Having read a previous thread on our strange battery, I leaned in under the hood of our new GE9, and I was able to discern that the especially undersized battery is made by Yuasa. You can see their Website at:

Yuasa Batteries :: Vehicle Search

Adccording to their own material, they make batteries for motorcycles, watercraft, snowmobiles and ATV's. None of their batteries are designated as passenger automobile batteries. In my neck of the woods, the Yuasa dealers are a couple of Yamaha shops, and a "Motorsports" dealership. I am sorry to say that there does not appear to be a normal auto battery made for this car.

 

Thanks for your unfortunate discovery. To me, this seems to be another short-sighted decision from the Honda design engineers. It sounds like battery problems are almost guaranteed with the GE's. Although I don't live in an area that gets the extremely cold winters of many fitfreak members, I still intend to put a REAL battery in my car to prevent battery problems in the future. Dead batteries and flat tires ALWAYS happen at the worst possible moment, but the dead battery is a much worse problem. Honda didn't provide a spare battery like they did a spare tire.

 

Get an oddssey battery. Small and powerfull and light

 

It's probably just a matter of time before Yuasa has one available. They are a top quality battery company as far as cycle batteries go. I have one in my CB750!

If someone is in a hurry, it might be worth some time to investigate with Yuasa and try to find out what is up.

 

It's the same story for the GD Fits/Jazzes. Over here Yuasa makes the batteries too, but are branded "Rocket." Also, as I've mentioned in the other battery thread, they're notorious for dying early in our tropical weather.

+1 for upsizing batteries. A few PJACU members have done so already. I'm not sure how fitment will be for the GEs, but it should be simple; I bet you will need a new harness and baseplate to tie the battery down though.

 

I'll have to look at the WestCo battery in my '93 Miata and compare. Miatas also have small batteries, with excellent replacements available at WestCo Battery - Motorcycle Batteries and Marine Batteries.

 

Well my gd always started this winter in ND..granted i did have it plugged in overnight but sitting in the parking lot at work in -40f temps for roughly 4hr periods between startups it cranked a lil bit n got goin right away. I think the oem battery in gd's has 350cca n that seems to do fine...I'm thinking of a battery relocation so i can house a larger battery though for next winter cause iono how often i'll be able to plug my car in.

 

I checked the website out. Nice find! WestCo's got 475 CCAs from their Miata batteries.

Mind if you could try swapping batteries between your Miata and Fit just to check for fitment?

 

What do you guys think about using the Odyssey pc680 in the Fit? Ive used it on my older cars and it worked great. Really light and probably more powerful that the OEM honda.

 

I didn't have time to swap, but I measured both batteries -- it looks like the WestCo should fit in the GE's battery tray without any trouble.

Fit GE: base = 4 3/4" x 7 1/4", height = 7 3/4", pos on the left

WestCo: base = 5" x 7 5/8", height = 6 3/4", pos on the left

Just eyeballin' it, the battery tray in the Fit looks like it has enough clearance for the slightly larger WestCo. One thing worth noting is that the WestCo has two vents in the top corners facing forward. In the Miata, these are connected to a drain hole in the trunk floor with rubber tubing.

 

Great stuff bro! That's a great alternative for you US-based GE8 drivers. +Rep for you

I do wonder if the WestCo battery's vent holes still have any purpose when installed in the Fit engine bay, though. What is it they vent, exactly? Excess fumes from battery acid? I thought they were sealed...

 

Hows the weight? Im interested in a very lightweight battery thats as powerful as stock or even more powerful.

 

I am curious if there is a problem here or not. Has anyone had a battery failure or been unable to start their car with the OEM battery?

 

It's happened with a few of us already. Over here, rare is the case where the OEM battery lasts 3 years or beyond - some of them don't even make the 2-year mark at all.