Post by Scott DorseyPost by Saab C900 Viggenisthttp://www.classicsaab.net/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=dynamicalbum.UpdatesAlbum&g2_albumId=7&g2_itemId=13072
I'm also using a PC-925 (installed in my 81 turbo Saab) and I highly
recommend it - they're a gazillion times better than the Optima batteries
that get raved about so much. IMHO anyway!
In a daily driver, I want a battery that will last forever. It doesn't
have to be the highest current density, it doesn't have to be the highest
cranking current, it just has to _always_ work when I need it. If it costs
ten times as much and lasts ten times as long, that's an overall win.
I agree - and one of the reasons I opted for an AGM style battery instead of
a standard liquid-electrolyte unsealed lead-acid battery. When I first
started investigating I looked at a lot of choices - not just the
name-branded products from Odyssey and Optima.
Post by Scott DorseyIn a race car, I would be MUCH more concerned about what the battery does
when it's damaged, more than anything else. I don't care how reliable it
is, really. You can always carry a spare. What I care about is whether it
will explode or spray acid in an accident.
That's a very good point, and it's one reason I wanted a battery with an
integral metal jacket (as explained more below).
Post by Scott DorseySo what DOES the Optima or the PC-925 do if you chop it with an ax? Is it
a good failure or a bad failure?
I can only speak from personal experience (in my own cars) with Odyssey's.
They are not standard lead-acid batteries (ie. 'wet') with a liquid
electrolyte, and the versions supplied with a metal jacket would have a lot
better protection from something impacting on the sides compared to any
bog-standard lead-acid battery which has nothing to protect the plastic
casing from impact, radiant heat, etc.
I have never tried chopping any sort of energy storage cell with an axe -
that would be a Bad Thing no matter what type of device was involved as it's
an incredibly risky exercise for the user of the axe! 8-)
I have the PC-925 in my 81 turbo Saab mounted on it's side to keep the
battery as far away from the turbo's cast-steel exhaust elbow as I can (I am
still using the standard Saab battery heatshield with a piece of
fibro-cement behind that to protect the bottom of the battery), and I've
crated a special bracket to space the top face of the battery spaced away from the
side of the engine bay enough so the battery terminals won't be able to
touch the car body metalwork.
If you want to see what I did, there are some pics of the work at:
http://www.classicsaab.net/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=5481&g2_page=4
The PC-680 is not in a car at the moment but I did for a while have it in
one of my other Saab c900's and it works fine as a starting battery though
it's capacity is of course less than the PC-925.
Craig.
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