[SteelyJoe22]

Hi All,

I've read a couple threads on batteries, and based on them, plan to change mine this week - I killed it tonight by listening to the radio. I plan to upgrade to the V6 sized battery in my I4.

I'm looking for suggestions on which brand to buy - I'd like something with good deep cycle life, since I often listen to the radio with the engine off. I live in New England, so cold weather performance is also important.

Are optima yellow tops worth the price tag? Can I get comparable performance from an Autozone or pep boys battery?

 

[namegoeshere]

Used this http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/search.php to find this Need a new battery - best battery brand to buy?

That thread should help.

 

[devi0us]

I upgraded to a V6 battery recently and after shopping around, I settled on Autozone's Duralast Gold Group 35 Battery. It had around 750-800 cranking amps, and 640 cold cranking amps (cca) if I recall. I'll get the exact numbers for you later if you need. The only other battery I considered was the Napa Legend 75, which had similar, but slightly lower stats. I also choose the Duralast because Autozone far outnumbers Napa locations around here, and my previous Group 51 Duralast Gold battery lasted 4 years and 50,000+ miles.

Pepboys had a comparable and attractive battery, but after Googling and finding many negative reviews, I avoided it altogether. As for Optima batteries, they were too expensive for my budget so that was crossed out as well.

Make sure to check the manufactured date for the battery you plan to buy. You don't want it to be more than 3 months old.

 

[SteelyJoe]

Thanks for the recommendations!

When you upgraded to the V6 sized duralast gold, what modifications did you end up making to the car? Some people have said they bought all new trays, cover, wiring, J-bolts, etc. Other people have said they just dropped it in with little modification. I know different batteries have slightly different dimensions within the same series . . . maybe some of these steps are necessary depending on the brand you end up with?

 

[2006accord4]

Here is a spec for a v6 vs 4 cylinder battery on http://www.oreillyauto.com

V6
•Cold Cranking Amps: 600
•Cranking Amps: 750
•Reserve Capacity: 90
•Length: 9-11/16"
•Width: 6-7/8"
•Height: 8-13/16"

4 cyl
•Cold Cranking Amps: 500
•Cranking Amps: 625
•Reserve Capacity: 85
•Length: 9-5/16"
•Width: 5"
•Height: 8-11/16"

Take a tape measure out to your can measure it. Remove the old one while your at it and take a look. Neighbor has a 2007 Corolla and his has a bigger battery in it from the factory 550 Cold Cranking Amps =(

 

[devi0us]

Thanks for the recommendations!

When you upgraded to the V6 sized duralast gold, what modifications did you end up making to the car? Some people have said they bought all new trays, cover, wiring, J-bolts, etc. Other people have said they just dropped it in with little modification. I know different batteries have slightly different dimensions within the same series . . . maybe some of these steps are necessary depending on the brand you end up with?

I believe you can get away without buying anything at all, but I wanted to the thicker ground cable, the tray to place the battery in, and the plate that the j-bolts thread through, because the group 35 battery is bigger/wider. The j-bolts can be reused, and the battery cover is not needed.

I ordered from www.hondapartsunlimited.com, below is the invoice.

32600-SDB-A00-Honda CABLE ASSY., BATTERY GROUND $10.99

31512-SDB-A01-Honda PLATE, BATTERY SETTING (70D) $5.07

31521-SDB-A00-Honda BOX, BATTERY (70D) $16.24


Subtotal Amount : $32.30
Discount : $0.00
Shipping (FedEx Ground U.S. Shipping - FedEx Ground Home Delivery) : $10.03
Tax Amount : $0.00
Current Total : $42.33

 

[2006accord4]

31521-SDB-A00-Honda BOX, BATTERY (70D) $16.24

Dang, that is a lot of money just for a simple cover.

 

[devi0us]

Dang, that is a lot of money just for a simple cover.

That was actually the tray that the battery sits in, and I preferred to have it so it would sit securely. It's an easy swap, take out the I4 tray, and replace it with the V6 tray. The plastic cover that slides over the battery is also 16+ dollars, but you can do without it.

 

[davidg4781]

I used to use Walmart batteries but they never lasted. I was told it's because I'm buying cheap Walmart ones so ever since then I've bought them from O'Reilly. So far, so good, and if I have issues there's one in almost every town.

 

[G2Nice]

I have a 2008 EX-L sedan. My stock battery died on me last Friday (42k) do I ended up getting the Duralast Gold 24F DLG battery at Autozone. 750 CCA, 935 CA, 130 reserve standby. No alteration to my battery box, sits right in there, used the stock tiedowns as well. I just threw out the black plastic casing that surrounds the Honda battery itself, as the 24F is a little larger. I did have a grounding kit I put on the same time to go along with the stock ground, works great! 3 year warranty too.

 

[SteelyJoe]

So I did the swap on my '06 I4 last night . . . I went with the Duralast Gold 35, since there are tons of Autozones around here. I bought a new ground cable (2 gauge) right at Autozone, because I didnt really want to wait for shipping, and the Stealership closes at 5. The cable was $7 - the shortest size available was a little bit longer than the stock one, but the added length shouldn't negate the increase in gauge. Overall resistance should be lower.

I just removed the tray and cover from the 51R stock battery, and dropped the 35 right in on the bottom plate. The J-bolts did indeed still fit. I tightened them down until I couldn't move the bracket around (but not too much so as to stress the battery housing), and the battery is in there nice and snug.

My car starts up a little quicker than before, and it's not even cold out yet. I'm sure I'll see a big difference on those 0 degree days. I'm also looking forward to testing out the deep cycle capacity. At Autozone, this battery cost the same amount as the smaller 51R, so basically I did the upgrade for the cost of the larger $7 ground cable.

Here's a picture for comparison of stock battery/ground cable to the new stuff.

 

[2006accord4]

Got a photo of the new battery installed?

I'm going to pick up that ground cable next time I pass by Autozone. It has a terminal cover which is nice. Gotta pick up some of that dielectric grease they use on the terminal as well. Looks like it does a good job of keeping the terminals and cables from corroding.

 

[davidg4781]

Does that grease work better than the little felt pads? I've always used the pads and never had any issues with corrosion and they're really cheap. They also don't seem as messy as that grease.

 

[2006accord4]

I think mine has the grease and felt pad. No corrosion. I used to drive older cars and they were all corroded up. No type of grease on them since forever.

I'm going to remove the terminals, clean off the old grease, put in a new felt pad and install the upgraded ground cable this weekend.

oreillyauto has these pads withat cover the clamps as well for $1.69.
Super Start® - Battery Protector
Part # 08512

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...01/08512/N0367.oap?ck=Search_felt_N0367_-1_3484&keyword=felt&pt=N0367&ppt=C0061

 

[devi0us]

So I did the swap on my '06 I4 last night . . . I went with the Duralast Gold 35, since there are tons of Autozones around here. I bought a new ground cable (2 gauge) right at Autozone, because I didnt really want to wait for shipping, and the Stealership closes at 5. The cable was $7 - the shortest size available was a little bit longer than the stock one, but the added length shouldn't negate the increase in gauge. Overall resistance should be lower.

I just removed the tray and cover from the 51R stock battery, and dropped the 35 right in on the bottom plate. The J-bolts did indeed still fit. I tightened them down until I couldn't move the bracket around (but not too much so as to stress the battery housing), and the battery is in there nice and snug.

My car starts up a little quicker than before, and it's not even cold out yet. I'm sure I'll see a big difference on those 0 degree days. I'm also looking forward to testing out the deep cycle capacity. At Autozone, this battery cost the same amount as the smaller 51R, so basically I did the upgrade for the cost of the larger $7 ground cable.

Here's a picture for comparison of stock battery/ground cable to the new stuff.

That's a good looking battery you got there. :thmsup: I'm glad everything worked out. Be sure to keep the receipt somewhere safe, so they'll honor the warranty in case anything happens, and return the old battery for the core refund.

 

[2006accord4]

Yeah, make a copy of that receipt also since it'll fade over time.

 

[SteelyJoe]

Your wish is my command :thmsup:

The old bracket has this bend in it about 3/4 of the way down that was meant to grab the edge of the 51R battery. It doesn't quite sit flat on the 35 battery, but this doesn't really concern me enough at this point to spend money on a new part. I did have to bend the little tab toward the top end (in the firewall direction) of the bracket, so that it would sit flatter on the new battery.

As you can see, I did use some spray-on dielectric grease. I picked up a can of it at Autozone a while back, and have been using it. It's a little messy, which may bother some folks, but it's done a pretty good job for me so far. I guess I could grab a rag and wipe off the spray on the cover if I care enough. It can't really be any easier to apply . . .

 

[G2Nice]

I remembered using that dialectic red spray on a battery on another car some years back. Stopped the corrosion, but had an issue getting a jump start with jumper cables when the battery died cause the red coating blocked the connection, has to scrape it off the terminals just to get a decent connection.

 

[2006accord4]

What happened to your red terminal cover?

 

[SteelyJoe]

Red terminal cover was gone before I bought the car. Prior to that, the only place the car had ever been worked on was the Honda dealership (including 1 known battery replacement right before I got the car.)

Go figure.