Maisonvi full size battery tray

[Maisonvi]

Living in Michigan where it get real cold, I didn’t want to give up the CCA of a full size battery, so I decided to make my own battery tray that let me keep a full size while still running my HTP 4” intake.

Figured I would share it on here as I just made another one and actually took picture of it this time.

ECU is relocated to the fuse box. Its been there for quite some time now with no issues. Tried to figure out how to make a mount for it, but I will have to much stuff going on in front of the battery to really make it feasible IMO.

Let me know what you guys think.

 

[Quigs]

I think that looks pretty good. Nice and simple.

Just out of curiosity, was the intake just rubbing the stock battery box? I've never paid much attention to what is needed to fit a 4" intake.

 

[Maisonvi]

I think that looks pretty good. Nice and simple.

Just out of curiosity, was the intake just rubbing the stock battery box? I've never paid much attention to what is needed to fit a 4" intake.

I don't think it would have even come close to fitting on the stock battery box. I actually made this when I had a 3.5".

 

[Quigs]

I don't think it would have even come close to fitting on the stock battery box. I actually made this when I had a 3.5".

Gotcha. Like I said, I just haven't looked much at what a 4" requires to fit. My 3" fits with room to spare with the stock box and ECU relocated to inside the box with a small battery, so that's really all I have to go by. Obviously your intake is significantly larger relative to the available space in the engine bay, so I can understand needing a different style full size box.

Have you thought about possibly making some sort of cover for it just to clean up the bay a bit? I do think it looks good as you have it, but it would be cool to see if it could still be covered a bit since you obviously have the tools and fabrication ability to make your own stuff.

 

[Maisonvi]

Gotcha. Like I said, I just haven't looked much at what a 4" requires to fit. My 3" fits with room to spare with the stock box and ECU relocated to inside the box with a small battery, so that's really all I have to go by. Obviously your intake is significantly larger relative to the available space in the engine bay, so I can understand needing a different style full size box.

Have you thought about possibly making some sort of cover for it just to clean up the bay a bit? I do think it looks good as you have it, but it would be cool to see if it could still be covered a bit since you obviously have the tools and fabrication ability to make your own stuff.

I actually made a lexan cover for it, but I'm in and out of it so often it became a pain, so it's just stayed off. Maybe I will make another some day when I stop messing with things

 

[VTMongoose]

Ken, I definitely want to make one of these for my car at some point. I hate the battery boxes these cars have. Could you share some details on how you designed/made it?

I have slightly different aspirations for my battery tray than you do I think. My preference would be to find a way to attach the battery tray such that it would be faster to remove than the stock - ie, no screws at all. I would have to thread something into the stock threads that the tray could then attach to somehow. For me this tray is a step in the right direction but ultimately no more useful than the stock battery box because you still have to unscrew it from the car.

 

[Maisonvi]

Ken, I definitely want to make one of these for my car at some point. I hate the battery boxes these cars have. Could you share some details on how you designed/made it?

I have slightly different aspirations for my battery tray than you do I think. My preference would be to find a way to attach the battery tray such that it would be faster to remove than the stock - ie, no screws at all. I would have to thread something into the stock threads that the tray could then attach to somehow. For me this tray is a step in the right direction but ultimately no more useful than the stock battery box because you still have to unscrew it from the car.

Hmm, yeah something could be done to make it come apart quicker. Really the 2 screws haven't been an issue for me, but I can see wanting easier access. I wanted to have security with how it was mounted so it doesn't come apart at the track.

Let me think on it and let you know
[doublepost=1455282937][/doublepost]Ok, so looking at the CAD (and also the pictures posted) the issue is the holes used to mount it down are under the battery.

Now I'm not saying this is impossible, a sub plate mounting to the screws and then a quick release plate could go on top, but that would add cost and you will still end up with a plate (albeit smaller and not as in the way) attached to the car.

Either that or I would need to find a fastener that will be secure enough and fit an m6 tap and sit flush.

 

[VTMongoose]

Yeah, definitely don't want a sub-plate or anything like that.

On my Toyota, the tray wasn't held in by anything but gravity. The battery tie down posts hooked directly into the frame of the vehicle. The tray was held in by being sandwiched between the tied down battery and the frame, and located laterally using plastic bosses on the underside of the tray that fit into holes in the frame. A simple design that worked very well.

We could use the same logic. Drill out the factory taps in the front-most screw hole. Separate the plastic cup from the rear of the battery tray and screw it into its spot. Use a thin boss on the bottom front of the battery tray to fit into the factory screw hole, and something a lot thicker in the rear (ie a spaced out washer or something) to fit into the factory battery tray hole. Then, cut a relief for the "middle" factory screw hole in the battery tray and have the passenger side tie down screw directly into this hole. Then for the driver's side tie down, I haven't thought of a solution yet. Probably just some bracket that would bolt onto something adjacent, even the stock tower maybe. Let me take a look in my car later this morning and see if there's anything in the area.

I don't think it needs to be too overengineered honestly. The weight of the battery itself plus the fact that it's pitched back towards the rear from the factory helps keep it in place pretty well on its own I'm sure.

 

[Maisonvi]

Yeah, definitely don't want a sub-plate or anything like that.

On my Toyota, the tray wasn't held in by anything but gravity. The battery tie down posts hooked directly into the frame of the vehicle. The tray was held in by being sandwiched between the tied down battery and the frame, and located laterally using plastic bosses on the underside of the tray that fit into holes in the frame. A simple design that worked very well.

We could use the same logic. Drill out the factory taps in the front-most screw hole. Separate the plastic cup from the rear of the battery tray and screw it into its spot. Use a thin boss on the bottom front of the battery tray to fit into the factory screw hole, and something a lot thicker in the rear (ie a spaced out washer or something) to fit into the factory battery tray hole. Then, cut a relief for the "middle" factory screw hole in the battery tray and have the passenger side tie down screw directly into this hole. Then for the driver's side tie down, I haven't thought of a solution yet. Probably just some bracket that would bolt onto something adjacent, even the stock tower maybe. Let me take a look in my car later this morning and see if there's anything in the area.

I don't think it needs to be too overengineered honestly. The weight of the battery itself plus the fact that it's pitched back towards the rear from the factory helps keep it in place pretty well on its own I'm sure.

Yeah a simple strap down like that is possible for sure. I track my car so I wouldn't trust it. But for the daily grind that could work.

Hell the battery in my old cherokee was held down by 2 bungee cords for years.

 

[VTMongoose]

Yeah a simple strap down like that is possible for sure. I track my car so I wouldn't trust it. But for the daily grind that could work.

You're trusting two screws to hold the battery in place either way dude. I'm talking about bolting the battery directly to the car, with the tray itself just acting as a place for the thing to sit on, versus what you have, bolting the battery to a plate and relying on those two screws to hold the plate+battery to the car. Similar arrangement as far as I'm concerned. Is the rear of your tray even supported by anything? Is it just floating in the air or is it supported by the factory rear mount for the factory battery box?