# Cockpit Project: Braille Battery Relocation, Corbeau Seat, 6-point Harnesses (w/ bar)



## ManOfManyGTs (Dec 11, 2007)

Hi all,

Just a little write up and pics on my project of late.

Battery Relocation:

My battery died and I cant replace anything without upgrading so I went with Braille 15 pound race/street battery. I decided to mount it in the rear for better weight distribution (and cool factor). The project went pretty well; most of the time is in planing, looking and thinking how everything is going to go. It has actually been pretty simple with little custom fabing and trimming. 

Some details:
I'm using rivet-nuts for mounting battery. Stock Neg cable to one of the posts under the rear seat (very convenient). 2/0 gauge welding cable wrapped in plastic loom for my positive, routed on the side of the center console (had to trim away insulation in the carpet to make room for the cable) up to a pre-existing whole in the fire wall (again, very convenient). I just made the whole a little bigger and inserted a plastic grommet for protection. The postitve goes right to my starter (just like stock). The difference now is that the main bus box is now connected to the positive at the starter pin. I made a bracket out of angle aluminum and zip tied the bus box. I connected a Taylor battery cut off switch on the positive side, riveting it to the battery hold down. Trimmed stock carpet and doubled up to make the battery firm. I Velcroed the cargo mat to elevate the front of it so I retain a little bit of trunk usability, and protection for the battery. 

Pics:



































































































Strait forward Corbeau FX1 Pro with seat brackets (double slider), Deist 6-point harnesses, Stable energies harness bar. Still have to install the passenger side.


















































Conclusion: I don't know if its just the perception from the seat but the car feels lighter and more nimble now. The seat is defiantly serious and I may shim the front end to recline it a bit. I haven't weighed anything but I probably shed about 60-70 pounds?


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## PLAYED TT (Oct 17, 2010)

:thumbup:


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## Doooglasss (Aug 28, 2009)

Nice battery install!

Are you planning on using the same battery year round? I'd like to see how it is at turning the car on at such a distance overtime and in the cold. If you have good results I'll be doing the same thing in the spring!


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## Cabbet (Nov 25, 2007)

Great battery install, running it down the middle with the plastic wrap around it is the way to go. People that run their positive cable along the side of the car are nuts because once you get T-boned the cable will not stretch and could tear and cause a fire :thumbup:

Looking forward to seeing the harness bar mounted


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## ManOfManyGTs (Dec 11, 2007)

DougLoBue said:


> Nice battery install!
> 
> Are you planning on using the same battery year round? I'd like to see how it is at turning the car on at such a distance overtime and in the cold. If you have good results I'll be doing the same thing in the spring!


I hope it will do fine. Braille's website is pretty good at describing what battery will do what in different conditions. I'm using a pretty beefy cable to make up for the distance. I will keep this thread updated with progress and results. With my schedule, it been fairly slow going though.


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## 1.8 skeet skeet (Aug 11, 2004)

Looks like great work cant wait to see it all rapped up :thumbup:


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## graeme86 (Jun 27, 2003)

If you look at the factory 3.2 boot install, Audi have a huge-ass fuse mounted right next to the positive terminal. 

The front fusebox is still mounted where it is now on top of the front plastic battery box.

Very neat install.:thumbup:


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## ejg3855 (Sep 23, 2004)

what did you do for the front outside belt mount?


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## ManOfManyGTs (Dec 11, 2007)

ejg3855 said:


> what did you do for the front outside belt mount?


If Im sitting in the driver's seat, my left belt is secured via an eye bolt that replaced the factory lower belt anchor bolt. The right side is secured via where the old buckle would be (mounted on the seat slider bracket). Points 5 and 6 (submarine belt) are secured to the front seat bracket bolts. Sorry the pics are not very good. The shoulder belts will be secured to the harness bar (not yet installed).


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## chads (May 27, 2010)

Nice. 

i have that same seat. What bracket did you use to install it? And did you have any problems?


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## ManOfManyGTs (Dec 11, 2007)

chads said:


> Nice.
> 
> i have that same seat. What bracket did you use to install it? And did you have any problems?


I used the Corbeau Custom Brackets for the TT with the double locking slider option. I believe it the same part number for Boxters and maybe 911s too. The only issue is the stock bolts that secure the bracket to the floor bottomed out so I had to find a washer. Let me ask you this, how is it driving around? Did you shim the front of the seat or make any modifications?


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## chads (May 27, 2010)

Sorry, I should have said that it is not installed yet. I found it on craigslist and it was a really good deal, so right now it is just sitting. I think mine is the Wide version, so I hope it still fits ok.


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## coachvtt (Jan 16, 2008)

*Nice!*

I've been looking to do the battery relocate! looks good. Might be me in the near future!

Looks good!

Well done!


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## ManOfManyGTs (Dec 11, 2007)

Project complete. Updated post #1 with new pics.


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## TTC2k5 (May 23, 2008)

Nice job. Yes, you shed quite a bit with the seat swap. OEM are about 50lbs with sliders each. When I pulled mine to install porsche recaro gt3s (about 22 with sliders), I noticed immediately the difference. 

http://public.fotki.com/TTQ2K2/porsche-gt3-seat-in/ 

cheers.


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## ManOfManyGTs (Dec 11, 2007)

Small Update (nothing amazing but noteworthy): 

So my battery ran low on juice (from cold and lack of driving it  ) and I was looking at way to charge the battery. I discovered that I'm able to jump start the car/charge battery by hooking in to the starter terminal and a large common ground on the chassis (under where the big battery used to be). I even hooked up a full time battery tender connection here. 

So I can charge the battery and jump start the car from under the hood instead of having to deal with trying to hook things in through the hatch/driver's door.


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## jedge1.8t (Jan 27, 2012)

i read on another forum theres a dead ballast weight to counter the battery in the front.


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## ManOfManyGTs (Dec 11, 2007)

jedge1.8t said:


> i read on another forum theres a dead ballast weight to counter the battery in the front.


 This is true (for the most part). It is at the rear, behind the bumper cover. I believe that it is there for general wight distribution not specifically for the battery. Its about 35lbs.


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## warranty225cpe (Dec 3, 2008)

I give you an "A" for effort, but an "F" for safety. Having a battery mounted above the gas tank is a no-no. Unless I'm missing something..? If it always recommended to run your battery cables away from fuel lines, what do you think about a battery sitting on top of your gas tank..?


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## chads (May 27, 2010)

How is the angle of the Corbeau seat? It seems like it might need tilted back some. I never installed mine because I think I have the wide version and I doubt it would fit.


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## jedge1.8t (Jan 27, 2012)

warranty225cpe said:


> what do you think about a battery sitting on top of your gas tank..?


 yeah definitly should seal the wiring multiple times and especially the battery housing. dont want that to leak acid either. but as far as it being on top of the fuel tank, not sure if thats bad, most people run power cords to their amplifiers and ground it all near the gas tank. his location looks to hard to reach in an accident. but who knows.


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## 01ttgt28 (Jun 23, 2009)

Nice I got the same seats I had Alex put in a spacer to raise it up a little I'm kinda short


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## Marcus_Aurelius (Mar 1, 2012)

Nice work buddy! :thumbup: 

The battery is a dry cell guys, and as long as the wires are loomed and not exposed, it'll pass track inspection! The only thing that may need revision is the kill switch location, it needs to be within driver's reach while strapped and accessible to a corner worker from the outside.


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## ManOfManyGTs (Dec 11, 2007)

warranty225cpe said:


> I give you an "A" for effort, but an "F" for safety. Having a battery mounted above the gas tank is a no-no. Unless I'm missing something..? If it always recommended to run your battery cables away from fuel lines, what do you think about a battery sitting on top of your gas tank..?


Good point but there are all kinds of wires running all around the gas tank, not to mention an electric pump that sits in the fuel, inside the tank. The fuel is in a properly vented and designed plastic tank (OEM), and there are layers of metal between the battery and the sealed tank. The battery is properly ground too. The battery location produces no safety concerns.



chads said:


> How is the angle of the Corbeau seat? It seems like it might need tilted back some. I never installed mine because I think I have the wide version and I doubt it would fit.


The FX1 pro was too agressive for me and I sold it. I'm looking at the TRS or the bride replicas for seats now but currently I have none. (not so bad because the car is in pieces in my garage)



Marcus_Aurelius said:


> Nice work buddy! :thumbup:
> 
> The battery is a dry cell guys, and as long as the wires are loomed and not exposed, it'll pass track inspection! The only thing that may need revision is the kill switch location, it needs to be within driver's reach while strapped and accessible to a corner worker from the outside.


Thanks. Yeah, I only put in the switch because I had a few inches too short of wire. The switch was my solution to extend the reach of the wire.


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## jbrehm (May 16, 2006)

Nice install, OP!




DougLoBue said:


> Nice battery install!
> 
> Are you planning on using the same battery year round? I'd like to see how it is at turning the car on at such a distance overtime and in the cold. If you have good results I'll be doing the same thing in the spring!


Doug, I know this is old but I've been running a Deka EXT16 year round (through -25°C Winters even!) and it always starts fine. Not much reserve power, but plenty of cranking for my 10:1 compression. I think it's 18lbs lighter than OEM (I still want to get it in the trunk, though).


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## Doooglasss (Aug 28, 2009)

Thanks!

I had a Deka last year the same 15 lbs. battery that I think you're talking about. I ended up getting rid of it because I found after a weekend of not driving the car it would be dead on Monday. Great battery though- lasted me all Winter too.


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