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Group Buy Shorai Battery and CNC Machined Battery Tray Package - 7 pound setup - Direct bolt on

Joined
18 February 2012
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574
Location
SoCal
Shorai Lightweight Battery and CNC Machined Battery Tray Package - 7 pound setup

As some of you know, my business partner and I have been working on a machined battery tray for the Shorai 36AH Lithium Iron batteries.

I am pleased to announce that we are finally ready to start our group buy!

This is a:
[X] Direct vendor group buy
Minimum Number of Units: 1
Maximum Number of Units: Unlimited
Closing Date: September 19, 2013 (We've extended it!)

Product Will Ship: [X] As payments are received (We will be following a production schedule, please see details under "The Group Buy" header below.)

Payment Procedure: [X] No deposit, payment due prior to shipping

Payment Methods Accepted:
Paypal: [email protected] (Please include your Prime name in the payment notes)

Check, PM me for address.

Estimated Delivery Time / Date: Every other week, depending on battery shipments and anodizing schedule.

Product Pricing: $380 shipped

Shipping & Insurance Costs: International shipping is based off of actual shipping costs.

Prime Group Buy Price:
$380 shipped in the US.
Please contact me for international shipping rates.

What You Get:
Shorai LFX36L3-BS12 Lithium Iron Battery ($350 MSRP)
NSX specific CNC Machined 6061 Aluminum Battery Tray (Anodized black or Polished finish)
Terminal Posts
Mounting hardware

The entire package weighs about 7 pounds and our trays use existing mounting holes located on your NSX's battery tray. There is absolutely no modification neccessary for installation, no cutting or drilling, it's a direct bolt on install.

Polished NA2 Tray.
9088630034_2c00a21048_c.jpg


We are doing some adjustments on the NA1 tray, I will update the thread with photos once it is finished.

What It Is:
Shorai manufactures an extremely lightweight Lithium Iron battery that is powerful enough to start a car reliably. These are not your typical small capacity "race" batteries.
The specs are: 540 CCA, 10AH, 4.63 pounds, 2 year warranty.

9089037840_6682f8c7bc_c.jpg


Lithium Iron battery technology is very interesting, here is a quote from the Wikipedia article:

LiFePO4 batteries have somewhat lower energy density than the more common LiCoO2 design found in consumer electronics, but offers longer lifetimes, better power density (the rate that energy can be drawn from them) and are inherently safer. LiFePO4 is finding a number of roles in vehicle use and backup power.

Safety:
These batteries are NOT lithium ion, they have a different chemical composition and are much safer. They do not explode like lithium ion. Here are a couple of quotes about the battery technology:

Due to the oxygen being bonded tightly to the molecule, there is no danger of the battery erupting into flames like there is with Lithium-Ion. The chemistry is so stable that LiFePO4 batteries will accept a charge from a lead-acid configured charger.

LiFePO4 is an intrinsically safer cathode material than LiCoO2 since exothermic reactions cannot occur in batteries based on this material: LiFePO4 cells do not incinerate or explode under extreme conditions. In addition, LiFePO4 cells have a higher discharge current, are not toxic and have a much higher cycle life than LiCoO2 cells.

Here is a video someone made of one lithium iron pack being shot with a gun while another is being short circuited:


We have been following this battery technology for a few years now, and were very happy when Shorai came out with their lineup. The battery is lightweight yet powerful. Due to the inherent battery characteristics of being able to dump a lot of power very quickly, this battery is powerful enough to start a car multiple times with no problems.

Because of their very compact size, it's difficult to mount these batteries into a car, which is why we've designed and manufacture a direct bolt on CNC machined battery tray for these batteries.

9086411731_4ff05fecf4_c.jpg


These trays were designed by us, and are manufactured by us right here in Southern California. We machine the trays out of 6061 aluminum on a CNC machine that we own and operate.


Why Lighter Is Better:
We follow the mantra that lighter is better when it comes to cars and car performance. Our battery package reduces your car's weight by up to 30 pounds, which is 1% of the NSX's overall weight. Reducing you car's weight improves all aspects of its performance. Weight reduction is like upgrading your car's power, suspension and brakes all at the same time. There isn't any other modification that reduces the NSX's weight so significantly at this price point.

Tests:
I have been using this battery in my car for the past 4 months and have been able to let my NSX sit for 10 days and the car will start up with no problems.
TURBO2GO has been able to let his NSX sit for 16 days with no issues on start up.
Weekly start ups are no problem at all.
I will be updating this thread with a cold weather test once my infrared thermometer gets here.

Battery Tenders (If you do not start your car weekly, it is highly recommended to use a tender!):
These batteries can be used on normal battery tenders. As long as your battery tender DOES NOT have a desulfate mode, it will work with the battery. Battery Tender brand battery tenders are confirmed to work by Shorai and also through my own testing. Shorai does make their own battery charger, which works very well, especially for over-discharged batteries. Let me know if you would like to purchase one, I will supply them to Prime members at a significantly reduced cost, but am not allowed to advertise that price.

Additional Photos:
9086411151_09ae5009e0_c.jpg


We have pocketed the bars to reduce weight but retain rigidity.
9088629476_ae4bbbbeef_c.jpg


The installed weight is about 7 pounds.
9086412387_cbe6ae2fe7_c.jpg



The Group Buy:
This group buy will last 2 months (Ending August 19th). After that, the price will go up, you'll have to pay for shipping, and you don't get the sweet Ti license plate bolts.

The price is $380 shipped in the US for the entire package. Full payment is necessary to begin the process because we have to order the batteries. (International orders please contact me for shipping pricing.)

Please send paypal payments to: [email protected]
(Include your Prime user name and shipping address.)

We will be ordering batteries on a weekly basis, and dropping off for anodizing every 2 weeks. This means there may be a 2-3 week lead time between shipments, as long as the batteries are in stock. There is a possibility that Shorai could run out of in-stock batteries which means we would have to wait for their next shipment if that happens.

Disclaimer on the polished finish: The polished finish is uncoated and we do not have long-term testing of an uncoated metal tray that is connected to a battery. The tray in my car is bare aluminum and has been in there for 4 months with no corrosion, but we have no data on times longer than that. We do not expect there to be corrosion issues, but think you should be aware of the possibility before purchasing. That being said, it's nothing a little bit of metal polish couldn't take care of.

Please leave all comments/questions/criticism/concerns in this thread, and do not hesitate to PM or email me: [email protected] . If the phone is your preferred way of communication, I will PM you my personal cell phone number.

Thank you,
Colin Chu

The information I need from you:
Name, NA1 or NA2 (The trays are different!), Black or Polished finish, Charger if you want one.

1. Audax, NA1, Black (PAID)
2. syndicate, NA1, Black, Charger (PAID)
3. Phoenix599, NA1, Black, Charger (PAID)
4. RYU, NA1, Black
5. 91NSX85CRX, NA1, Black (PAID)
6. junior40er, NA1, Polished
7. excellon, NA1, Polished (PAID)
8. Blood Stone, NA1, Black (PAID)
9. Onsoku, NA1, Black
10. kwinkler, NA2, Black, Charger (PAID)
11. skyline15, NA1, Black (PAID)

12.
F0oBot, NA1, Black
13.
CL65 Captain, NA2, Polished (PAID)
14.
Midnight_Raven, NA1, Black, Charger (PAID)
15.
Ponyboy, NA1, Polished (PAID)
16.
Shaylord, NA1, Black, Charger (PAID)
17. sduffass, NA1, Black
18.
8kallday, NA1, Black, Charger (PAID)
19.
1K2GO, NA1, Black (PAID)
20.
g3driver, NA1, Black (PAID)
21. xrc, NA1, Black (PAID)
22.
TrustJDM, NA1, Black (PAID)
23.
Simplife, NA2, Black (PAID)
24.
RC51NSX, Charger (PAID)
25.
Jeff@Carbon6, NA2, Raw, Charger (PAID)
26.
Albert86, NA1, Black, Charger (PAID)
27. JamieB, NA1, Black (PAID)
28.
dmscrx, NA1, Black, Charger (PAID)
29.
Jean Girard, NA1, Black (PAID)
30.
NSXcitement, NA1, Black, Charger (PAID)
31.
geometro, NA1, Black (PAID)
32.
NSXRAY1, NA2, Black, Charger (PAID)
33.
L_RAO, NA1, Polished (PAID)
34.
ekin95, NA2, Black (PAID)
35.
hlakhani, NA2, Black (PAID)
36.
PSHUMARD1, NA2, Polished (PAID)
37.
drtruong, NA2, Polished (PAID)
38. LMR, NA2, Black (PAID)
39. Theo1, NA2, Polished (PAID)
40. Albert, NA1, Black (PAID)
41.
nsxmm3, NA1, Black, Charger (PAID)
42. Independent Lemming, NA1, Polished (PAID)
43. nsx27, NA2, Polished (PAID)
44.
sophis, NA1, Black (PAID)
45. chussey, NA1, Black (Tray only PAID)
46.
wtcox, NA2, Polished (PAID)
47. Greg-TT, NA1, Black (PAID)
48.
MinnesotaR6, NA1, Polished (PAID)
49.
Joe Wollbaum, NA1, Polished (PAID)
50.
Mike, NA1 (PAID)
51.
rollinthunder4ever, NA1, Black, Charger
52. liftnot, NA1, Black
53.
JLCoolman, NA1, Black (PAID)
54.
BobMc, NA1, Black (PAID)
55.
YF-19, NA1, Black, Charger (PAID)
56.
Boostedtaco, NA2, Black (PAID)
57.
toomanymodz, NA2, Black (PAID)
58.
Angelcitynsx, NA1, Black (PAID)
59. nsxbuilder, NA1, Polished (PAID)
60. Martin, NA1, Black (PAID)
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
 
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How do you round 6.1 up to 7? LOL
 
I'm in!

91NSX85CRX, NA1, Polished,

My finger is on my PayPal button, just let me know when to send.
Does polished ship sooner than anodized :)
 
I'm in!

91NSX85CRX, NA1, Polished,

My finger is on my PayPal button, just let me know when to send.
Does polished ship sooner than anodized :)

Great, I'll be asking for payment before the end of the week next week so we can start buying the batteries.

Yes, the polished does ship sooner than anodized!
 
I'm in, 91 NA1 - Black. Would we need new terminals to connect to the Shorai battery or use the ones provided by the battery?
 
Interested in the the anodized version for a NA1. Let me know when they're ready.
 
Thank you everyone for the fantastic interest in our trays!

I am definetly interested in this Colin! I will sen payment and order later since I just spent a lot on pool maintenance stuff but will definetly get in before this closes.

Sounds good Adrian, I will just add you to the list.

This is awesome. Saves 21 pounds over the Zanardi battery and 31 over oem battery.

I'm curious if these numbers include the OEM plastic battery box, top bar and threaded J hooks. When I weighed those together, it was basically equivalent to our battery tray, so the net weight difference is battery to battery.

I'm in, 91 NA1 - Black. Would we need new terminals to connect to the Shorai battery or use the ones provided by the battery?

No, everything is provided for a direct bolt-on install, the terminals are included. That is unless you changed your battery cables to something different.
 
This may be a really dumb question but are there any known issues for people who are running high power audio equipment? I would guess no but figured I'd ask just to be sure.

-Steve
 
This may be a really dumb question but are there any known issues for people who are running high power audio equipment? I would guess no but figured I'd ask just to be sure.

-Steve

The only dumb questions are the ones that aren't asked :)

After you start your car with your battery, the alternator takes over the car's power requirements, so unless your audio stuff is drawing more power than your alternator outputs, you should be fine.
 
Colin,

Can you do just the tray and other hardware (basically no battery) to give me time to decide what direction I like to go?

The thing is though, these trays are made specifically for this battery, so there is no direction to go other than this setup, in terms of the tray itself.
 
Also, we were lucky to be able to become dealers of the Shorai batteries, so we are building in the cost of the tray into the discount that we get on the batteries. A lot of work goes into each tray, as all 6 sides of each piece are machined, so a la carte, the tray itself is pretty expensive, although to be totally honest we haven't worked out exactly what it'd be, because we've always been thinking of this product as a package.

I'll be starting on a "How it's made" video for Prime, and you'll see how much work goes into each one. It's not just press a button and parts come out kind of thing :)
 
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The thing is though, these trays are made specifically for this battery, so there is no direction to go other than this setup, in terms of the tray itself.

I know.

I was going to let my current battery run it's course and then replace it with urs down the line.

Again, Still not decided yet either way.
 
Man, I really wish the battery mount was flat.

Aw hell, I'm in the buy too.
 
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