So, I’m sure this has been done a thousand times before but I just wanted to share my project. Having gotten the cable from the engine bay to the boot area already, removing the rear seats and associated accessories. I had a bit of a head scratcher as how to securely fix the Battery in a logical way... not wanting to damage the fibre/plastic wheel well tub with drilled holes as I have seen elsewhere. I decided on making a bracket... bought some 3mm alu sheet and cut down to a strip of 150mm. I wanted to utilise the fixing screw for the spare wheel within the bracket to provide optimum strength. A lot of project Binky (if you haven’t followed that on YouTube the I suggest you go and watch the very in depth mini/gt four conversion they have building over the last few years) inspired me to make a nice bracket and plenty of CAD (wink). Phase one complete - hand bent on an old carpenters vice and dead blow hammer, rivnuts and M5 fasteners used. Every part that contacts the body will be insulated with foam padding to stop any squeaks/rattles. The battery tray will attach to this bracket, three M5 fasteners will be attached to the top of the bracket to connect to the body. I’d love to drill some holes and swage the edges to “add lightness” to the design, but for a first attempt I’m pretty happy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nice fabrication skills. If you have the standard battery are you drilling the wheel well for the battery vent tube?
Nice fab, amazing what you can create with basic tooling Are you using a standard battery or a lightweight ? if using a standard have you thought about a battery box to enclose it ? please tell me you will be using a mega fuse close to the battery
Morning, Thanks man - yeah I’ll be drilling the small hole for the vent tube... as for the moment I’m using the standard battery. My Logic would tell me a lower position to drain any leaks, but I’m not sure yet. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks Paul, really appreciate you kind words! Standard battery at the moment - I’ll be using a mega fuse for the interconnect battery cable and then building a small fuse box in the engine bay to house everything nicely. Plan for the engine bay is to have a heat shield which houses the ECU and all the electrical connections and build an intake housing for a nice ITG cone filter. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
No one has put a light lithium battery yet? I believe that the sense of displacement with a smaller super light battery is lost. Otherwise I like how the relocation was done.
I’m not sure I’m keen on the idea of a lithium battery for a road car, the charging the standard alternator would give could cause some issues, I think. Although, I’d love to hear if people are running them in ‘fast road’ cars. Thanks man, the main reason for the move was to get the weight off the front axle and give some space in the engine bay. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Update: she’s in and snug - will do a shakedown test to make sure all is well. Mega fuse holder broke so I’ve ordered another Renault battery terminal which has the fuse holders in. Put the positive cable in ducting to protect as much as possible. Battery vent/drain installed. Was worried pushing the start engine button - ‘please be kind frenchie’ - started up a charm. I must’ve done something right! 80% happy with it, which is a win in my book. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Cheers Paul, yeah it’s high priority to get the fuse sorted - was gutted the enclosure broke. I love your setup - quite a commitment I’m sure. These mods always take a lot of time. I’d imagine your Meg is a track monster, is it still road legal? Or too hardcore for road driving? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Road legal, bought it built but have spent 6 months making a good car better (haven't driven it in anger yet) hopefully it'll be out on a few trackdays in the near future and my son will do a couple of rounds of Timeattack in it. Bit more info here - https://m.facebook.com/DrivewayMotorsport.Project3
Wow that’s a nice feed! We always have to make our cars ‘ours’ and always nice to be part of a good car community. I’d spent too long in VAG cars, nice to be back in a renaultsport. I see you too had a 200 before, I miss mine! That high revving 2.0ltr is hard to beat. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Phase 2 of the project now underway - with the battery gone from the engine bay this has allowed me to make a nice heat shield for a custom airbox / ECU housing. I will install all the ECU and mega fuse box on the floor of this new unit, then add a cover for those items to keep them out of the elements. I must remember to include some drain holes... Hopefully it won’t sound too crazy! I’ve really enjoyed it so far. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Very impressive work going on here, only thing I’d be inclined to mount ECU as high as possible on the sides as have seen moments when hitting deep water it can come up to top gearbox and scary close to generic battery box, up higher would also keep it away from any lingering damp at bottom of container plus engine bay heat natural rises so upper section of bay would be warmer than lower part keeping moisture out ECU
Now that is some very helpful advice! Thanks Bobsan - I was hoping to avoid having to extend any cables from The ECU (which is why I’d chosen the lower point) but for the safety of the ECU I’ll take it high... I could even make a roof for the shield and mount it on top. You the man [emoji1360] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Happy to help and we look forward to the finished item, could even start small production as recon few might want same
Ah thanks for your kind words guys - it means a lot! The templating is the part that takes the time so now I’ve got a template - there’s a couple of things I’d do differently (like invest in a small sheet metal bender!) but overall it’s going well. Nothing like having a project to work on eh!? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So the day started as most do... lying in bed thinking about what a nobhead I’ve been... yesterday I built a little bracket for the sensor to sit on that’s mounted to the battery box. I had planned on mounting it to the top flange, and then it dawned on me (before dawn) that of course this would then be to high and half way through the bonnet. So some creative reworking of the piece led me to mount it the same highest and location as the battery box point. Secured with pop rivets and insulated with some foam double sided tape to stop any rattles. Have a look at that monster ITG cone! OD 83mm - I’d inherited this from a friend - from his polo GTI, 1.8t on stage 1 with 276bhp, the top end of the engine range that this filter freed up was something I’ve been craving for a while. Just waiting for the silicone hoses and elbow before I can do the final fit and test. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So a little update, work has been extreme recently and have not had much chance to work on the Meg. But finally I’ve got the filter/heat shield in! It’s the first fit, so I’m going to be fettling the setup - plan on having the ECU in its own compartment but want to see how I get on with space so far. The new Fuse box is mounted to the side of the heat shield too, it was a bit of a pain but managed to keep most of the original crimped ends. Annoyingly the heat shrink did not want to play ball... will readdress this on the 2nd fit along with wrinkle paint and heat tape on the external walls of the heat shield. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
