Taking advantage of DDM's Memorial Day sale, ordered a PC680 battery, bracket, and a set of Hotchki's swaybars.

I know, especially with the underdrive pulley, I'm taking a risk with the tiny battery on a street car. I figure if it starts being problematic, I'll just set up a trickle charger in my garage for anytime the car will be dormant more than a day. I think it'll work out ok. Plus getting the battery moved will allow me to move forward with the rest of the trunk changes (getting a deeper liner/carpet fabbed that covers my battery/tools and frees up a bunch of cargo space where the sub/spare used to be).

I've been using the 680 for a couple months now... zero problems, plenty of power... I've even been driving a 500w amp off it... it'll be FINE ! :) Just be sure to use a meaty cable for the long run to starter

Just getting back into the normal routine after a long weekend road trip with the Z. I'm never gonna catch up on all the forum traffic while I was gone heh.

I did head over to Houston Raceway Park on Friday night before I left town, but I got there late, the lines were long, had the girl to entertain between runs, and had no track prep, so it wasn't great. I'll go back for a better set of runs later. But anyways, got two runs in, both were in the 13.4xx range, I'll scan timeslips later. I think the car can do much better with a little track prep (these runs were basically the same config as my usual daily drive, 40 lbs of misc tools and gear in the rear, 35 psi all around, etc..), and with just two runs all I really figured out was how the local track works, I need more practice actually learning to launch this 7AT there now.

First off, thanks for the order :). Second, I have had the PC680 for months now with no issues. My car even sat for 10 days un-touched while I was on my honeymoon and it fired right up when I got back. :)

Is the battery still on sale? Can you PM me a price? (Sorry to thread jack)

Screw VDC Lol... VDC just gets in my way all the time... I under steered almost right INTO a truck on the freeway cus it decided I was going too fast off the offramp... to each their own i guess :p

Um..what was that in response to?

Probably somewhere way back in this journal thread where I said VDC was nice in the rain. It's nice in unpredictable situations in general, like bad pavement surfaces with ugly ripples and dips. A human can always do better than VDC at controlling the car (and get it done at better speed), but there's something to be said for it, situationally, when you aren't trying to run the car all out, and the situation is unpredictable.

And damn those north koreans too !!

Started working on the battery relocate this afternoon. Picked a spot and got the thing mounted, so "phase 1" is complete. This is the rear edge of the trunk, pretty much dead center. If you have the bracket that DDM sells, there's exactly one spot right about there where it will fit and mount up level. Had to unbolt and slightly mangle the heat-shield above the muffler on the underside to drill my bolt holes and attach lockwashers/nuts under there, but it all went back together fine.

Now I have to sort out how to run the cabling :)

More pics of parts and progress, still not done. It's another one of those lazy weekend installs, taking my time :)

This is the battery, newly mounted:

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...rear-trunk.jpg

This is going to be the positive cable run. I bought 15 feet, which is longer than necessary, will cut to size and use some of the leftover for the ground lug as well. This is 1/0 gauge copper cable, 19 strand, available by the foot at any hardware store (as are all the other parts I'm using so far, other than the battery and bracket themselves). I sheathed it in that corrugated plastic tube stuff, they sell it in 7 ft lengths at the hardware store as well (1/2" dia).

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...2894-cable.jpg

These Al connectors were nearby the cabling at the hardware store. The screw-terminal end fits my cable, and the other end has a nice little screw hole.

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...-connector.jpg

After removing the battery and unscrewing the positive battery post connector from the big inline fuse holder assembly, I screwed one of the above connectors in place of the positive post connector. Used an M6x1.0 screw, 16mm length, with lock washers on both sides (same hardware I used on the battery bracket in the trunk)

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...-conn-inst.jpg

BTW, the factory negative battery cable just runs straight to the body, so it can be removed completely.

So now I'm basically down to doing the big cable run somehow, and then doing a tiny jump for the negative side from the battery to the trunk floor. Almost there...

Very cool. Travis already did his so you should probably figure out where he routed it.

Well I asked but he hasn't posted up his install yet, so I'm just winging it.

Pulled the glove box and the cabin air blower that's behind it, which reveals the wall between there and the factory battery compartment. Used a 1" hole saw drill bit to put a hole there, and routed the cable through the interior (under the panels/carpet along the passenger side)

BTW, for this route, 15 feet was just barely enough cable. My leftover that I cut off at the engine bay side was about 8-9 inches, which was barely enough to make a short ground run back by the new battery. I still need to bolt that ground down, screw in the final connections to the battery itself, and give it a test-fire. More pics later.

http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...html#post82052

Tried to get this done sooner, but had toddler-watching duty ! He just didn't have the patience to watch daddy play photoshop... hope this helps!

wstar, maybe you can add to the DIY thread once you're done

Yeah I'll organize things a bit better and add onto the DIY.

IT'S ALIVE! Car fired up on the PC680, no fires started, etc. I still need to protect the battery terminals a bit with electric tape for now, and then reassemble the interior of the car, which is mostly on my garage floor right now.

Later I'm going to go hunt down a good car audio shop that fabricates trunkish things, and see if they can mold me up a little plastic/fiberglass/whatever protective cover for the battery area, and then see about making the rest of the trunk usable with some carpeting or whatever.

For now, more pics:

Battery/trunk-area pics, all hooked up. Used those same little blocky connectors pictured earlier for all ends of the cable. At the battery, they're screwed to the little copper 90 degree terminals that came with the battery:

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...-connected.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...nk-routing.jpg

This is the engine-bay side, where I came through the little hole I made and hooked up to the big red inline fuse thingy:

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...pos-conn-2.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...connection.jpg

This is a view of the passenger footwell with everything still removed. You can see my cable dissappear into some sound deadening material there, the 1" hole is behind that material (I held it back to drill, may have torn it up a bit in the process but it will mash back down and work fine).

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...-hole-here.jpg
http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...hole-here.html

Looks like you did end up routing it through a different hole in the firewall... mine went through the larger hole closer towards the right fender...

Looks like a decent install, nice job... one comment, I worry that in a front collision the battery in the position you have it would become a missile... mine was placed up against the cross member for this reason... good thing you have a sturdy battery box !

I'm not too worried about it. The walls of the box are pretty damn thick, and the thing fits the battery like a glove, I actually had to kinda squeeze the battery between the walls, flexing them slightly. What I really wanted to do was mount it roughly where it is (or if anything further to the passenger side) sideways, with the terminals facing the center of the car. That would've been even more secure. However, the trunk floor doesn't provide a lot of options for level mounting surfaces that would work, it's got lots of little studs and ridges and so-on.

Right now I'm still fighting with getting the passenger footwell back together, specifically that damn A/C blower. Apparently it needs a warning label that you need a higher IQ than me to fit it back in there correctly.

Update: got the interior back together again, time for driving and food. I hate that A/C blower. One day, years from now, when this car is pretty much dead, I'm going after that A/C blower with a baseball bat, Office Space style.

The test drive last night went great, nothing came loose, no shorts, etc. Being the paranoid person I can be sometimes, I took my garage fire extinguisher with me in case of some horrible battery incident, but it was totally unwarranted :)

It seemed like the car handled better, although I didn't do anything too aggressive on this drive. The car just seemed flatter and more neutral through corners. I wasn't really expecting to be able to feel any difference from a single weight reduction/shift mod, but I guess the battery is a pretty big one.

Cool ! Now imagine what a full setup and corner balance would do ! :)

I am amazed that you can actually feel that! It tells me the car is very well designed, if it transmits (and is affected) by that little a weight shift. I have had experiences with cars that were not so good in telling me they had changed, until the very last moment of grip, at which point they departed happily into uncontrollability.

I know, I can't wait :) It will probably be another month or two at least, I'm still waiting on those Forgestar wheels to come in, then I'll do the coilovers and try to get all of the suspension geometry and corner balance stuff done up.

Added a fuller version of my batt relocate info to the DIY thread here: http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...html#post82352

Any ETA on the Forgestar, would like to see them on the Z in person.

I haven't heard anything lately, I think Mike said a few weeks a few weeks ago, FWIW :) I would expect they'll be shipping them out sometime this month. Then I need to get tires and do the big swap (I want to keep the pressure sensors if they fit, so I'm going to have to drive my car down to a shop with the new wheels and tires and have them unmount my old tires and move the sensor stems over before mounting the new ones, etc).

I heard (or at least interperated) mid to late June.

Yeah ... good luck with that :) I did it with just tires and it was a ridiculously tight fit in the car. 2 tires in the passenger seat, 2 in the back. With wheels as well it would be near impossible.

The only sensible option is to jack the car up and put it on jack stands, take off the wheels and throw them in a truck.

Yeah a friend of mine has a Scout, I may just throw all the new stuff in the back of that and have him follow me over.

Re 18-in Foregestars, Mike told me late June last time we talked

18" Forgestars are ETA of late June. 19" Forgestars are an ETA of 2-3 weeks from when you order them.

Random status updates:

Battery relocate still doing fine. Haven't had any issues starting the car, etc. Still looking around for what to do about switching/protecting in the rear though. Ideally I need something that makes it easy to disconnect the ground (a switch or quick-disconnect plug of some kind), and I also need a fuse/breaker that can take starter motor current draw. Turning up a blank on an ideal solution so far, although many things look close.

Got my Hotchkis swaybars in today. The delivery truck driver was very envious when he saw the box, and then the car :) These will probably be installed tomorrow evening.

There are plenty to chose from... look here
Battery Cut-Off Switch - Google Product Search

I'd recommend this one...
Pegasus - Master Battery Cutoff Switch with Alternator Protection

Wiring instructions here...
http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pdf...structions.pdf

... you would install this near the OEM battery location, and if you ever decide to race, could easily be setup for external 'off'

Put a breaker on the ground part of the battery so then all you do is switch the breaker off. Or you can have one on both sides. :)

http://i1.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/f5/8c/3241_1.JPG

You have the Stillen exhaust right? As long as there is an easy way to drop the rear exhaust section down about 10-12 inches the rear swap is a piece of cake. Most of the time is spent jacking the car up and getting it on the stands. The front is straight forward, just need to take off the undertray as if you were doing an oil change. Check out my DIY's. Don't read the Hotchkis install guide for the rear, it has unnecessary steps as it is written for a G37.

Yeah I looked at a 200A breaker like the one you're showing. I'd like to go this route if possible, as it combines the short-circuit protection and easy switch-off for working on the car all in one. I'm just not sure if a 200A breaker is going to trip on a hard cold start one morning. I still have no idea what the reasonable current range is for our starter motor draw.

Yeah I have the Stillen exhaust. It will be interesting, we'll see how it works out at install time :) Luckily I have a few spare gaskets for the rear of the exhaust.

Went ahead and ordered Lightning Audio LCB200, I'm just gonna put it in there and find out the hard way whether the car still starts :)

Cool, let us know! That sounds like a great price too.

I got my first Oil Analysis back (took me a while to get it to the post office, I'm lazy):

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...ine-myself.jpg

Copied from the pic comments in the Album:

I never sent my factory fill. This report is for the second batch of oil in the engine. I changed the factory fill for Nissan Ester 5W-30 at ~1,800 miles, and ran that until 4,038, which is when I switched to Motul. This report is from that first and only Nissan Ester that I put in the engine myself.

Edit: pic fixed :)

Installed the breaker this evening. The car started fine without tripping it. Then again, it's a hot summer-ish evening and the car had only been off for 5 hours. Might be different on an ice cold morning in the dead of winter with a car that hasn't been run in 2 days. We'll see when I get there in the winter :)

I also went ahead and prewired a little harness for my trickle charger in case I need/decide to use it. The breaker is mounted to the top of the battery box with superglue (I know, how ghetto of me).

But anyways, yes, the Lightning Audio LCB-200 seems to do the trick, providing short-circuit protection as well as a convenient way to kill the battery power when working on the car.

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...-just-case.jpg

Re: everything else (the brakes and swaybar stuff waiting in the garage), it's going to have to wait a week and a half or so. I'm flying out Sunday for a week and leaving the Z behind :(, and this weekend and the next are pretty much filled with non-car-related obligations and entertainment of various sorts.