battery relocation

hey guys i have a 2000 civic sir and i want to put an optima battery in the car so i bought it. now how do i install the battery it is the full size not the little honda one. does it have to go in the trunk?

should i buy a box?

can it fit up front?

do i install fuses to the wiring when running to the trunk?

sorry but the oem battery sucks hopefully this is better..

thanks in advance

gary

Ok, i did this in my car and it was fairly cheap. Although it didn't have to look super pretty in mine...

You'll need 2 gauge wire for the positive to go all the way back to the starter and some 4-6 gauge wire (not sure on your car) to go to the fuse box in the engine compartment. You can buy this at an autoparts store cheap. I recommend having the new clamps sodered (sp?) on rather than crimped because it's such a large wire.

I believe you can reuse the ground wire (negative) and bolt it down to a part of the chassis. (that's what I did, not sure if that's safe but I haven't had any problems)

I don't think you'll need a box for an Optima but hold-downs are a must. A box would look much cleaner though...

Also, keep in mind I did this on a 95 Civic, so your setup might be a little more complex.

I might have to do that too. With a bigger battery, would you need a bigger alternator?

what type and size of fuse did you use? is this a good mod for a daily driver?

Well, if you get a BETTER battery you probably wouldn't, look into Buddy Club batteries, they're tiny. You could even take the relocation further and put the battery under some panels and run some cables to an easily accessible place so you could jump start it if you had to...but the battery would be completely hidden. I used the stock fuse because I still have the stock battery. I doubt you have to change the fuse at all, remember the fuse is to protect the car not the battery. That fuse number is the highest safe number the car's wiring can take so leave it stock. Let me know how it turns out it you plan to do it...