hispls 5,000+ posts
CarAudio.com Veteran
I'm in central Florida, so cold isn't really a thing. 120+ In-car Temps are a thing tho.
I still can't figure out LTO vs LiFeP04. I know the voltage difference, but I've seen LTO punctured and not catch on fire so that sounds better to me. I cannot run my voltage above 14.8 or my car will throw a tantrum so going with a 6s pack is a no-go. I will have to double check my cold start voltage, but I beleive it is 14.3. Whatever I buy will get used until I switch cars or upgrade my system again(hopefully never). I guess this has turned into batteries or alternator for the moment. Is a 320a alternator from mechman(assuming it will fit) better than 40ah of LTO or 48 ah of LiFeP04 for daily use? I might be able to stretch it to 80ah of LTO if you have em or 60ah of LiFeP04 from the pre-built guy.
Matt
The LTO cells are -40 to 60C temp range so fine for anything in the cabin, I'd probably not want to mount them in the engine bay though.
LTO is just a slightly different flavor of LiFePO and AFAIK the LiFePO are pretty stable as far as not being prone to catastrophic failure (read: FIRE). LiPo are the ones that really go up like a white phosphorous grenade if things go wrong, they're a different animal though.
I run 6S banks in my Jeep and my brother's Civic with good results but at our charging voltage we are leaving a bit on the table and I think either could drop down to 5S banks and perform as well or better.
Back when I competed in 2000W class I used a HO alternator and one additional AGM in the back and still had some pretty big voltage drop when I went hard on things, but I was running one of the under-rated Korean 2K boards and at .5 ohm.
Alternator is a great option if it's easy to swap in your vehicle as it actually makes current and it takes up zero space in the vehicle. That said I don't believe a HO alternator will outlast any lithium bank and you may or may not be able to port it to a different vehicle when and if you have to get another car. Might want to get a few alternator quotes and weigh your decision with that in mind. Nate up at Excessive Amperage has always done me right and he's either in or just over the border from Florida.