New battery pack advice needed

[Mark <ssr@uswestmail.net>]

Hello all.  My Pulsar is now in need of a new set of batteries, as I knew it would be soon.  It was just sooner than I had hoped (isn't it always?).

I have been doing research on various 6, 8, and 12v batteries for a month or so now, and have come up with a comparative spreadsheet to analyze my options (e-mail me off-list if you'd like a copy).  I'd really like some opinions on what the best solution is, based on the following parameter I need to work with:

* I live near Seattle, where there are a lot of hills
* Daily commute is about 6 miles, but involves going up and down two hills each way, about 100 foot elevation gain/drop for each hill
* My Bohn charger is setup for a 120v pack
* My Sevcon Generation II DC/DC converter is a 128v-12v model
* I need to balance between range and power--power to handle the hills, and range to allow me to run errands at lunch, without requiring a mid-day recharge
* I have a 120v outlet which I could use for charging during the day, but would prefer not to have to do that regularly
* Economically wise, only lead-acid batteries are feasible
* Current pack is 8 12v Concorde GPC-12105's with 3 8v "who knows" batteries, with a total pack weight of about 690 lbs.
* Car currently weighs within 100 lbs of original factory weight
* I can't get 20 6v batteries in the car, without major modifications (which I don't have time/$$ to do).

I'm looking at two possibilities--if you have others that would fit the bill, let me know:

1. 15 8v Trojan T-875's at 63 lbs each, $71 per batt (plus tax and cables).  Perhaps Trojan T-890s instead but the $16 more per batt doesn't seem worth it for 15 more AH of capacity.

2. 10 12v Trojan 31XHS's at 66 lbs each, $88 per batt (plus tax and cables).

Option #1 would increase my overall weight by 342 lbs, and would hopefully give me increased range, due to the additional lead.

Option #2 is $450 cheaper, due to only purchasing 10 instead of 10 batteries.

Anyone have personal experience with either of these, or 8V vs. 12V in general?  I'd like to have more info before I put down my $$$.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Mark
1985 Nissan Pulsar conversion
* Love that EV grin! *

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