Very small update on Vlad.
Went through two dead batteries I had ordered online. Both were shit when "new". Ended up finding out that I can get the same battery at Home Depot for a bit more money, but also much easier to return and less likely to be shit.
Used the down time to snip every-other blade off the fan. Also trying a Uni Pod filter, but that doesn't seem to net me much of a performance boost over the stock filter in my air box. But I'll keep in on for a few more test runs.
At least it's not as loud as I was expecting.