Has anybody moved their battery to the rear like the S? If so how did you do it? Do you all think it's worth the effort? I know that the mini's suspension is custom tuned to the weight of the car (sunroof/no sunroof have different spring rates) would it be better to leave the battery where it is because the springs were designed with the stock weight distribution? Does this logic apply to removing the spare and tool kit? If the battery is put in the rear can it be secured properly so that it would be legal for track days and autocrosses without drilling or modifying the car?

 

I do not believe it would be legal for SCCA H-Stock... not sure about STS or the like.

 

I have tried to post the same questions over and over again. With no help. What I think I am going to do is mount a braille battery in a marine-style container in the cutout for our tools. I am going to put a distribution box up front in the engine bay and route the wires to the rear. The distribution box is going to help out since I am also doing a battery/alternator cutoff switch. I just have to plan my attack. If anyone comes up with a better plan, let me know. It will be a week or so until I attempt this since I just had my H-Sport Comp. sway bar set delivered tonight.

 

As long as the battery passes tech, it should be okay for DE's and the like... Some autocross sanctioning bodies may allow it, too (our local BMWCCA chapter would, for instance).

They're mainly looking to ensure that it's tied down well in my experience...

 

Why would you want to move the battery to the rear?

 

Weight distribution, I wager...

 

Because I don't want it in the front.

 

but would you want to change the whole rear floor to get it in?

The panels are very different - not just for the battery but for the exhaust too.

Paul

 

The Braille lightweight battery in the stock position makes the most sense to me.....the added cable to install in the trunk (about 10 lbs) makes the 20 lbs you lose by putting a small battery in less effective, not to mention the voltage drop over that length of long cable.

Per

 

Good cabling for a battery is heavy. Get the Deka, not the Braille, they're the same, and the Deka is a LOT less. There's a thread on it. Helix is switching over to the Deka. I wish I'd known when I hunted down my Braille.

I've had the braille for quite a while in the S. The only issue I have is when I do tinkering in the driveway, when I need the car on for a long time. Day to day, it's fine though....

Matt

 

I might just say screw it and put the DEKA in the front. I will get a smaller battery box though.

 

First off, I used to auto cross race an old BMW 2002, moved the battery to the trunk using a kit from Summit Racing. It was worth it. 30 lbs. off of the loaded down front end and a shift of center of gravity, especially when talking about the front wheel drive Mini. I never noticed any cranking problems, despite the cable length, even though the cable for my old BMW was longer than the one I'll use on the Mini. The Mini engine doesn't need much power to turn it over, being a small 4 cylinder. Another potential advantage of moving the battery is airflow in the engine room.
At this point, I am thinking that I will use the battery box it has, and otherwise copy the Cooper S installation. It was a good idea on the "S", and it's a good idea for us, too. I have removed the spare anchor-I mean tire and it's tools. The "S" cars don't have spares either, but, no loss, you would have to be Hercules to change a tire with the tools provided in the car. I have a 4-ended lug wrench I use at home and it provides the leverage you need to remove a wheel. A floor jack is a safer alternative to the little jack provided in your car. What I'm recommending is to take all of that stuff out of the car and put it in a corner of your garage. That saves maybe 25-30 lbs., so don't sweat the weight of the longer battery cable. With that 30lb. battery off of the front wheels, you may even not have to rotate tires as often. Copy the "S" battery installation, and you win. -Jeffy.

 

I gutted the rear of the car anyway. Including the side panels (which have heavy foam) and the other panels. I also want to do the battery/alternator cutoff switch.:impatient

 

JMHO, but given the weight bias of the Cooper I would think that reducing weight over the front of the car would be the same thing as adding weight in the rear? Wouldn't it have the same effect?

I yanked my spare a long time ago to save weight... and installing the battery in front seems like the most logical thing to me to improve the F/R weight ratio.

 

Fifty/fifty weight distribution is the ideal, but the Mini will always be front heavy, just like most other front wheel drive cars. The engine and transmission are the culprits. Transverse mounting makes it worse. To give you an idea of what extreme measures have been taken to get even weight distribution, the old Porsche 944 had it's transmission mounted in the rear, away from the front-mounted engine, forming a trans-axle. If I am remembering correctly, the battery was still mounted in the rear on that car. Ferrari and Lotus had mid-engines to achieve even weight distribution. -Jeffy.

 

I'm not really doing it for a weight distribution advantage. It's just something to tinker with and mod. And save some weight in the process.

 

I used to have a Porsche 924... I still miss how well that car was balanced. Nearly perfect 50/50 ratio, transaxle in the rear connected to the tranny with something similar to the C5 'Vette's "torque tube". Great autocross car...

Of course, it'd be nearly impossible to get the MINI anywhere near that, save adding a ton of weight in the rear...