Just got done installing the Optima Red Top #35 battery. It fits pretty well using all existing mounting hardware. I've fabricated a bottom tray to provide a little better support. The tray is tapped and secured by two bolts from the bottom. I've also replaced the negative battery cable with a 0 gauge cable (monster cable) with gold ends and terminal. Even the catch can fits in it's original location. The engine turns over much easier now. Here are a few pics to show how well it fits. OEM battery = 24.4 lbs. Optima 35 = 32.2 lbs.

 

Nice!

 

I don't know much about battery. Could you explain to me why swap out your oem battery to aftermarket battery?

 

To match the other RED accessories under his hood. Any pic of the tray?

 

you got a very clean engine bay!
my engine bay is dirty as hell.. i've never washed it and it looks like i've did some rally driving.

 

Looks amazing!

I wonder what the market is for a custom TSX battery tray? hehe

 

How come you decided on the red? Does this one have the same problems the now discontinued R51 yellow top had?

And is the custom tray necessary, you mentioned it makes it more stable, any problems w/ the stock tray or does it not fit?

 

PM me when your ready to sell.

j/k. So how much does this thing cost, roughly?

 

I can definitely tell that this one is wider. I wonder if my Comptech battery tie-down would work better with this battery.

 

What problems did the yellowtop have?

 

I picked the red because I don't like yellow color in general.

No reported problem of the red top, only the yellow top 51R. The YT 51R has been discontiued due to high failure rate.

The stock plastic tray has to come out in order to fit the wider Optima (~6.5" foot print with a ~6.375" top). The metal support underneath the oem tray has only limited supporting surface. So I fabricated a piece of 3/16" thick 10" x 6.5" aluminum plate and tapped two holes for mounting from the bottom. The 10x6.5 plate fits perfectly in the existing supporting frame work and allows the slightly wider foot print to fit better by raising it slightly. It also allows even weight distribution of the battery. Not 100% necessary but useful.

The existing top bracket will go over the battery and supports well. However, I might switch it out in the future with something else.

The battery is $125 with free shipping from http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com

 

Ohh one last question...would this battery fit if you had the stock intake box?

 

^^
If you use the positive battery terminal and the tie-down bolt as point of reference, I would say it should fit with the stock airbox.

 

Looks good JT! Now you need to connect a sweet azz stereo to that bad boy!

 

Any reason other than better starting to replace the OEM battery?

 

so there are currently no yellow tops that will work for the tsx that are not problematic?

 

JTso - I just hit the Monster cable site and found some of the components. Could you please list for reference the items/part #'s you used. I'm guessing all can be had (inc. redtop) for $175+/-. Thanks in advance for another trail-breaking effort.

 

I choose the red top for better starting. Some choose the yellow top for better handling of high electrical loads. The oem battery is just weak. It's the same size and spec as the one on my 1.6L Civic.

You can try the yellow top D35 which is the same size as the red top 35.

 

The terminals and cable are left over stuffs from my other car. l got them from a local stereo shop but don't remember the specific part numbers.

 

Did you notice that the anode terminal is smaller than the one on the OEM battery? I have a yellow top here, and had to fab up a copper collar out of plumbing pipe to make the contact so the OE clamp could engage.

Nice work though. The OE battery is indeed a piece of junk. Mine failed within a year, and was anemic and short-lived well before that (especially in cold weather).

 

Uh oh... I'm running the yellow top 51R in my TL. The only way to get it out is to remove the blower unit.

I hope it doesn't fail in the near future!

...thanks for the heads up.

 

Thanks for the info. Now that I've upgraded the braking system I'm thinking about when the OEM battery is going to crap out on me. I guess it's the old boy scout in me. BTW - you're setup looks great. I don't think most people understand the importance of having low resistance cabling and good, clean connections. Thanks again for the tip.

 

are there any batteries that are an improvement over the OEM but do not require any custom fabricating to have it fit?

 

I didn't try the original negative terminal on the new battery. But I did notice the new terminal block requires more tightening to have a secured connection.

Costco has a direct replacement that is more powerful than the oem battery. It's much cheaper too.

Btw, don't let the term custom scare you. It's really not much to it. You can just drop the battery in and clamp it down as is.

 

Did you happen to get the idea from this?

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ghlight=optima

 

I did come across your post. It gave me an idea of what size battery might work.

 

I didn't use a tray with my yellow top. It works fine.

 

I just made a battery tie-down from a piece of aluminum bar. Not very fancy but very functional.

 

So with UR pulley upgrade, will yellow top will be better for lower voltage level? Or will red top will do its work with UR Pulleys? Also what is the model number of optima betteries that fits into stock tray? I went to CarToys and they say I cannot fit Optima betteries because they don't make ones that fits into our car.

 

It depends on what situation you are in. I don't run high power stereo equipment so the RT works fine for me even with the UR pulleys.

Optima did make a battery that fits the TSX but it's no longer available. It was the model YT 51R.

 

I have a 2-12" subs with one two channel amp that is about 400~500watts and was wandering if UR pulleys will affect the voltage level. Since YT is discontinued, is RT available that fits?? Or I have to look for other brands. You should start selling custom trays for this mod

 

Keep in mind the tray is not 100% necessary. Just get the YT35 and you should be fine.

 

Is the Red battery you are showing RT35 or YT35??? Are they heavier than stock???
One more question, I see that your Negative Channel Hook on the battery is custom made??? Any details on it??? Looks very nice and better contact.

 

Wish they made a blue top battery for our car.......

 

Ya, that should work.

A little overkill perhaps?

 

where can you get optima betteries cheapest?

 

Haha.. actually, it's way overkill.


Jigga, see the link in post #11 for Optima online.

 

i'm going to order a D51R yellow top, or look for this at Costco

just how strong is the oem panasonic battery?? i was at the beach today and was called to do some work. so i plug in the inverter, power up my dell d620 and connected to a client's site to do some work. also had the CD player on.....

25 minutes later, oh shit. i had to get a jump from some chick with a toyota tundra. now when i crank, the overhead lights and dash flickers.

 

optima discontinued YT51R. sounds like you'll need deep cycle for all your work inside the car.

 

is there any kind of warranty on the battery?

I am almost at 53k, obviously out of warranty.....the eye on my battery is red now. I figure it can't be too much longer before its dead. POS, I don't even run anything extra off the battery, except maybe to charge my cell phone once in a while. (Seems like being out of warranty is like a time bomb.....since I hit 50k on July 7, I had my cup holder break, my driver door courtesy light burn out (3x) and not my battery is on its last leg)

Would my Matrix 3.5 alarm killed that battery that much quicker? On my previous car (1992 Accord, I miss you!), my OEM battery lasted 5 year running 2 amps and a 12 woofer.

Anyone have Acura replace the battery free of charge???