Battery Relocation on 2nd Gen

[Slipstream]

Well I spent some time looking under the hood with a friend the other day while we were gutting his EK hatch, and realized there is absolutely no spare room in the stock engine bay, largely due to the air box and battery box. When we popped the trunk to look around for a place to put the battery there didn't seem to be much room, Im going to pull some panels and see if there's any easy places. Was curious if anyone else has already relocated the battery?

[ETERNAL]

Whats the reasons for wanting to relocate it as one of your first mods? Weight distribution?

[Slipstream]

No, just the fact that its in the way of everything, you couldn't even put a strut bar in there because its in the way. Freeing up space inside the engine bay is a big deal to me, I also plan on an FMIC as quickly as possible to eliminate that ugly TMIC, that thing is a serious detriment to the motor.

[Aetherfury]

I don't understand the fail part either? I thought there were a lot of FMIC swaps on here? EDIT: Oh fail on the battery relocation, that makes more sense than the FMIC =)

I wouldn't move the battery though man, I think that is too much work for a bar or room to work, and I think you will still have room for FMIC with it in here. Plus you won't need that bar that early. I think stock handling is pretty wicked, but I would lower it and better tires first before messing with strut/sway bars.

On a different note, please let me know how you like that Turbosmart when you get it! I want to change mine out after my CAI gets installed and I'm curious how it sounds.

[Darksun280]

Well one its a brand new car and two when you move the ecu you INSTANTLY void the warranty on that part no questions asked, no trial no nothing. If you ever have any kind of warranty issue r related or not to ecu or electircal they will blame it on the touched electrical equipment, take pics, void your warranty, and you'll be SOL. Maybe you haven't noticed how expensive OEM parts are on this car but I wouldn't buy this car new have less then 5k miles on it and be looking to do unnecessary changes to oem placement or electrical equipment that can't provoke a void. Battery replacements ain't easy to undo for warranty work.

[Slipstream]

Ahh alright I understand what you mean now, well I appreciate the concern but Im almost a fully ASE certified tech (5 completed tests to date), and my belief is that if I mess something up like that, I should know how to fix it, and if I dont then shame on me and I deserve what happens to me. But as far as pricing goes, my other car is an FD so Im used to expensive repairs. And thanks Aether, you've made me see there is really no immediate use for it so its pretty pointless right now. Think I got a little ahead of myself, its the first new car I've ever owned so Im really not used to thinking like this. Usually by the time I get a car the suspension on it is pretty messed up and Im replacing things left and right. My bad...

[Darksun280]

i mean im all for mods. Your FMIC idea was fine but obviously you haven't tangled with Mazda USA before. I got voided with 5k miles on my car and now i have 42k and have come 7k out of pocket fixing shit that broke on this car. I relocated my ecu after I was voided and they still tried to have a conniption on me when I brought it in cause the car wouldn't start. Ended up being a corroded starter wire but they tried to blame it on the ecu. Learn from other peoples mistakes or some one will end up learning from yours.

[Aetherfury]

Originally Posted by Slipstream Im almost a fully ASE certified tech (5 completed tests to date), and my belief is that if I mess something up like that, I should know how to fix it, and if I dont then shame on me and I deserve what happens to me. But as far as pricing goes, my other car is an FD so Im used to expensive repairs. Usually by the time I get a car the suspension on it is pretty messed up and Im replacing things left and right. My bad...

Dude if you know how to work on a 3rd gen rex you are the man =)

I'm the same way you are about stuff, I pretty much spend a ton of time browsing online for upgrades and I only have 2,000 miles on my car =) I'm used to having to replace a lot of stuff for suspension too.

I wish I could work on my own car. I suck horrifically at even the most basic of upgrades. My idea of a HUGE upgrade is trying to put HIDs in my car this weekend which is like a 10 minute upgrade for most people. =) I'm gifted with computers not with motors heh.

[Slipstream]

Haha well I have to say learning to work on the 13B-REW was an interesting experience...it took a long time to figure things out, and a lot of time spent scanning the rx7club forums for any help I could get. But good luck with the HID's this weekend I want some real bad but Im holding off on cosmetics right now Pics please when you do it! And I'll definitely let you know about the BPV.

[Cambelious]

Originally Posted by Slipstream Haha well I have to say learning to work on the 13B-REW was an interesting experience...it took a long time to figure things out, and a lot of time spent scanning the rx7club forums for any help I could get. But good luck with the HID's this weekend I want some real bad but Im holding off on cosmetics right now Pics please when you do it! And I'll definitely let you know about the BPV.

(from your sig) when are you planning on dyno'ing your car with no mods?

[Slipstream]

240maz...Paint change on a new car is fail now? Hop off the band-wagon thanks...My personal preference doesn't have to make you happy..keep it to yourself next time please...

And Cambelious, I just found out I'll have some free time friday afternoon so Im hoping I might be able to squeeze in then. But I'll call the shop in the morning to make a definite appointment and let you know.

[atenza_freak]

I am relocating my battery to me trunk this weekend buti have 23000 miles on my ms6. And i want to have that space open for something else in future. I dont see how i would have to move my ecu?? maybe the 2010 MS3's you have to. But if you saw my previous post's I do stupid things to my car so I guess im no help.

[thanox2]

You mentioned a strut bar... My 08 has one already there. Why would you want another one? Nobody makes an aftermarket strut for the speed3 as far as I know. You mention more space and shit for other parts. I know you said you were dumping the idea... but I still want to say that you should wait a little bit for the shit load of aftermarket parts that might be coming to the new speed3.

You say you are ASE cert. you should have some common knowledge on this shit. just giving you a hard time


And Atenza, relocating the battery makes sense on the speed6 since its AWD. Better weight dist. But why relocate it when you can just get a light weight battery tray that they already sell for your vehicle. I wish you were local. I would spend alot of time being your parts advisor and wingman.

[Slipstream]

Ok..for me..buying the car was not about it being new, it was about being able to work on this specific platform. And all I meant by saying you couldn't fit a strut bar, is that there is so much plastic stuff in there it WOULD get in the way if you wanted to. I didn't say I was, sorry for the confusion. And the shitload of aftermarket parts most likely wont vary much from whats already out for the 1st Gen.

10 years from now you'll see this car in hundreds of different variations, paint and mod wise. And Im wrong for what, wanting to paint my car a color I like? I already admitted I got ahead of myself on the battery relocation, because I dont really have anything to do with the open space yet. However in 5 years there'll be plenty of people with the battery moved and it wont be a fail all of a sudden? Warranty seems to be a driving factor in when people move it...

[Darksun280]

Originally Posted by atenza_freak I am relocating my battery to me trunk this weekend buti have 23000 miles on my ms6. And i want to have that space open for something else in future. I dont see how i would have to move my ecu?? maybe the 2010 MS3's you have to. But if you saw my previous post's I do stupid things to my car so I guess im no help.

Ms3's have the ecu attached to the battery box. Ms6's the ecu is in the firewall or dash.

[Aetherfury]

Originally Posted by ZoomByU alot of this is fail because you are paying double for paint. sounds to me like you should stick to building old cars. its like wanting to immediately stick a new motor into a cobra with only 1000 miles on it. thats half the reason people buy the cars. might as well buy a gt or v6 and save yourself some money. little off topic with type car but point given.

Seriously... Some of us wouldn't paint a new car (myself included), but if you have the money to do it and you really want to, why not? It's his car. I personally have to stay mostly stock and I don't have the money to be messing with my warranty or things like that.

I have seen all sorts of cars with amazing paint jobs that I wouldn't think to paint. There is a Scion Tc that runs around my area that is some insane shade of orange but it actually looks really cool and it's different. Would I spend $5k on a paint job for a $18k car or whatever they cost? Hell no, but I'm not going to knock the dude for being unique.

I think constructive responses are more helpful on here like: "drive it through the winter and make sure you still want to paint it going into summer" or "remember that will be pretty damaging for resale, so if you are planning on selling it in the next few years I would hold off"

Personally I wouldn't do it because I think the silver on your speed3 is killer and like I said, I think you would really take a bath on resale if you painted the whole thing (remember you would need to do engine bay too)

Originally Posted by Darksun280 Ms3's have the ecu attached to the battery box. Ms6's the ecu is in the firewall or dash.

Holy cow... no wonder it's a bad idea for battery move on MS3 =) You are correct on the warranty voiding for anything ECU related. Dealerships will overlook even major changes, but as soon as you leave a FINGERPRINT on your ECU all of a sudden everything is your fault.

[shook02]

Originally Posted by Slipstream Ok..for me..buying the car was not about it being new, it was about being able to work on this specific platform. And all I meant by saying you couldn't fit a strut bar, is that there is so much plastic stuff in there it WOULD get in the way if you wanted to. I didn't say I was, sorry for the confusion. And the shitload of aftermarket parts most likely wont vary much from whats already out for the 1st Gen. 10 years from now you'll see this car in hundreds of different variations, paint and mod wise. And Im wrong for what, wanting to paint my car a color I like? I already admitted I got ahead of myself on the battery relocation, because I dont really have anything to do with the open space yet. However in 5 years there'll be plenty of people with the battery moved and it wont be a fail all of a sudden? Warranty seems to be a driving factor in when people move it...

sorry to ruin the conversation but AEM makes a CAI for the 2010's????? i havent found any CAI that will fit

[Darksun280]

Originally Posted by Slipstream Warranty seems to be a driving factor in when people move it...

Yup. not having a warranty on my Chevy cobalt ss/sc was no bigguie parts where dirt cheap even for a new car. complete motors for 500-1500 alt , starters $150, brakes 30 bucks. But this Jap piece of a car the parts are CRAZY expensive especially for a low to mid 20G priced car. crate motors are listed as 7k on this car thats nuts. Granted an M5 motor is 20K for a crate but you get where im going with this. I used to hate on VW's cause I said once you run out of warranty you can't afford to fix em but looks like jokes on me cause these mazdas are the same way.

[Aetherfury]

Originally Posted by shook02 sorry to ruin the conversation but AEM makes a CAI for the 2010's????? i havent found any CAI that will fit

CP-E's fits mazdaSPEED3 Gen2 Xcel™ Intake

And they are in stock and they shipped it to me super fast.

[shook02]

lol god damnit....just put my sri on....

[phantom3]

I don't think it's fail. I think that there are a lot of back yard mechanics on here that think they know more than they do, and that is why we see so much fail.

A battery relocation is easy to do/undo, and once I'm back on my feet I will be doing it as well. there are plenty of places in the trunk area you can hid a sealed half battery.

And as for the ECU, I've seen some pics of one relocated to the windshield cowl area. Before anyone freaks out, the ECU is a sealed unit and it was raised up off of the panel.

I say go for it. Do a complete write up with pics and chances are the haters will eventually do the same mod.

As for the paint, it's your car. If you want to paint it, go nuts. It's your car.

I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

[Aetherfury]

Originally Posted by shook02 lol god damnit....just put my sri on....

SRI and CAI will be almost identical, plus you saved $100 =)

[Darksun280]

Originally Posted by phantom3 I don't think it's fail. I think that there are a lot of back yard mechanics on here that think they know more than they do, and that is why we see so much fail. A battery relocation is easy to do/undo, and once I'm back on my feet I will be doing it as well. there are plenty of places in the trunk area you can hid a sealed half battery. And as for the ECU, I've seen some pics of one relocated to the windshield cowl area. Before anyone freaks out, the ECU is a sealed unit and it was raised up off of the panel. I say go for it. Do a complete write up with pics and chances are the haters will eventually do the same mod. As for the paint, it's your car. If you want to paint it, go nuts. It's your car. I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

Cut that nonsense out encouraging a guy who JUST bought his car to do an unessecary mod that is 100% guaranteed to void his 8 year/100k mile warranty on a 1500 dollar piece of equipment and possibility to get a W8 or W1 void from mazda is not a helpful thing to do. The ecu is a federal emissions piece and when I tell you mazda does not fuck around when thats tampered with you'll find out first hand. I got bump from a W1 void one year after the fact to a W8 off road vehicle void cause of just that. What mod is there out right now that needs the battery and ecu relocated? I did that when I put a 4inch inlet with big maf on my car with my big turbo. The OP isn't doing that. Your calling us back yard mechanics but what exactly have you done with your Mazda that you know so much? intake? catback? What the fuck do you know or have been through where your opinion on the matter means a damn?

O.P injoy your new car and mod it as you see fit but if you want to save your self an unessecary headache don't relo the battery till you have more miles on your car and your fully prepared for any backlash you may get from mazda from it. Its not the battery relo I care about but when you move the battery your forced to move the ECU and THAT's where my issue with your project lies.

[SSinstaller]

All of this fail shit, and talk about warranty's getting voided is completely pointless. Do what you want, mod with quality parts, and have a good relationship with your local dealer and you won't have issues. If something you did breaks something be honest and don't try and get it covered by the warranty... Don't try and scam the dealer and they'll let you slide more often than not..

I have never once had an issue with my dealer blaming a MOD for a problem I had(even when it might have been justified).. They're even replacing my busted drive shaft after the tech, and the service manager saw that I have a built motor, GT35, and an upgraded clutch and flywheel..

[phantom3]

Originally Posted by Darksun280 Cut that nonsense out encouraging a guy who JUST bought his car to do an unessecary mod that is 100% guaranteed to void his 8 year/100k mile warranty on a 1500 dollar piece of equipment and possibility to get a W8 or W1 void from mazda is not a helpful thing to do. The ecu is a federal emissions piece and when I tell you mazda does not fuck around when thats tampered with you'll find out first hand. I got bump from a W1 void one year after the fact to a W8 off road vehicle void cause of just that. What mod is there out right now that needs the battery and ecu relocated? I did that when I put a 4inch inlet with big maf on my car with my big turbo. The OP isn't doing that. Your calling us back yard mechanics but what exactly have you done with your Mazda that you know so much? intake? catback? What the fuck do you know or have been through where your opinion on the matter means a damn? O.P injoy your new car and mod it as you see fit but if you want to save your self an unessecary headache don't relo the battery till you have more miles on your car and your fully prepared for any backlash you may get from mazda from it. Its not the battery relo I care about but when you move the battery your forced to move the ECU and THAT's where my issue with your project lies.

If he wants to do if, let him... My bet is he won't blow his engine up...

[Darksun280]

Originally Posted by SSinstaller All of this fail shit, and talk about warranty's getting voided is completely pointless. Do what you want, mod with quality parts, and have a good relationship with your local dealer and you won't have issues. I have never once had an issue with my dealer blaming a MOD for a problem I had(even when it might have been justified).. They're even replacing my busted drive shaft after the tech, and the service manager saw that I have a built motor, GT35, and an upgraded clutch and flywheel..

Yeah I pulled into my regular dealer with my car big turbo and they didn't give a shit. I broke down away from home and got towed to the nearest dealer cause mine was over 28 miles away and they did cart wheels cause of my mods. You don't plan for the best case senerio you plan for the worse. thats twice I got hit breaking down away from my original dealer. O.P just bought his car what fucking need is there for him to play with fire relocating his battery.

O.P out of everyone posting in this thread I'm the only one who has

Been voided at less then 5k miles
relocated the ecu and went into a non friendly dealer
been bumped up from a power train void to an off road vehicle void.

When I tell you this shit can happen listen to me. It ain't all scented candles and rose like they make it seem. And if you happen to be that unlucky guy who doesn't get away with it you'll kick yourself.
As many guys that get away with modding the car and moving stuff around there is an equal number who get burned by it.

Originally Posted by phantom3 If he wants to do if, let him... My bet is he won't his car up...

Won't what? edit your post so I know what your trying to say...

[atenza_freak]

Originally Posted by thanox2 You mentioned a strut bar... My 08 has one already there. Why would you want another one? Nobody makes an aftermarket strut for the speed3 as far as I know. You mention more space and shit for other parts. I know you said you were dumping the idea... but I still want to say that you should wait a little bit for the shit load of aftermarket parts that might be coming to the new speed3. You say you are ASE cert. you should have some common knowledge on this shit. just giving you a hard time And Atenza, relocating the battery makes sense on the speed6 since its AWD. Better weight dist. But why relocate it when you can just get a light weight battery tray that they already sell for your vehicle. I wish you were local. I would spend alot of time being your parts advisor and wingman.

I wish i had a Mazdaspeed anything around here lol.

[socks]

first of all, some of you need to take a freakin pill. theres plenty of people who paint brand new cars...

some people dont buy a new car for the warranty. think about it. 2010 is the only year you can get an ms3 like that one. to some people thats more important.

for instance, an 09 dodge ram:


OP, i relocated my battery, heres a pic:


I used a Summit Racing Premium Battery relocation kit. Its sitting in the trunk, its mounted to the false floor. I grounded the battery back there to a seat bolt.

I used a Knukonceptz.com 2/0gauge KMLX Kable instead of the one provided by summit. I also used a Fused 2way distrobution block to attach the 2 stock power wires to the new summit kit. the part number for that is KNF-12.

If you have any other questions, just ask here or PM me.

people are so quick to throw in their two cents lately rather than just answer the effin questions. ok, the warranty is gonna be gone. good for him to know. He doesnt care, move on, dont call him an idiot or cry fail.

[Slipstream]

First off thanks for the responses, and Darksun I definitely understand what you're saying, and I said earlier I have no real reason to move it yet...I'll probably wait until I decide to upgrade the turbo or something...This is why I posted this because I was hoping some people who had been through many of the possible situations before would share their experiences. Sounds like yours was pretty up and down...

And Socks I will definitely PM you when it comes time for me to relocate...

[Darksun280]

Originally Posted by Slipstream First off thanks for the responses, and Darksun I definitely understand what you're saying, and I said earlier I have no real reason to move it yet...I'll probably wait until I decide to upgrade the turbo or something...This is why I posted this because I was hoping some people who had been through many of the possible situations before would share their experiences. Sounds like yours was pretty up and down... And Socks I will definitely PM you when it comes time for me to relocate...

Cool I hear ya. Just wanted you to know inadvertently moving the harmless battery to the rear pulls the pin on a grenade aka ECU and you wouldn't even think it. this is my first car where the ECU was attached to the battery box so I though moving it around was harmless too. Apparently Mazda has a dildo lubed up waiting for guys like me who think that.

[Slipstream]

Hahah and guys like me had it not been for your warning, I didn't know it would happen like that..Like I said definitely cant thank you enough for the heads up. It'd be one thing to void the warranty if I was already dropping a bunch of parts in but it makes no sense to void it just because I may or may not do a big turbo set up in the future..

[Creatve]

If I get a FMIC for my '10 speed3, would I need to close off the hood scoop or would there be any reason for having a hood scoop other than having water fall on top of my engine?

[socks]

i left mine, thats an 07 though.

Thats what left the black marks on the FMIC turbo outlet pipe.

[atenza_freak]

I was looking at the summit relocation kit. I will be relocating this weekend and ill post some pics.

[Buildabong]

mines under my driver seat ftw

[atenza_freak]

Originally Posted by Buildabong mines under my driver seat ftw

I want pics of that one.

[Buildabong]

U couldn't handle the pics!! Under the seat but who said it's connected? Mwuahahaha
no but once my build is done it's going in the trunk where my spare is or where it was

[atenza_freak]

Haha right... I wonder if i can use the stock battery tray as my tray in the back and go buy some cheap battery tie downs from autozone, would it hold down well enough.

[socks]

Probably, but that wouild be gangster, and you wouldnt pass ANY track's tech inspection.

[Slipstream]

Hahaha imagine being the inspector on that one.."Uhh...whats that?"