Originally Posted by Racer_X

And you had that battery on a GT3? Wonder how much heavier the battery would need to be to turn an extra 6 cylinders. I think the battery you can use depends upon the engine.

Originally Posted by Racer_X

Agree that lightweight seats could be tasteful, but if they knock out the airbags it's a no-go, unless you and your passenger want to drive around in 6-point harnesses. Safety first.

Originally Posted by 007 Vantage

Battery: The best long term solution I have found for battery is the Odyssey PC680. Racers everywhere have been using this bulletproof battery. It is unique in that it is a solid state battery (meaning there is no liquid inside it at all). It weighs only 13lbs and is about $120 (versus lithium ion which is $1500+ or 10x price). Also, the benefit of drycell technology is you can run it down to zero 20 times and charge it right back up and it will not harm long term life of the battery, I had run down my old one countless times (old BMW track car that would sit for months) and as soon as I charged it up it was perfect. Optima batteries are the exact opposite, you run it down once... its a $150 paperweight. The only thing you need with the PC680 is a battery box (there are many available out there that provide very plug & place bolt on solution. The only thing about the PC680 you need to know is it's really only meant for cars you drive regularly. You can go about 2 weeks max before battery runs down. So as long as you drive the car 2x a month or more, you are totally fine (depending on your cars natural idle draw down rate). Also, I had no problem cranking the motor even as low as 30*F so it can handle quite a bit. Should def be no problem for the V8 and I suspect V12 would be fine too if you drive it regularly. Also, I noticed it had so much cranking power that it would actually start my car much faster than stock battery. Instead of taking 3-4 cranks, it would instantly fire on the first crank rotation, pretty impressive.

The PC680 is literally the size of a radio head unit (hard to believe I know)... You will need the brass SAE terminals (extra $12). The cranking amps listed below:

• 680 cranking amps for 5 seconds
• 595 cranking amps for 10 seconds
• 525 cranking amps for 20 seconds
• 17 amp hours
• Short circuit current over 1800A
• 25 minute reserve capacity with 25amp load
• Female brass terminal w/M6 SS bolt
• Length 7 1/16"
• Width 3"
• Height 6 9/16"
• Weighs less than 15 lbs

Originally Posted by TurboDragon

If the stock seats are setup likeBMW seats then it is 30 seconds worth of work. All you have to do is unclip the seat sensor form the seat and then re-plug it in to the harness. Probably have to buy a 10 resistor off ebay then done.

Originally Posted by 007 Vantage

• 680 cranking amps for 5 seconds
• 595 cranking amps for 10 seconds
• 525 cranking amps for 20 seconds

Originally Posted by TurboDragon

If the stock seats are setup likeBMW seats then it is 30 seconds worth of work. All you have to do is unclip the seat sensor form the seat and then re-plug it in to the harness. Probably have to buy a 10 resistor off ebay then done.

Originally Posted by Racer_X

Aren't these figures a bit low? Anyone know what CCA rating is for the stock battery?

Regardless, for $120 it may be worth a shot. I'm wondering though why everyone isn't doing this now given the weight savings and the cost. Seems like there has to be a catch.

So the resistor tricks the system into thinking the OEM seat is still there?

Originally Posted by TurboDragon

Correct. The resistor mimics the airbag sensor for the seat.

Originally Posted by 007 Vantage

I have put the PC680 in half a dozen of my street cars and never had a single issue. Lots of people use the PC680 as their daily battery, just because none of the Aston community is doing it, doesn't mean nobody else is haha.

Originally Posted by Racer_X

If you do this you had better get it right so that the airbags will deploy when needed. How would you confirm this? Just by not seeing the airbag system warning light?

Originally Posted by 007 Vantage

Since when have you ever sat in your car for 10 min using electronics with battery off? Much less 25 min lol.

I have put the PC680 in half a dozen of my street cars and never had a single issue. Lots of people use the PC680 as their daily battery, just because none of the Aston community is doing it, doesn't mean nobody else is haha. I do live in the south though so it never gets below 30 here. If you are up north I suppose sub freezing temps can be an issue. But if you live anywhere in the southern half of the USA you will be totally fine.

Originally Posted by telum01

All the resistor does is tell the system that the airbag is there. Without the resistor, you'll get an airbag warning light.

Originally Posted by Racer_X

Yes, I understand what the resistor does if it actually fools the system. My question is how do you know that it is fooling the system (and therefore that the airbag will then deploy in an accident). Would you just assume this just because the warning light doesn't come on when you've got the resistor connected? I think I'd want more certainty for something that could literally be the difference between life and death.

Originally Posted by 007 Vantage

Hood = Totally unnecessary. Aston hood is already aluminum, CF will barely shed any weight. CF hoods are usually purely aesthetic. especially in this case where the stock hood is already so small & light as-is. Bang Per Buck its the worst weight reduction mod you can do (just being honest). Now if you want to do it b/c its "pretty" lol .... totally different story.

Again, Rotating Unsprung mass is the only thing you will legitimately FEEL without being too invasive in the modding. 99% of people have never attempted to drastically reduce rotating unsprung mass and until they do, they waste their time making all these sacrifices in comfort and luxury. I too was one of these individuals years ago, until I started to focus all of my energy on reducing rotating unsprung mass, its not until I starting doing this that I had been wasting my time & money all the prior years. The effects are so much more profound when reducing rotating unsprung mass.

For the record, Lightweight flywheel does not fall into that category. It is rotating, but it is not unsprung mass. Unsprung mass refers to anything that is literally between the springs and the ground (aka, suspension arms, brakes, wheels, tires, half shafts etc). If its rotating and moving up and down with wheel travel then it counts. Flywheels do reduce rotating mass, but at the expense of sensation of torque (which honestly is a big downside for me).

Battery: The best long term solution I have found for battery is the Odyssey PC680. Racers everywhere have been using this bulletproof battery. It is unique in that it is a solid state battery (meaning there is no liquid inside it at all). It weighs only 13lbs and is about $120 (versus lithium ion which is $1500+ or 10x price). Also, the benefit of drycell technology is you can run it down to zero 20 times and charge it right back up and it will not harm long term life of the battery, I had run down my old one countless times (old BMW track car that would sit for months) and as soon as I charged it up it was perfect. Optima batteries are the exact opposite, you run it down once... its a $150 paperweight. The only thing you need with the PC680 is a battery box (there are many available out there that provide very plug & place bolt on solution. The only thing about the PC680 you need to know is it's really only meant for cars you drive regularly. You can go about 2 weeks max before battery runs down. So as long as you drive the car 2x a month or more, you are totally fine (depending on your cars natural idle draw down rate). Also, I had no problem cranking the motor even as low as 30*F so it can handle quite a bit. Should def be no problem for the V8 and I suspect V12 would be fine too if you drive it regularly. Also, I noticed it had so much cranking power that it would actually start my car much faster than stock battery. Instead of taking 3-4 cranks, it would instantly fire on the first crank rotation, pretty impressive.

The PC680 is literally the size of a radio head unit (hard to believe I know)... You will need the brass SAE terminals (extra $12). The cranking amps listed below:

• 680 cranking amps for 5 seconds
• 595 cranking amps for 10 seconds
• 525 cranking amps for 20 seconds
• 17 amp hours
• Short circuit current over 1800A
• 25 minute reserve capacity with 25amp load
• Female brass terminal w/M6 SS bolt
• Length 7 1/16"
• Width 3"
• Height 6 9/16"
• Weighs less than 15 lbs

Russ Wiles Battery Box is the perfect OEM solution for battery box as it can be held down by factory tie downs just like the stock battery usually. Its only couple pounds and looks very OEM compared to a lot of ricey aftermarket type battery box/tiedowns