Anyone using a LiFePO4 battery in their DD?

"Master Cylinder" (mastercylinder28)
11/13/2015 at 20:20 • Filed to: None

I am always looking for ways to trim weight off of my 944, and while I’ve been able to drop about 170 pounds off so far, I am shooting for 250 pounds or more. One of the big remaining places to drop weight is the battery - the stocker is friggin’ huge and probably weighs 50 pounds or so.

I’ve been looking into lithium batteries as a way to shed a lot of pounds for a relatively small price. But I am not convinced it’s doable for a daily driven car that has to start every day, even in Michigan winters. I imagine that problem can be solved just by getting a battery with enough reserve capacity to deal with the cold, right?

And are there any issues with charging? I know the LiFePO4 is a relatively safe battery chemistry, and in the looking around I’ve done it seems like people just slap them into their cars in place of the stock SLA battery and go with no problems, just charging with the alternator. It seems like there has to be more to it than that, though, no?

I’ve seen people use absolutely tiny LiFePO4 batteries to start their cars, and I want a piece of that sweet, sweet weight-saving action. I’m looking at batteries like this one:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Is something like this workable?

DISCUSSION (4)

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Master Cylinder
11/13/2015 at 23:11

I’d be curious to know how they hold up in the long run. I think as long as they aren’t fully discharged or overcharged, they should be okay, but I do wonder about the cold.

I did come across this: http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/ba… I’d hardly call it a conclusive test, though.

One thing you could do is use a battery blanket when you have it parked at home, to keep it nice and toasty. That probably doesn’t help when you are away from home for more than a day, though.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Master Cylinder
11/14/2015 at 14:32

I would be worried about the 20ah capacity. Probably only about 200cca. Seems a bit on the small side, but that’s only reservation. I would probably opt for at least, bare minimum, 40ah, like this one:

http://www.lithiumion-batteries.com/products/12v-4…

At least this ones actually gives you specs.

Master Cylinder > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
11/14/2015 at 19:01

Yeah, I have noticed a general lack of specs with lithium batteries. The ones that list a lead-acid amp-hour “equivalent” are particularly annoying.

That battery looks good though, thanks for the tip.

Chadjones99 > Master Cylinder
10/13/2019 at 18:00

Well did you stick a LiPo4 battery in the Porsche?