Has anything changed in the lightweight battery department?

[The-Traveler]

My 2011 is turning seven in April and I think a new battery will probably be required soon.

I remember reading about the Lithium VoltPhreaks and other batteries which were $1000+. However, they appeared to not be well suited for a car which sits a lot.

I'd love to get the M4 battery but I'm not sure if it can be coded into the E92.

Have there been any new updates on this front since I last checked in 2015?

My goal with this M3 has always been to shave 100 pounds off of the car with a battery, exhaust and personal weight loss.

[roastbeef]

Voltphreaks vph900 has been used flawlessly in several people's cars for a few years now.
I've had mine almost a year, no issues.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

Voltphreaks vph900 has been used flawlessly in several people's cars for a few years now.
I've had mine almost a year, no issues.

This battery seems to be well tested and proven, however, it's several years old by now and I'm sure newer chemistry has come out

[inTgr8r]

I'm going through the same thing, trying to find some reasonable weight reduction with the battery.
I'm still not convicted that lithium are a PnP solution, I've seen too many meltdown situations.
Plus there is no way I'm spending +$1k USD for a battery.

I used a Deka EXT20L that weighs 18 lbs on my Z4MC .
it has worked flawlessly for 3 years now, no DD and always on a trickle charger.
It was $150 CDN

I'd like to do something similar with the M3, but there's more power required cranking over the S65 compared to the S54.
And there's more electronics demand.

....then there's the coding issue.


I haven't gotten into this topic very deep yet, but its definitely on the list.

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by The-Traveler

I'd love to get the M4 battery but I'm not sure if it can be coded into the E92.
.....

Is the M4 battery a light weight solution???
this is new to me, do you have more info?

[EJT86]

actually your car is turning 8

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

Is the M4 battery a light weight solution???
this is new to me, do you have more info?

It's a Lithium-ion battery of some kind but it's still giant. I doubt it's 'lightweight'. And it'll cost $600 for sure

[nrubenstein]

Meh. No interest in non-OE lithium batteries in a car application. They are just too explosive, and you really want one that you at least know someone is standing behind. I'd just find a smaller lead acid battery and make it work.

[The-Traveler]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

It's a Lithium-ion battery of some kind but it's still giant. I doubt it's 'lightweight'. And it'll cost $600 for sure

It’s lithium and 30lbs vs 60+ for ours. Expensive but bolts right in, just not sure about coding it.

[EJT86]

Originally Posted by The-Traveler

My 2011 is turning seven in April and I think a new battery will probably be required soon.

I remember reading about the Lithium VoltPhreaks and other batteries which were $1000+. However, they appeared to not be well suited for a car which sits a lot.

I'd love to get the M4 battery but I'm not sure if it can be coded into the E92.

Have there been any new updates on this front since I last checked in 2015?

My goal with this M3 has always been to shave 100 pounds off of the car with a battery, exhaust and personal weight loss.

if you have an H8 battery you can install a H6 and save yourself about 20lbs. M3s from the factory can with H6, 94r or H8, H8 being the heaviest

[aus]

The Mini battery is suppose to bolt in and about 20 lbs lighter if I remember right.

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

It's a Lithium-ion battery of some kind but it's still giant. I doubt it's 'lightweight'. And it'll cost $600 for sure

It is lightweight. I'd have to dig searching now, but I think the battery alone accounts for a significant percentage of the weight difference between the E90 and F80. EAS weighed it at 30 lbs.

EDIT: Here is the link with the direct comparison. It states: "...uses a different IBS connector and vent tube than the E9X M3, doubt a swap would be suitable for previous M3 models." Footprint of the battery is the same however. It appears the actual difference is 30.9 lbs. I think what was noted in another thread is that this is the single biggest item in the weight difference between E90 and F80.

[Redd]

31 lbs is negligible in the bigger scheme if things.

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by Redd

31 lbs is negligible in the bigger scheme if things.

On its own yes.

Weight reduction is normally a cumulative effort though and a single item at 30 lbs is huge.

[amrazM]

Maybe someone can try out the lithium ion battery from the F8x.

[exVtekGuy]

I wish the battery was lighter. literally threw my back out changing it out yesterday

[The-Traveler]

I'm trying to find a smashed F8x m3/m4 to grab the battery out of it. Hopefully the wrecker has no clue, and if it dies because the coding doesn't match, who cares.

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by The-Traveler

I'm trying to find a smashed F8x m3/m4 to grab the battery out of it. Hopefully the wrecker has no clue, and if it dies because the coding doesn't match, who cares.

You'll need to get the IBS connector setup and vent tube and figure out how to adapt those to the E9x -- it's apparently not a simple plug and play.

[vm]

Originally Posted by CSBM5

You'll need to get the IBS connector setup and vent tube and figure out how to adapt those to the E9x -- it's apparently not a simple plug and play.

There are some big differences in both batteries that would make adaptation difficult. The IBS of the e90 is external to the battery and transmits information via BSD bus (a serial bus) to the DME and also directly to the alternator. The Li ion of the F80 doesn’t have an IBS but a similar system called BUE which is all internal to the battery and transmits information to the DME via LINbus (serial bus too) but doesn’t communicate directly with the alternator.
On paper, As the F80 battery is self contained, if it’s installed in the e90 and the IBS system is left intact it should work but the big question would be how it will behave as time passes with the charging programs designed for lead acid batteries from the IBS.

[-BEASTMW-]

Originally Posted by aus

The Mini battery is suppose to bolt in and about 20 lbs lighter if I remember right.

Yeah, I thought this was a cheap, easy, reliable option, no?

[pbonsalb]

The older Mini battery is probably the cheapest option that will still start the car reliably in warm weather. The Deka ETX20L is lighter and weaker but might work for a while in warm weather and if trickled when parked for more than a day. There is also an older Miata battery that is in between these two.

[Richbot]

There are several users including me who have had a voltphreaks battery for a while with no issues. There is no free lunch here yet. Unless you DIY, build your own battery and battery management circuit, in which case you can probably do it for under $300

My voltphreaks setup including custom shed-engineered home made mount is under 9lb and starts the car reliably below 30 degrees after sitting all day at work ( in the garage at home it’s never below 45). I use a tender for long stretches of down timebut it has sat for more than a week without the tender and starts the same as when I use it the next day.

I would want a battery blanket to warm it if I drove/parked outside in super cold weather often.