected service life.

5

What are your lap times with a normal battery?
What are your lap times with the Odyssey?

6

I didnt realize how easy it was to get a replacement… So if this one fails I will get a normal battery. Thanks!

I will look into this if/when this battery fails too. Thank you. Its an 03 cooper so it doesn’t have start/stop.

I havent been able to track it yet, but I am sure there will be a lot of changes in my track times purely based on how inconsistent I will be as a driver. Which I am sure is your point.

7

He’s right, you could install any battery and have wildly different lap times based on your own experience, brake fade, etc. Get a reliable unit and just get out on the track, you will find 7459043295 other things you need to fix once you’re out there, boiling brake fluid, faded pads, etc. The few extra pounds from a battery will be the last thing on your mind.