I have been watching these battery threads for awhile and formulating a response. I apologize in advance for this being long-winded....
In the interest of full disclosure, I am the Director of Motorsports for Speedcell Technologies we make Lithium batteries for powersport applications.
I want to give you some information so that you can make an informed decision without simply saying we are great and everybody else sucks.
When it comes to Lithium batteries, there is more misinformation out there than legitimate information. Some of it is intentionally misleading, some of it is simply because some of these "battery companies" really don't know what they are doing-- they aren't actually battery companies, they are merely resellers of Chinese made products. Even things that should be straight forward are not always what they appear to be. What is even more disturbing is that some of these "battery companies" actually seem to believe some of their own marketing materials. Speedcell Technologies is the Motorsports division of Navitus. Navitus was started by a veteran (15 year)-- USMC Force Recon. Navitus is a U.S. Department of Energy and US Department of Defense contractor-- cage code 1VC84. Many of you are former or current military and understand the significance of a cage code, this will be pertinent further in the discussion.
Here goes.....
Lithium DOES have limitations in cold weather applications--as does lead acid (what the OEMs use now in their snowmobiles). The strategy that the OEMs use to overcome cold weather performance degradation is capacity. Most OEMs have a "performance envelope" of -30 to +30 degrees. This is why most OEMs batteries are 16 to 20 amp hour even though many people (SnoWesters) will tell you that a 7 amp hour battery will work just fine-- it will as long as it isn't too cold out or the sled was in a trailer or heated garage. Try and start a Nytro that has been outside for a week in -30 temperatures with a 7 amp hour battery and it will prove my point. As a technology platform, lithium can use the same strategy of excess capacity to overcome cold weather performance degradation. Even with excess capacity, the Lithium platform is still smaller and lighter than its lead acid equivalent due to the fact that lithium is more energy dense.
Not all lithium batteries are created equally. A battery's performance is dependent on the quality of cells inside. The cell manufacturers even have different levels of "quality" in the cells they offer. Why does this matter to you, the consumer/ end user? The cell quality typically determines two important factors when it comes to battery "performance"-- 1. starting power ( ability to overcome motor inertia and spin the motor fast enough to fire), 2. Longevity- lithium batteries are susceptible to overdischarge -- even more suseptible then lead acid-- if the individual cells are not balanced properly and one discharges more than the others in a start cycle, the battery can be rendered inoperable. At Speedcell, we use A-grade A123 cells because they are the most energy dense and have the highest quality. Many of our competitors claim to use A123 cells, and some of them do, but they are not the A-grade cells. The reason that I can make this claim is that A123 will not sell A-grade cells to a company that does not have a US government issued cage code. As I stated previously, Speedcell through its parent company Navitus, has a cage code-- 1VC84. Our products are built in our facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We supply battery systems to the DoE and the DoD. If you have a custom application or need, we can build a unique solution for you. Call our competitors and tell them that you need a custom battery built for size, layout, capacity, etc-- see what they say. It's real easy to determine who actually is a battery company versus a "battery company" (i.e. reseller of foreign products)
Who uses Speedcell?
Department of Energy
Department of Defense
Monster Energy Graves Yamaha (AMA Superbike factory team)
Yoshimura Suzuki Racing (AMA Superbike factory team)
M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki (AMA Superbike)
Geico Suzuki (AMA Daytona Sportbike)
M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki (AMA Daytona Sportbike)
Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha (AMA Daytona Sportbike factory team)
Roadrace Factory RedBull Yamaha (AMA Daytona Sportbike team)
At the last AMA round April 20-22 at Road Atlanta, Speedcell took ALL twelve podium positions in the four Superbike/ Daytona Sportbike races. ALL twelve. Why does this matter?....because every battery that has been discussed in this thread is available to the teams, and they all choose Speedcell.
Why else should you choose Speedcell?
We are snowmobilers
We actively support keeping riding areas open. We are currently drafting a corporate policy to divert a percentage of snowmobile battery sales profits to groups that fight land closures
We truly are an American company, building American products--cage code 1VC84
Ask your dealer to carry Speedcell. If they don't, feel free to PM me.
Thanks,
Murph
