The Chimera™ Race battery System (RBS) is shares many details with the Compeitition Batery System (CBS) with a few differences. The same research and development has gone in to it.

It still weighs a under eight pounds (and is actually a bit lighter than the 2X2 twill Carbon FIber CBS!) and is the equivalent* to a 48 amp hour lead acid battery.

It is the same battery that, in one test, started a supercharged Elise 95 times in a row with the lights, high-beams, radio, etc. on.


1) Automotive-Grade Internals:

There is a dirty little secret that some of the other "racing" batteries share… The cells they use in their batteries are actually the same cells used in lithium ion power tools.  While these cells might be cheap, they are not designed to start a car; they are intended to release energy continuously over time, not to release all of their energy at once. Starting a four cylinder car draws 100 amps or more!

Their lack of engineering expertise and proper testing has led to premature failures, temperture sesitivity and unstableoperation which in extreme conditions has caused batteries detonation.  This is becuase the battery's internals are being used in a manner that they were not designed for. 

Our cells, on the other hand, were engineered for automobiles and are therefore safe for the
automotive environment. In fact, they can be pierced and crushed without catching on fire or exploding.

Is this why our competitors offer only one year of warranty… and we offer up to five years?

2) Gold-Plated Aluminum Posts:
Part of the weight saving engineering and attention to detail has led to the use of Gold-Plated Aluminum posts.  The battery posts are actually extremely light—they only weigh three hundredths of a pound.
One might assume that lightweight would mean less conductive but in fact they are twice as effecient as “high-performance” brass posts and eight times as conductive as standard lead posts.

The posts are machined on a CNC lathe out of a solid piece of aluminum, put through a five-stage hand-polishing process, and then plated with multiple layers of gold. The end result is a battery post that weighs close to nothing, has maximum contact with the battery cables, and never oxidizes.

3) Trussed Endcaps:

The trussed endcaps on either side of the batteryare not just ornate but, in fact, create a level of structural integrity not achieved by the compeittion.

The endcaps were designed not only to be as light as possible, but also strong enough to deal with the forces of tightening the battery cables. (It would have been easier and cheaper-- and heavier-- to leave them flat.)

4) The Warranty:

Before we get in to this, I want to clarify...

The RBS uses the EXACT same internals as the CBS.

The RBS comes with a one year warranty.

It is NOT a "pro-rated" warranty, and Chimera does will stand behind it's product even if it is used "off-road".  Track use will not void the warranty.

*******

Highlights

• 16 amp hour. AUTOMOTIVE grade Lithium Ion car starter battery
• 1 year warranty
• Unidirectional carbon fiber case
• Ultra lightweight high flow gold plated terminals
• Individual cell voltage balancing circuitry
• CNC milled endplates
• Under 8 lbs
• Available vehicle specific mounting system (Lotus Elise/ Exige available at launch.  Please contact us for other applications at parts@britishracinggroup.com)

 
NOTE:  The RBS does NOT have the Chimera Efficiency Auditing System (EAS):

One of the unique points about the Chimera CBS, is that it has an "Efficiency Auditing System" that disconnects the battery if it is drawn too low (among other things that it does)...

Chimera received many emails from people saying that they are perfectly capable of disconnecting the battery themselves via a cutoff switch if they won't be driving the car for more than two to three weeks, and don't really need the safety of the EAS.  This applies to many track vehicles which already feature a Battery cut-off switch.

The "Race Battery System" does not have the EAS for this reason. If you would like this feature, please see the Competition Battery System also available in this section.