- The GM engineers allocated space for a starter battery in the trunk, but it remained in the engine bay until the release of the C6 Z06. I decided to replicate the setup as it improves the corner weight balance by shifting weight to the rear right wheel, which is the lightest corner of a stock C5.
- For the power cable, I used a heavy gauge 50 mm2/1 AWG multi stranded copper cable cable and press fit terminals. The heavy gauge is necessary to reduce the voltage drop caused by the long stretch and the high current required by the starter motor.
- The ground cable is connected to the chassis, which is available in short distance from the battery inside the right wheel well.
- I installed a 350A automatic fuse next to the battery. The power cable is then routed forward above the right wheel well and then follows the existing wiring in the door sill to the front.
With a battery in the passenger cabin it important to use a battery which does not emit harmful gases, so I used a sealed SMF battery. I also added a battery cover for additional safety, and used ethafoam as a gasket as it has air tight closed cells.
"SMF - Sealed Maintenance Free battery are sealed completely because there is no need to add water. The electrolyte used is in the form of gel which fills the cavity of plates. Just like other batteries, it also emit H2 and O2 gases and due to sealed batteries both these gases combine to form water."
In the engine bay, I used a plexiglass plate mounted to the battery tray as an insulator and to join the power cables. I left the stock wiring intact by joining the new battery cable and the old battery cable with a bolt going through the ring terminals and the plexiglass plate. This ensures that I have a way to go back to the stock setup and battery location if needed.
The stock ground cables leaves a lot to be desired, so I added 3 additional 1 AWG ground cables
- Engine to chassis
- Engine to stock wiring harness
- Engine to a new terminal/post on the plexiglass plate