Batteries relocated to boot

[Ballykine43]

Read the bit on left/right balance with considerable interest. How crucial is this balance through weight distribution. My Stag normally has approx 100KG of additional weighting on the right. Sometimes counterbalanced by a similar weight on the left. I must admit that the car seems to travel much faster without the left side counterweight, and its a bit quieter too, though probably not so safe with only one driver!

As for jump starting: We connect the jump leads to the battery terminals simply because they are normally easily accessible.  It might be easier to create a well insulated live "Jump contact" under the bonnet than to start cutting access panels from the boot.  But then of course if you are like me you will probably discover that the initial problem came from a loose battery terminal anyway.

[volospian]

Ballykine43 wrote:

I must admit that the car seems to travel much faster without the left side counterweight,

Yeah, it probably would be as it's 100kgs lighter :D

left/right balabce comes into play when cornering as the sideways forces push the centre of gravity around the left/right axis. Too much weight on one side will mean less grip while cornering in the other direction.

i.e. too much weight on the right side will, when taking a right hander, push the CoG towards the left of the car. if it's already balanced well to the right, the CoG will move towards the centre of the vehicle, keeping weight on all 4 tyres.

However, when you go through a left hand bend, the CoG will move to the right, which is already heavily loaded, leaving the left side of the car with "light" wheels and a reduction in grip on that side of the vehicle. This could cause oversteer in one direction easier than when going the other.

Therefore a car with more weight on one side of the vehicle would be more stable going around corners in one direction than a 50/50 balanced car, however, it would be worse going around the other direction than the 50/50 vehicle.

As the stag is nose heavy too, braking during a left hand corner would throw the weight well onto the front drivers side tyre and remove weight from the rear, making the passengers side rear wheel extremely light and the car even more prone to oversteer. So, if you do need to suddenly brake on a corner and you are in a standard RHD stag, try to keep it to right hand bends only :)

[DJT]

Yeah, lots of good theory. But the Stag is not a 'sports car'. If you want precise handling, get an MX5, or a sorted TR6. The Stag is a tourer, not designed for throwing around; it doesn't suit the character of the car.

"I thought the advantage of moving the battery to the rear was more to do with gaining a little space in the engine bay, which I feel is actually a little crowded." And what were you going to do with the space the battery is in now?

Granted, the fact that you have to remove the PS pump to get the battery out is a pain, but in 18 years I have changed the battery twice. Not exactly onerous.

"rather than that ridiculously small affair fitted by Triumph." The original radiator is perfectly adequate for the Stag engine, as long as everything is in good condition. Overheating is a symptom of something wrong, not as a result of a small radiator. Increasing the size of the radiator is only masking another problem, or the original radiator is clogged with silt.

I still think it is unnecessary to move the battery from the front. Putting a box of acid right behind the rear seats does not sound safe to me. Still, it's your car.

IMHO
Dave

[volospian]

taylormoran wrote:

But the Stag is not a 'sports car'. The Stag is a tourer, not designed for throwing around; it doesn't suit the character of the car.

Ah, right, sorry. So the Stag has to have crap handling because it's a tourer and not a sports car. I see, yes that makes sense.

[DJT]

volospian wrote:

Ah, right, sorry. So the Stag has to have crap handling because it's a tourer and not a sports car. I see, yes that makes sense.

The Stag does not have crap handling if everything is as it should be. The famous 'Stag Twitch' can be cured by proper maintenance of the rear splines and decent bushes. Even high speed touring doesn't involve probing the upper limits of handling. The Stags on Prescott Hill climb a couple of years back gave a good demonstration of handling.
In 18 years (and nearly 60000 miles) I don't think I have ever been close to 'losing it' in the Stag and I certainly don't hang back when going from A to B.

As I have already said; IMHO I believe it unnecessary to shift the battery, but if that is what you want to do, it is your car go ahead.

One final point from me on this topic; about 10 years ago, my car lost a rear wheel at 70mph. This was due to the rear drive shaft taper shearing off through metal fatigue. I have heard of others doing this as well. Do you really want to explore the limits of handling with >30-year-old transmission components?

Dave

[volospian]

taylormoran wrote:

Do you really want to explore the limits of handling with >30-year-old transmission components?

Dave

Erm, no, I'd replace them with new, thanks.

[anthropoidape]

taylormoran wrote:

Do you really want to explore the limits of handling with >30-year-old transmission components?

I am trying to say "no" but deep inside me the answer is yes :)

Anyway, there's no need to fight about it; you'll probably alienate another American!

Just for the record, though, another really great grand tourer, the XJ-S, has its battery in the boot. There's nothing inherently bad about it imho.