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Braille B3121 No-Weight Racing Battery

11K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  Spyder1gdsm 
#1 ·
Sup guys, I purchased a Braille 3121 battery 2 days ago, as I had long been using (see: shoving) an oversize battery since I installed my Magnus some time ago. Well I weighed my options as far as another battery source, and decided that I did not want to relocate my battery to the hatch. I figure cars that see street use often should not have a portion of their hatch compromised by an Optima or other huge ass battery.

So I began to look at different brands, to find something small enough to fit in the limited space left by the UICP. I considered the Odyssey PC680, but couldn't bring myself to trust a battery that small in all conditions. I looked at Hawker, Deka, the 51R series Optima, Kinetix, and finally Braille.

I obviously went with the Braille, as it offered twice the cold cranking amps at 0° F, then the PC680 or similarly sized rebadges. This battery offers 1380 cranking amps for the first five seconds, and over 1100 for 10 seconds, so on and so forth. It totally outclasses my old standard wet cell battery, despite it's small size. I searched extensively for reviews from people on various forums, and the consensus was that they all loved this battery. So I dropped the hammer. Let me say, this battery is light! You can place this battery wherever you need it with one hand. It is also compact, but not pocket sized like the PC680. It actually has the power the rival the Optima Red Top, despite it's size. It offers 75 minutes of reserve (15 mins less the the Red Top) and a 31 amp hour capacity. It offers 200 more pulse crank amps than the Red Top, and for it's size is quite the powerhouse. Finally, it is SMIM friendly, and comes with brass automotive terminals as well. Overall I am very satisfied with it.


Voltage:
12 Volts

Full Charge Voltage:
13.8 Volts

Short Circuit Current (Max Cranking Amps):
3000 est.

Pulse Cranking Amps (PCA) 5 sec @ 80F:
1380

Pulse Cranking Amps (PCA) 10 sec @ 80F:
1207

Pulse Cranking Amps 20 sec @ 80F:
1066

Cranking Amps 30 sec @ 80F:
892

Cranking Amps 30 sec @ 32F:
742

Cold Cranking Amps 30 sec @ 0F:
550

Reserve Capacity:
1hr 15mins

Capacity (C/20 rate):
31 amp hr

Internal Resistance:
4.0 milliohms (.004 ohms)

Life Cycle @ 10% DOD:
3100 cycles est.


Now for some pics.

Spec comparison:

Wet Cell:

Braille 3121:


Size comparison:




[


Installed with Magnus and UICP, no modification needed:

 
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#4 ·
Hmm, thats wusup man, now relocate it to the trunk. I have been wanting one of these to drop some more weight, my rides at 2800lbs w/ me in it give or take 10 lbs, and my goal was getting down to 2750 w/ driver, but this battery is a bit expensive so might have to settle for a little honda battery.
 
#6 ·
I have had one of those in my hands at the PRI show in Orlando last year and OMG those things are light but pricey, worth the price though.
 
#7 ·
Well, it's really not that expensive in comparison to other dry cell batteries. I thought about the Odyssey PC680, but decided it would be too fragile for me. I need something that I don't have to worry about discharging or cold temps. What turned me off was that the PC680 basically has to be driven everyday to stay reliable and forum reviewers stating that it feels like it struggles in 30ish degree weather. So far I will say this, my car has never started as quickly as it does with this battery. My car is on as soon a push my push-button, it really does pack some power. Its going to get a good work out on my car, as its getting cold and I don't plan on driving it but maybe twice a week.

They do make less expensive variants, and their PC680 sized battery has 472 CCA at 0, and 1162 PCA, 752 CA and 26 hour reserve. Compare that to the Odyssey's 225 CCA, 680 PCA, 17 amp hour reserve. The Braille is 10 dollars more, MSRP, but clearly outclasses the PC680, even in a package that's just as small. That battery would be the 2618.
 
#8 ·
Just wanted to update you guys, still going strong with the 3121, very satisfied. My car even sat over 2 months from me not driving it due to illness, and it still cranked my car fine. I was damn impressed by that. This was around December and with temps around 40 degrees F.
 
#9 ·
Why do so few people have their batteries tied down?
 
#11 ·
The battery does need a tie down, but it's not currently being driven. I'll have to see what I can come up with, though I'm no fabricator. I'm very well aware of it moving about, but if you think I'll let a 186 dollar battery be screwed from grounding out, you're crazy. I'll come up with something before the car sees use this summer.
 
#13 ·
Reviving this old thread. I am curious if this battery is small enough to be mounted on the sub-frame like the JMF small battery kit and has anyone done it? I've been reading a lot and contemplating the battery relocation but I don't think that is the route for me. I'm looking for a high power small battery that doesn't require sitting on a tickle charger if your car will be parked for a week.

As for the trunk relocation methods, I have been seeing a lot of people with starting, charging, accessory issues. Mainly stating that this is because the long power wire required to reach the trunk and vise versa. My car is a DD with an amp powering my component speakers.
 
#14 ·
Bump. I just grabbed this to replace my PC680 and am planning to keep it mounted on the cross member as well. Does anybody know of a 1g mounting kit that arleady fits this? If not I'll need to make a bracket like I did for the last battery. I'd just like to see what options are out there first. I don't think the JMF kits will work correctly since this size is off from the PC925 version.
 
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