The XP-10 also comes with a 3-in-1 USB cable with a standard Micro, C, and Apple Lightning connector. One of the two USB ports is a quick charge port, supporting faster charging for certain devices (although it is not the Qualcomm-chip fast charge).
I went into my closet and closed the door, turned the lights out, and turned on the flashlight. The flashlight is more than capable of helping you find your way or helping you find that thing you dropped into that place you didn’t want it to go after you made sure to strongly remind yourself not to drop the thing in the first place.
That’s convenient because I needed to use it.
Remember how I said the Soarer does most of its time sitting? Normally I’m good about rotating a battery charger over all my cars when they sit. Somehow this one got out of the rotation. Ironically, this car has an Antigravity Batteries Battery Tracker on it. I say ironically because I don’t have the app installed on my phone, so the Battery Tracker couldn’t let me know that the battery was nearing death, even if it wanted to. The poor tracker is just pinging its little Bluetooth away, hoping to let someone know that the sad, sad battery was on death’s door. So sad.
Anyway, this battery was not going to start any cars any time soon – time to torture the MICRO-START.
9 comments
I recently bought a lithium battery jump start pack from a different brand, and man! Why did I wait so long to own one of these? So convenient, compact, and perfectly purpose built. No longer do I have to carry the bulky bundle of jumper cables.
I don’t know that I’d forever get rid of jumper cables. They have other uses. But, yes, this thing will definitely get you out of a jam!
This makes me wonder if you can install a undersized battery into a dedicated racecar and start it with the Lithium battery. Assuming the car is trailered to the track, of course.
Yes and No on the undersized battery question. If you are running an efficient system without a ton of power draw, Yes it can work. The No is that very undersized batteries do not have the capacity in some case you may want it, like if your alternator fails.
Most times we recommend a true 40AH lithium automotive batteries for race cars that are running electric power steering , chill out systems and higher draw electronics.
To back up what Bart (who works for Antigravity) says with another tidbit — do you really want to use a jump-box every time you start the car? Also, what happens if you spin the car on the track and end up stalling it? You wouldn’t be able to re-start it. Or what if you are in a race with a standing start and stall?
There’s CCA (cranking amps) and then total storage capacity in amp-hours. You likely want at least a few starts worth of storage capacity with sufficient CCA to actually turn over your motor.
Drag racing cars often don’t use an alternator but run a big enough battery to be able to start the car several times and run all the electronics for the duration of the pass. However, I’d be hesitant to run a setup where I might not be able to re-start the car if I really needed to.
Well, technically, this is how F1 racecars are started on the track. They don’t have a starter motor, and the engine is cranked by an external device. I admit that this is pretty drastic, but it does save an absolute ton of weight that you don’t need on a track and gives you and advantage that other cars may not have (do to convenience.)
“In Formula 1, each 10 kg slows the car down roughly 0.4% (around 0.3 seconds a lap on a normal track).”
If you stall the car, you probably screwed your laptime anyway, so it’s a bit of a moot point. If you are serious about winning, then you have to go the extra mile and ditch convenience.
Personally, I remove windshield wipers and their motors during good weather, before I track my car. So, I am all about paring down a race car to the bare essentials.
The question is, how much can you pare a car down before it becomes a nightmare to race on a track?
That was long time ago. Formula 1 cars (since 2014) can start on they own – they have batteries and electric motors to turn the engine. Nowadays they also have rear gear too 😀
I’ve been using a lithium jumper for years, and just recently got a Re-Start battery for my bike. Antigravity has a BMS that disconnects the battery when the voltage drops, and leaves enough power to start the vehicle. Really neat technology.
The BMS would’ve saved my butt several times, for sure.