Hey guys,

I've never heard of anything like this done, so any help or input would be greatly appreciated...

Here's the deal; I've got a JDM Type-R, with rear seats and all. Now, I'd like to do a battery relocation, but I'd like to keep the trunk clean and empty.

I know that there are a lot of battery relocation kits that work very well with the USDM FDs by placing it in one of the rear seat bins. I know that I could do the "seat to bin" swap quite easily, and there are people lining up to trade me for my rear seats, but I'd like to keep the car as JDM as possible.

So, here's my idea... a sort of "Frankencompromise";

Make my car a 3 seater.

Remove the drivers side rear seat and seatbelt, and repalce it with a bin, and keep the passenger side rear seat as is. Best of both worlds. I get a lovely little spot for my battery and some extra storage, I still get to keep one seat in the back, and I get something nice and unique.

Unfortunately, I've never seen the back seat of a USDM FD in person, so any info or pics which anyone might have would be greatly appreciated. Are the bins seperate, or are they one solid piece? How much alteration or fabrication of the bins would be required for a project like this? I'm liking the idea more and more, but I only want to go through with this if I can make it look good and professional.

I've been told I should just go all out and put a seat in the middle, with a battery on one side, and a NO2 bottle on the other. :P I think my way is a bit more achievable...

Thoughts? Opinions?

-Devan

 

JDM models had rear bins too. So swapping them over wouldn't affect you "jdmness".

 

lets do it, i'll cut my **** in half and sent it to you and we can both have 3 seaters

 

Hmm. Didn't know that. I've never seen a JDM FD with rear bins...

 

Yeah some of them do. I don't have numbers or anything but just from experience seems to be a lot more with seats than bins though.

I'm not sure how you'd cut the seats in half, imo it would just look like crap.

The most common place I see battery relocations done here in Japan is to put a sealed battery box center and behind the rear seats. It's a lot safer too.

 

The rear bins are one GIANT rear piece. You'd be looking at some major fab work to do the job, especially trying to cut the JDM rear seats in half. That would also require a good amount of sewing and the like since you'd have to cut the material and foam in half as well.

Personally, I'm not a fan of battery relocation to the bins. I've worked on a number of cars that were relocated, and jumping the car off/changing the battery/attaching a charger is ALWAYS a massive pain in the ***. I've also seen a lot of battery relocations with funky electrical problems.

IMHO, just go with a smaller battery up front. I have a Miata battery in my car with my Apexi front mount - smaller, saves weight, but still has plenty of cranking juice and power.

Dale

 

There's a turbojeff battery tray interest thread goin on btw

You have to love the stares you get though when you pop the trunk to jump start someones car

 

I was interested in doing the same thing to my rhd fd. I'm wondering if there is any other locations to hide a small odessey battery such as behind one of the fenders or somewhere else.

 

My 94 JDM car has factory rear bins in it. I was expecting rear seats also, but now I'm kind of glad it had bins.

 

Don't really understand this. There is no need to attach to the battery to jump start the car. You want to be as close as possible (electrically) to the starter when jump starting, not the battery. I remove the cover and clamp the positive cable the large line going to the fuse box that is located next to the stock battery location.

Relocating a battery does not make jump starting any more difficult in my experience.

 

Yeah it's just fun to watch people's expression. Kinda like pouring oil into your gas tank.

 

Poor idea. Like Dale mentioned, this would be most difficult to pull off and it actually look clean. And even then, it still wouldn't look right. If you want to relocate the battery to the rear just do a rear bin swap and sell your seats. BUT also as Dale mentioned, get GOOD QUALITY products to do this conversion or you will be very sorry later. It may Cost $200 but it is worth not having electrical issues later. And on the comment from a friend, why would you put N2O in a turbo rotary? Very few use it (mostly drag only's for turbo spool), and for good reason.

 

sorry im not feeling it... just to do a battery relocation sounds unpractical... just move the battery to the trunk? i dont see why u would add all tha custom fab work to just put the battery in that location... IMO doesnt make sense...

plus 3 seats? IMO i think it would look insanely awkward.

my .02

 

Go for it and please don't forget to post pics

Eric