There was recently a post on NAM about battery options for someone that had an R53 that the battery box had been removed, they were looking for a slimmer/smaller battery option for the MINI. Someone posted on the thread about the ODYSSEY batteries, and showed a picture with the RENNLINE mount for the Odyssey battery. I was totally intrigued. So after a small amount of research and shopping some prices, I decided to pull the trigger on the setup.

I bought the RENNLINE battery kit for the Odyssey 925 battery. (note: do not buy the universal battery mount kit buy the one for the Porsche 964 the Universal does not have the correct mounting base for the R53 MINI)

Rennline also sells the battery pretty competitively priced so you can get it from them if you are looking for a one stop shop, you need the PC925T the T is for Terminal, this gives you the standard battery mount/connection style used in the MINI.

That is all you need battery mount, battery w/terminals. if you are running a standard battery in your MINI like I was it will weigh approximately 42#s the Rennline tray is 2#s, the Odyssey battery with terminals is 21.5#s - so a savings of about 18 to 19#s. An added bonus is that the Odyssey battery is rated for up to 10yrs vs the stand lead-acid I had in my MINI that is 3 to 5 years.

If you really want to save even more you can go with the Odyssey 680 battery and mounting kit that has a total weight of about 17#s so a savings of about 25#s. I did not go this route as my MINI is used as a somewhat daily driving and I wanted that extra battery capacity.

So yes you too can lose 18 to 25lbs for a little over 300$US

Photos, cause everyone likes photos:

 

I have the 17lbs braille in my R56 and I can only say that it is amazing how much weight you can safe on a battery. I also had an autocraft battery that probably weighed around 50lbs hahaha.......
However, every single pound less in the vehicle counts but honestly removing battery weight you do not feel it on the pedal.

 

I would only do it if the battery is already on the last leg, or I happen to be able to repurpose the battery for other use. I was going to remove the MINI rubber floor mats for the track event but decided the 25 lb saving ain't going to improve my lap time for any measurable amount. The carpet under is pristine that never been touched by human shoes.

 

You are absolutely right. Fortunately my battery was dead at that moment so I had no option just to buy a new one and what better is that a battery that can save weight, and honestly, I wanted to change it to a lighter battery, but I was waiting for it to be damaged.

 

Truth Time - I did not do really to save weight its just a really benefit, I did it cause I think its cool.

As to doing if the battery is dead, its not something you can get locally, so if you wait you will have to wait a week to 10 days to get your car back on the road, so in my cause we will call it "preventative maintenance".

 

How about a Apex UTX18L for $50.
16.5 lbs
360 CCA
AGM
Did research and the bigger names use the same battery but re-branded.

 

I like what you said about a lot of big names are just rebranded and you can pay a lot more for just the name. But this is 18AH while the Odyssey 925T is 28AH and has higher CCA. Find us something close but at half the price.

 

True. Just saying because the Odyssey 680
was mentioned up top. I’m sure it can be the same situation. Time and money is saved using other people’s brand and re naming. Let them
do the R and D right? Haha. Just gotta find the right way to advertise and make your target audience bite.