After reading about the common battery upgrade from stock to bigger 51R size battery, I decided to go buy Costco's Kirkland battery.

Following the previous member's steps, the battery sat on the tray fine.

The problem: Positive terminal is too small.

I'll be heading out to Auto Zone tomorrow to look for terminal shim.

Just thought I share my experience with Kirkland 51R battery upgrade.

 

Made the same battery swap about six months back, and had the same problem initially. I noticed some excess anti-corrosion stuff on the inside of the clamp that made the clamp slip off every time I tried to tighten it down (due to the terminal being slightly smaller). I just cleaned the inside of the clamp. give it a shot! That is, if you haven't already...

Cheers!

 

<simple solution for your skinny battery terminal, take the battery out, and tap it gently with a hammer. it is soft lead, it will squash easily. then it will be fat enough for the terminals to clamp on. simple and clean. this will you keep your nice positive battery terminal. Thats how I´ve had my 51r installed for years now, no problems.

 

I just took a 1/2" X 1/2" piece of sheet metal to use as a shim. I just made certain that the clamp made direct contact with the post.

 

I just bought a battery shim also from autozone, when I upgraded to the 51r.

 

No need for shims. Just tap the the lead terminals very gently with a hammer - maybe 4 or 5 taps should do it (I almost made mine too fat to fit the clamp).

Got a 51R battery from CostCo for $65

Throw out the battery cover from the orig oem battery (its too small to fit on the 51R and don't think it is necessary).

I took out the plastic tray from underneath the orig battery and used a hack saw blade to trim the plastic lip around the the drivers side edge of it. Now the battery sits perfectly in the tray and its a nice clean (snug) fit. Secure it down with the orig bracket (not too tight) and you are good to go.

Plus it looks like this Kirkland battery from costco has unscrewable cell covers so I can annually check the levels and fill with distilled water when needed to maximize the life of the battery.

 

For those who have made the swap to a 51R (I'm looking at the Costco Kirkland), I want to clarify that it would work on my original model Fit (2007).

Thanks!

 

In trying to replace my Fit battery with a larger one I found the
posts too small.

My friend suggested using a self-tapping screw inserted where the bolt
goes through.
Opened the clamp wide, screwed the screw down then tightened the clamp. Now tightens as far as you can do it.
The screw threads also dig in and hold.

 

I got an O'Reilly auto parts 51R, and it fit my 08 Base fine. I just had to put it in backwards for the terminals. No special tactics.

By backwards, I mean, the logo facing the firewall. It's snug between the stock airbox, fuses near the fender and the reservoir behind it.

 

I did successfully make the swap but used shims readily available for cheap at my local walmart. A very nice proper snug fit all around. I know the other workarounds will work too, but I like the secure fit around the entire terminal with the shim/cap I purchased.

 

My shims came from a one inch piece of copper wire from house wire.

 

Anybody try any other replacement batteries? Last year mine died in my 2007 Fit, and I bought one from Canadian Tire. This winter it does not have enough power to start the car when it drops below - 20C and I've never had that problem before, never needed to use a block heater, or a battery warmer. I lost the receipt and CT's records had been erased otherwise they would have given me a new battery. But considering that my son also had a problem with one of their batteries, and even the one in my Accord is not as powerful as the original one that came with the car, I wonder what the best choice is now? Without the need to add shims--the thing should fit without those.

 

I put a 26R into my GE8 and with some mods, works awesome. cannot beat 715 cranking amps for 85 bucks!!

 

Great--thanks! It sells for $88 here if what I see on line is correct for Canada--we often don't get a break here regardless of the exchange rate (likely due to less volume being sold here than in the USA). That sounds like it has the needed power too!

 

Bought my 51r with 500 CCA in Canada for 65$.

 

That's a great price--was it at Costco?

 

Yup. With an 8 year waranty. As other have stated, you don't have to use a shim, you'd can tap the positive terminal with a mallet to thicken the post. The problem is that it seems most batteries have equal sized posts whereas the stock Yuasa has a fat positive terminal, so the positive ring connector is designed to be larger.

 

Thanks for the feedback--it seems that this is a great deal and the best way to go!

 

Did the same swap in Dec after my stock one died. Great battery and mine fit perfectly too. I didn't buy a shim/terminal post cover. Made my own.

 

Hi, I'm new here. Did the same mod today on my 2007 Fit, and it started well; I haven't driven it around yet, but I didn't encounter any problems in installation (took me probably 5 minutes). Much easier than the installation on the GE Fit.
Not much more needs to be said.