Titan Motorsports has officially teamed up with XS Power Batteries. Team Titan will be running XS Power Batteries on both the XTF Scion and the XPS Cobalt. XS Power is a perfect fit for Titan. The weight savings, superior technology, and microprocessor controlled voltage will all help give Titan the extra advantage needed to stay competitive in teh 2010 season in ADRL. All the batteries used in testing have all performed flawlessly and the quality is exactly what was expected from a company like XS Power.

Join us for the ADRL season opener on March 19-20th at Houston Raceway Park. Come see what the XS Powered Titan cars can do. We’ll see you at the races!

[See official press release below]

The Hairston Motorsports and Racing Jerry Bickel Race Cars built 2007 Pro Street GTO with a 377 CID twin turbo Duttweiler GM small block reset the Pro Street national ET and MPH record at the recently completed Pacific Street Car Association season opener at The Strip in Las Vegas. The new records are 6.237 @ 232.35 MPH. In addition to the record setting performance, the team went on to win the event, their 10th Pro Street title……..

Clint “The Milkman” Hairston, the team’s driver, commented that “the low track temperatures created some problems but my brother Jake was able to make the right tune-up calls all weekend. The addition of Doug Stewart and Tom Esbri to our crew has also really helped our program.”

In the winner’s circle team owner, Jim Hairston, again thanked their sponsors (Pertronix, Duttweiler Performance, Precision Turbo, Lucas Oil, XS Power, Powermaster, Racepak, Hoosier Tire, K&N, Crower Clutches, Friction Unlimited, Lenco, Comp Cams, Hogan Manifolds, Strange, Motive Gear, SCE Gaskets, Starside Design, Specialty Fasteners, Russell, Brodix and ARP) for the continued support which make these kinds of performances possible.

The Hairston Team’s next event will be at the Auto Club Raceway in Fontana March 12-14.

The Lr48 represents two years of research and development work focused on designing the perfect battery for Pro Mod drag racing.  Made for total loss systems (those without alternators) the Lr48 is an 8.8Ah lithium ion battery that features full voltage regulation.  It is the ONLY lithium ion racing battery that is regulated and you will see that difference immediately. The data on your acquisition system will show a voltage line that is completely flat.  Many commented during the testing phase of this product that “you can’t even tell when the nitrous comes on” because the voltage holds within 0.1V (up to 150A load.)

You will love how this starts your engine no matter how big it is!  With almost 2 volts more than the Braille B168L at the starter during cranking, you can hear the difference.

Of course, any part used in drag racing has to work in a high vibration environment.  The Lr48 features full semiconductor switches.  No mechanical relays here to shake loose during tire shake.

There is a huge amount of energy density in lithium ion batteries (up to three times more than lead acid) and that energy has to be tightly controlled.  The Lr48 has a full computer built in with many features to keep the Lr48 safe and reliable in the abusive environment of professional drag racing.  Under voltage, over voltage, over current, cell monitoring, and balancing are all built in to the eight channel computer.  The LCD display gives you the information you need to adjust the voltage and know the condition of the battery at all times.

Don’t forget the charger.  The charger is a key to the life and safety of any battery especially a lithium ion.  The XS Power 1007 charger is very sophisticated with full charge acceptance monitoring.  This charger measures the voltage every second and adjusts its charge rate based on the battery’s SOC (state of charge) and acceptance rate.  Being fully automatic, this charger shuts down at the end of cycle and therefore can be left unattended.

In contrast using a simple power supply is asking for trouble.  If the battery is at an extremely low SOC, the power supply will damage the cells by hitting them with full current.  Second, lithium ion batteries are very different from lead acid.  Lead acid batteries should be float charged (maintained) so battery maintainers are common in garages all over.  In contrast, lithium batteries age faster at 100% SOC so therefore they should not be float charged or left on a charger indefinitely.  The charge cycle should stop at 100% SOC.  Simple power supplies do not have the intelligence to do this.

Try the Lr48 for your Pro Mod today.  We are confident you will agree it’s the best battery you’ve ever used!

Our buddies at Wrecked Magazine did a quick write-up showing us how they installed a S680 in their 350Z. Take a look. The 350Z as a whole is coming along quite nicely as well. There are plenty of other write-ups you can check out as well.
Thanks Wrecked Mag. Looking forward to your next issue!

Titan Motorsports will be opening the doors of their new facility in Orlando, FL this year; March 6th. Be sure to pay them a visit.

“The Midtronics CCA value derived from conductance does not, however, determine the actual Cold Cranking Amps of the battery because that test includes a lengthy discharge of 30 seconds at a very high current rate.”

“The Midtronics CCA values are designed simply to mimic the initial starting characteristics of new batteries with a given CCA rating under the same operating conditions.
For example, if a battery that is rated at 600 CCA is measured at 500 CCA, it can be thought of as having similar starting characteristics of a new battery having a rating of 500 CCA if that battery is substituted with the test battery. It does not mean that the battery will pass a Cold Cranking Test at 500 CCA. It should also be remembered that the cranking power of all batteries increases with temperature and decreases with discharge and degradation.”

In talking with one of their engineers at the recent AAPEX show in Las Vegas and going through a demonstration of their product, it was clear that the Midtronics unit is not designed to set the CCA number, only to estimate it given a standard.  You enter the factory rated CCA data into the Midtronics machine and the machine returns a CCA that represents the battery’s state of health.

…………..

Again to quote the Midtronics website:

“The most effective method for the establishment of a standard requires the performance of a timed discharge test to locate a cell or battery that performs to 100% of the rated discharge capacity. A conductance test can then be performed and a reference established. A sample of 30 or more new batteries can also be used to establish a standard. Without a set reference value, conductance testing can still be utilized to trend state of health, as batteries can be monitored through periodic conductance readings and the observation of deterioration over time.”

What is said above corresponds to what is said here by the BCI:

“Ohmic measurements are not a substitute for capacity testing and cannot be used to predict absolute capacity values.” For full text, see bci_ohmicreadings.pdf

For these reasons XS Power does not use conductance testing to rate our batteries.  Instead we use the BCI method of timed high rate discharge and have equipment in house to verify it.  In our opinion, this may explain why many have had disappointing results with Braille batteries as the ratings given from conductance testing on new lead acid batteries will be higher than an actual BCI test.  The real performance of Braille batteries should mirror their Deka equivalents (see www.eastpenn-deka.com .)

If Deka rates the battery at 200CCA one could count on it passing the BCI crank amp test at an independent lab.  Moving that rating to 360 CCA based on conductance test alone is misleading because the buying public assumes you are comparing apples to apples.  You are not.  Buyer beware!

Further the Midtronics machine returns only a CCA, CA (or MCA) estimated rating.  How does  Braille arrive at their Pulse Cranking Amps (PCA) 5 sec @ 80°F, Pulse Cranking Amps (PCA) 10 sec @ 80°F, Pulse Cranking Amps (PCA) 20 sec @ 80°F, and Pulse Cranking Amps (PCA) 30 sec @ 80°F?  The Midtronics machine they claim to use does not provide that information.  The basic lead acid chemistry will not allow for this type of performance from these sizes.  These numbers are not in harmony with the 200CCA/12Ah rating from the manufacturer.  One can only conclude that these numbers are calculated estimates, not measurements.

XS Power sells the highest performance AGM batteries on the market.  They are built with lead-tin technology which is the highest energy density among the AGM chemistries.   When it comes to buying a real racing battery, don’t fall for smoke, mirrors, and decals with inaccurate ratings.  Go with the same battery other winners are using right now, go with XS Power!

The simple answer is because you cannot safely extract energy that fast from any lithium-ion battery on the market today (even if some competitors claim a crank amp rating.)  Sustained high rate discharges from lithium-ion batteries will cause dangerous electrolyte venting and explosive fires.  After such an uncontrolled high rate discharge permanent damage is done to the individual cells.  This is a characteristic of the Lithium-ion cell’s chemistry and has been confirmed with our in-house Firing Circuits battery tester.

Well, will it start my car? Yes!  XS Power Lithium Powerpacks can discharge high currents for short bursts and can easily handle a modern cranking sequence.  For instance, XS Power Lr48 batteries have started large V8 engines with high compression rates and sizes up to 932 cu. in.  In fact each XS Power Lithium battery goes through a complete test regimen that includes high rate discharging, charging, and sustained loads for several cycles before it is shipped.

If you really want to know…

Cranking amp ratings were established by the BCI for lead acid batteries and are defined in the SAE J537 specification.  The procedure was established in 1914 and has been periodically revised since as needed.  A BCI cranking characterization test is a 30 second test that discharges the battery with a fixed amp load until the battery falls to a cutoff voltage, usually 7.2V.  Each cranking amp number specifies a temperature and the temperature is important.  The temperature is not usually listed but can be determined from the suffix.  Typically “CCA” is @ 0°F (although it can be at -20°F) and “CA” (or sometimes “MCA”) is @ 32°F.  Additional ratings have come into play known as “HCA” (@ 80°F) and Odyssey’s “PHCA” (@ 80°F but limited to only 5 seconds.)  The test is to apply a fixed amperage load to the battery and record the voltage drop.  When the voltage declines to a pre-determined cut-off point the test stops, typically 7.2V.  Therefore if a battery is rated at 500 MCA it should be able to deliver 500A at 32°F for more than 30 seconds before dropping to 7.2V.  If it runs more than 30 seconds, it passes the test.  If it fails to go 30 seconds, it fails.

As you can imagine this test stresses everything in the battery, including the internal buss bars, the grids, the plate chemistry, and the electrolyte.  Commonly the battery will be at 75% Depth-of-Discharge or more at the end of this test.  Why is it not at 100% DOD?

Capacity vs. Discharge rate

To fully deplete all the energy from a battery requires a much slower rate of discharge.  The energy must be pulled out over a long period to time typically hours.  This rating is the amp-hours rating and is the fundamental capacity of the battery.  The reserve minutes is another method of expressing the capacity although it is a shorter test and yields a lower capacity number than the amp-hour rating.

Battery chemistries have unique rates of charge and discharge.  Attempting to charge or discharge a battery outside of these rates has detrimental effects some being very serious.  For example, lead acid AGM batteries can stand the high rate discharge of the crank amp test but the battery’s life is reduced.  On the other hand, high rate esp. high voltage charging of lead acid AGM batteries is very harmful.  Lead acid AGM batteries like most others will convert the excess amperage into heat and it is this heat that boils electrolyte, warps plates, and vents acid.

Lithium-ion batteries have different characteristics.  They more forgiving on charge rate and can take a higher rate of charge to a point.   The optimum rate of charge for a lead acid battery is 0.3C (or 0.3 times the amp-hour capacity.)  In contrast lithium-ion batteries can be charged at 1C or even higher.  XS Power Lithium Powerpacks are commonly charged at 1.5C.   To put this in perspective, a 45Ah XS Power AGM battery should be charged at 15A (0.3 x 45Ah = 15A.)  If the same size battery were made from lithium-ion cells you could safely charge it at 45A or even 67.5A (1.5 x 45Ah = 67.5A!)

But what about discharge?  Lithium-ion batteries are less forgiving on high rate discharges than lead-acid.  Maximum discharge rates vary from manufacturer to manufacturer but all are currently under 60C.  For instance given a 60C rate, an 8Ah Lithium-ion pack should be discharged at less than 480A for ten seconds at room temperature.  Thirty second rates are commonly half this or less.  Rates above 60C for thirty seconds or more cause serious problems.  Today, only the best high rate lithium-ion cells can survive delivering all their energy in about 90 seconds.  None can do the 30 seconds required for the BCI test cranking characterization test and therefore a BCI “CCA” or “CA” rating is not possible. Attempting a BCI test designed for lead acid batteries on any lithium-ion battery will destroy it in about 15 seconds.

Discharging any lithium-ion battery too aggressively will cause dangerously high temperatures.  Extreme internal temperature can travel through the cell and heat the electrolyte.  At some point the electrolyte will boil, build pressure, and vent.  When it vents the damage is permanent and the electrolyte is flammable.  It is common for the electrolyte to flame once vented especially if the buss bars connecting the cells are hot.

It is for these reasons that XS Power Lithium Powerpacks have a computer built into every pack.  This computer constantly monitors voltage and temperature and can avert disaster in milliseconds.  Don’t take the step to Lithium-ion in your high performance car with an inferior and dangerous battery.  Choose XS Power for years of safe, trouble-free service!

CCE Hydraulics jumped to a another new world record for the second year claiming the highest hop for a single pump truck. At this point you have to ask yourself, “what in the world are they using to accomplish such an incredible feat?”  And at which point we would point you in the direction of the answer.

Congrats CCE! Love you long time.