[Mr. 5]

I had the lightweight battery in the past but gave it up for some other mods at the time.
Recently, I've thought that it really is that important to have.
There's only so much I can do with power and I'm definitely not going to go with nitrous (like some ohers are doing).
So, I think that the best thing I can do now is to lighten up the car.

The stock battery is 52 pounds and the Braille 17 lb battery with the Macht Schnell kit is 19 pounds making the weight savings of 33 pounds.
If you have Navigation or any aftermarket amplifiers, Braille recommends that you go with a 21 pound battery.

The first picture is of the battery and holder.
You can see how small the battery is and with the 2nd and 3rd picture you can see the how the Macht Schnell kit keeps the battery in place.

I'm seriously thinking of a good lightweight hood to help with the weight savings in the front.
For those who are going to the track and strip often, this is the easiest and least expensive way to save weight!

[jbass524]

Mr. 5, what does the upgrade cost and is the lifespan as long as a stock unit?

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by jbass524

Mr. 5, what does the upgrade cost and is the lifespan as long as a stock unit?

If used regularly, I'll bet that this battery has a pretty long life span.
I don't have any proof yet but I'll tell you in a couple years.
Braille Auto has a replacement warranty for the first year and then a prorated warranty for the second year.
You can read up on it here:
http://www.braillebattery.com/index....teries/b2317/#

[swartzentruber]

As a counterpoint, there are a number of R32 owners that are track regulars that have reported unhappiness with Braille batteries, and that have returned to stock/OEM. You can probably search the R32 threads on vwvortex. Just due to how much smaller the battery is, I think the lifespan for them was reportedly much reduced (maybe 1-2 years vs ~5 for OEM), and easy to run down to dead. My impression (from discussions there) is this battery's ideal use is with a track-only car used with a trickle charger, and they are less than ideal for a daily driver. Hope your experience is better Mr 5, but just reporting what I've seen. At one time they were a pretty popular mod with the track crowd there, but there popularity plummetted after people got a few years on them.

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by swartzentruber

As a counterpoint, there are a number of R32 owners that are track regulars that have reported unhappiness with Braille batteries, and that have returned to stock/OEM. You can probably search the R32 threads on vwvortex. Just due to how much smaller the battery is, I think the lifespan for them was reportedly much reduced (maybe 1-2 years vs ~5 for OEM), and easy to run down to dead. My impression (from discussions there) is this battery's ideal use is with a track-only car used with a trickle charger, and they are less than ideal for a daily driver. Hope your experience is better Mr 5, but just reporting what I've seen. At one time they were a pretty popular mod with the track crowd there, but there popularity plummetted after people got a few years on them.

Thanks for your input, but I'm curious with what size battery they used.
It would make complete sense if they used too lightweight of a battery.

For example, Hotrod182 has navigation and went with a 15 pound battery.
He is getting codes and sometimes can't get his car started after listening to his radio for a couple minutes.
A 15 pound battery is ridiculous for our cars that have so many accessories.
The only thing that I have is the sport package so I'm good.
This is why I am using the 17 pound battery.
There is enough cranking amps with the 17 pound battery for cars with no NAV.

When going lightweight, it's easy to think of getting the lightest battery out there, but it's very important to get a battery that is also compatible with your car.

[swartzentruber]

I don't recall what sizes they are using, and it's possible they were using too small of one. I think some did switch to slightly larger batteries, but of course if you need to go too much larger the weight savings might not be worth it.

I guess my comment was mainly to let people know to go into these types of batteries with eyes open, and the weight savings don't come for free. I guess you can be the BMW guinea pig. It definitely is one of the cheaper weight savings, and depending on how you use the car, might be quite suitable.

[longodj]

Good choice man. I've got the HP Autowerks Braille B2015 kit. I've got the same issues Hotrod has...codes....dead batteries. But, at the track, which is why I got it, it works like a charm I just carry around a starter.....which defeats the purpose....oh well!

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by longodj

Good choice man. I've got the HP Autowerks Braille B2015 kit. I've got the same issues Hotrod has...codes....dead batteries. But, at the track, which is why I got it, it works like a charm I just carry around a starter.....which defeats the purpose....oh well!

Yah, the 15 pound battery is definitely a no no with our cars.
Here is a comparison chart that I made.

[longodj]

Anyone know what kind of cranking amps our cars actually require?

[swartzentruber]

Originally Posted by longodj

Anyone know what kind of cranking amps our cars actually require?

The answer to that question depends a lot on temperature. The colder it is, the more you need. If you are never starting in cold temps, the amount you need is likely much less.

[aus]

The Mini battery is another intermediate option and no bracket needed.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=321965

More info here: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...07#post6011507

.

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by aus

The Mini battery is another intermediate option and no bracket needed.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=321965

More info here: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...07#post6011507

.

True. If you don't want to save as much weight then that's great.
I saw the comment about him saying that his car wouldn't start if he didn't drive it for a day but he had the 15 pound battery installed.
If you have a super charged M3 with Nav then what do you expect?

[marcel b]

I had very good experience with a Braille B2015 in my BMW Z4M. I had Nav pro and hifi pro, but never had any issues in the 9 months I had it. I always made sure that I avoided short distances, and that when I drove a short distance, I would not have airco, nav, radio and backwindow heating on :-)
One I tried to start and shut down the car like 10 times in a row... no problem. Here in Switzerland it gets quite cold. (snow / freezing temps) Also during winter I never had in issue, also not after the car had been parked for a week in a open garage. I never needed to jumpstart my car once.

Of course the 335i has some more power consumers on board, but if you use your brain then this should be no problem. I am thinking to go with the B2317 or B2618. However as the car is already not that light and I do not want to start stripping (which I did with my Z4M) I am not sure it makes really sense. As part of lightning the car, it is a huge (and cheap) weight saver, but only doing this I think I will not notice it. Let's see.

[aus]

Mr.5, do you have comfort access? I would think that would be a constant draw on the battery. Maybe that's why some do fine with a lightweight battery and other's have to change it out.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by aus

Mr.5, do you have comfort access? I would think that would be a constant draw on the battery. Maybe that's why some do fine with a lightweight battery and other's have to change it out.

CA/iDrive-equipped vehicles should be using a 21lb due to the power demands.

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by aus

Mr.5, do you have comfort access? I would think that would be a constant draw on the battery. Maybe that's why some do fine with a lightweight battery and other's have to change it out.

I don't. If I did I would have gone with the 21 pounder.