You guys are always a wealth of knowledge. Cab the distributor is locked at 35 degrees . the distributor has always been locked out. I know its tough on the starter . That was another reason for thinking of a 16volt battery

Mine is locked out at 34 degrees, zero issues with Mopar starter

On that deal I would spin the motor on the starter first and then turn on ignition with the crank spinning to help stop the kicking back.
I had Hemi motor kick back against the starter years ago at the old Fremont Drag Strip northeast of San Jose,CA on the south end of the Oakland San Franscico Bay, it broke the nose off that stock starter
It was a real chore to change it on the ground with limited tools and space, 1970 Cuda with a set of early Hooker race Hemi chassis headers

16v not even a question. You will put it in and wonder why you never did it sooner.

I personally run one 16v D1600 XS Power battery with a 150amp (overkill) powermaster XS Volt one wire alternator and use an XS power intellicharger which is capable of charging 12v, 14v, and 16v battery. I run a K&R delay box, trans brake, line lock, air shifter, LED dial board, CVR water pump, maradyne fan, aeromotive fuel pump, and tail lights. When my car is running and everything is turned on, at a 1600 rpm idle, my battery has 18.5 volts from the alternator. I used to run no alternator and only charged in between rounds and still had ZERO issues with 16v, however, I converted to an alternator a few years ago and I will never go back. I am running 528 Cubic inch wedge, 14.2:1 compression, 850lbs of open valve spring pressure, 112 octane race gas, MSD 7AL2+, crank trigger, 37 degree timing. I still typically charge my battery in between rounds just because when there is a lot of down time, why not. However, once I get into a hot lap deal, I never have to worry about my car starting and once it fires, it gets juice from the alternator.

One thing to be careful of if you do switch to 16v, DO NOT CHARGE YOUR BATTERY WHILE RUNNING ACCESSORIES. So if you are running water pump and fan to cool car down, cool the car down then plug the charger in. You will fry your water pump if you charge and run the water pump at the same time. Mezeire warns people about this on their instructions. CVR says you can run the water pump and run the charger, but I have found that it will cause premature failure so just simply stay away from it.

I currently have a friend who runs two 12v batteries and has had issues with the car starting when its warm constantly. Tried different starters, different gauge wires, tons of grounds, kept a jump pack with the car like DVW said he does. He also runs low compression and alcohol, so he isn't running accessories in between rounds. He has tried multiple different batteries and the car still doesn't seem happy even with 1000 CCA batteries. We suspect maybe keeping heat in the car because the alcohol runs so cold could be causing him grief, however, I have been on him for years about 16v. This season I plan to lend him my spare battery and let him try it and I can guarantee once he puts it in, it will not be coming out.

Since you are locking the ignition, could you use one of the MSD starter savers or even the MSD adjustable timing control to start the car? I think the starter savers will let you choose between 10 or 20 degrees of retard, and the timing controller will let you select any value between 1-15 degrees. Could be an easy fix.

As for the 16 Volt battery, is it simply a drop in or do you have to change or protect any other electronics? I saw the tip about not charging and running the water pump at the same time. Sounds like if you run an alternator you need to go to one that will charge a 16 volt battery. Also sounds like you need a charger that will charge a 16V as well. What other watch outs are there?

I just rewired my car, replaced the starter, and set it up for two batteries in the trunk. I hate having to add the weight even though it is in the rear. I am not running an alternator but considering going to one, (more weight also). Sounds like a 16V battery, and alternator are the way to go. Probably less weight at the end of the day. Just want to make sure it will not require a lot of other changes.

I can’t believe how stupid we were back in the 1970’s ditching our alternators and going with one or two 12 volt batteries. I’m a one 12 volt user and alternator for life now. I did back to back tests years ago with a 16 volt and saw nothing in my Daytona.

cspracer. It shouldn't require many changes going from 12v to 16v as far as accessories go. Depending on your who makes your switch panel, relay board etc, the only thing I have found was that I needed to change the water pump and fan fuse to higher amperage fuse, again depending on who makes your switch panel, relay board, etc. If you run a K&R Engineering relay board/fuse panel, you won't have to change anything because all the fuses are already high enough. If you run an Auto Rod Control switch panel (which is what I run) then you would need to change the water pump and fan fuse to either 25 or 30amp, I cannot remember exactly what fuse is in mine. But other than changing the fuse, you don't need to change anything else accessory wise.

I would recommend checking the ignition timing in your car after switching to 16v. If you are using a distributor to time your car and are the distributor is not locked in, then you may need to adjust (just from my experience). If you run a locked out distributor and/or crank trigger, you shouldn't have to change timing of the ignition but I would still check it.

As far as an alternator goes, my Powermaster XS Volt alternator (Part #8148) has an adjustable regulator so it can be used on a 12v battery or a 16v battery. The alternator is adjustable from 13.5 volts-18.5 volts. I also did this in the event I ever had to use a 12v battery in an emergency situation, I wouldn't have to worry about needing an extra alternator, or disconnecting my alternator.

I would personally save the weight of the second battery and spend that money on the battery charger from the second battery. Like I said in my last post, XS Power sells a battery charger that can charge 12v, 14v, or 16v, battery, (part # 1005). It is pricey for the charger but again its like buying two battery chargers.

D1600 Battery part number
1005 Battery Charger part number
8148 Alternator part number

Stuff isn't cheap but it's worth it.

Thank-you for this very good and informative reply. It is expensive, I figure at least $1030 between alternator, battery and charger. Sounds like most folks who do this are glad they do. I really get tired of worrying about if the car will start or not, especially when the time between rounds gets lower.

May have to hold off on adding my Superbird wing this year and finish up the electrical!

One of the advantages of running a alternator is once the motor is running the correct size, or to big, alternator will provide all the current needed to run the car and charge the batteries at the same time
I have seen my voltmeter show 13.? volts on start up after sitting a long time between slow charging and having the carb needles stick open and flood the motor at the races, it showed less than 14 volts for around one minute and then showed 14+ volts for the rest of the day
My 15.to 1 comp ratio E85 motor starts fine on two group 24 R.V. Marine deep cycle 12 volt batteries

No problem happy to help. If money is tight you could always get the XS Power part number 1004 battery charger ($259.99 compared to $369.99 for part number 1005) which is dedicated 16v charger compared to the other charger I spoke about in the last post which can do 12, 14, or 16v. Also I know that 8148 alternator is expensive because its 150amp output ($418.99) and you could save some money there too by going with 100 Amp alternator part number 8138 ($353.99, Also 13.5-18.5 volt adjustable regulator), or even a 75amp alternator, part number 8174 ($273.99, also adjustable regulator as well). We have the 75 amp on my dad's roadrunner (16v system) and it does a great job. I think my engine builder runs a 55amp alternator (16v system) and his battery is always getting 18.5 volts with every accessory on.