Question on RED TOP Batteries ....

[Marius]

I´m currently doing a shopping-list for the coming winter and quite high on top there´s a new battery from RED TOP. Now the big question : Which one should I fit ?

 

Car is 232BHP Vauxhall-Caterham, mainly run for track-days and "excursions", so no daily use with often starting-processes.

 

I´m tempted for the Red Top 25, 480 Amps cranking current, 16Ah capacity, 6 Kgs

 

Any better suggestions from already-Red-Top-owners would be very appreciated.

 

Cheers,

Marius

 

[EFA]

Marius

 

Do you know what the Banner battery weighs??

 

 

 

Edited by - fat arnie on 24 Sep 2001 23:39:12

[Peter Carmichael]

I am running a hefty Hawker 30. (same thing as a red top)

 

I have a titchy alternator that doesn't charge at idle and a starter motor that doesn't crank when hot or without having the solenoid tickled by finger or spanner. This isn't a good combination and I am not considering going smaller on the battery. It might all be better when I have a proper starter motor installed.

 

You could go smaller for running and run an Anderson plugged booster for heavy-weight starting. Ideally, I reckon you should have an independent (titchy) battery for driving the ECU while you are cranking from another battery and be able to switch it onto the main charging circuit after it has fired up. The drop in voltage during cranking might drop below the ECU's operating voltage.

 

My car always bump starts at the first or second go in situations where it seems to want several seconds of cranking.

[Mike Bees]

Marius,

 

I've been using the Red Top 25 for 2 seasons on my K. It works fine in the summer, no problems at all. Last winter it wouldn't turn the engine over for long enough to fire up - but I think that was probably because the starter motor was dying. I wouldn't rely on it to start in -10 Celsius, but then I prefer to be indoors in the warm when it's that cold.

 

Mike

[Marius]

Thanks for all the advise, I think I´ll give the 25 a try, should do ´cause I prefer to stay at home, too, below 0°C...

 

Step 2 will be doing a proper carbon-mounting for the battery....

 

Arnie, I´m not sure but it must be at least 10kg+ so I´ll save at least 4kg more which will drop the car below 560kg completely filled up & with full-roll-cage.

 

Marius

[tony pashley]

This was touched on before in an old thread

here

where I related my Red Top 30 experiences (all good) - my car still sits around unused for weeks and weeks at a time; battery still never been recharged and has never let me down (yet!). (Standard alternator used.)

 

Red Top 30 - 9kg

Banner 'Bull' - 8.3kg

Red Flash 25 - 6kg (beats the Banner on cranking current, but about half the Ah capacity)

[Chelspeed]

I've got a red top 25 and a red top 30 and have arranged a mount that will take either.

 

I use the 30 on the road. I use the 25 for sprinting but with the 30 as a jump battery for the first time cold start in the morning. Once it's started once with the 30 (well with both in parallel actually) and it's warmed up it starts the rest of the day even when stinking hot (after stalling when I spin....).

 

I don't think I'd be happy with just a 25 without a bigger battery to start it when it's cold or been standing for a few days. If you're just after any old battery for this then chat to a battery factors. Before the red top 30 I got a huge truck battery for 25 quid, much higher capacity than a typical car battery for much less cash.

[ECR]

I use a red top 30 on my Swindon Vauxhall. Very reliable.

 

[Paul Ranson]

I use a Red Top 30 as the external battery to start and run while warming my reasonably pokey Swindon Vauxhall. There's no alternator. If it's well charged it can manage a whole weekend, 10-15 starts plus many minutes of running the fuel pump and ECU.

 

They seem to hold a charge for ages, and have a nominally high cranking current, but the voltage seems to drop significantly under relatively low loads.

 

Paul