Costco or Walmart for 51R
- Thread starter CarLuver
- Start date
Cr
The replacement negative battery cable is not an upgrade, but a necessity to accomplish the 24F battery upgrade on the Gen 5 Honda CR-Vs. The stock negative cable is ~2 inches too short because the 24F battery is an inch taller than the stock 51R battery. I did not advocate going to a thicker cable, just a 6 inch longer one. I believe it was @JeffKeryk who suggested upgrading to a thicker gauge cable based upon his experience with an Acura TSX with the same K24 engine. On earlier CR-Vs (e.g., Gen 2), the negative cable has enough slack to accommodate the taller 24F battery, so replacement is not necessary.
Are you familiar with the Gen 4 CRV? Could I just replace with a 35 and just change the tray? I think that is what I have read. Thinking about doing that if the 51r in there dies. I was set on getting a 51r EverStart Platinum but it seems they are out of stock now. Don't need one but always keeping options open.
A side note, I think last year the Platinum was 500CCA but now is listed as 435.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2026
Its been discussed multiple times in this section of the forum... Costco switched to a three year pro rated warranty several years ago. There is no free replacement period at all.
Only Costco Canada retains the three year free replacement warranty.
Highboy
$100 Site Donor 2026
The savings on the battery is lost when the wife is shopping inside Costco!!!
11 mega ohms is crazy high. This must be the highest I have ever seen.
but for costco you are paying a membership too...
I wish this could be done on the HRV but there is not enough room for it...
However, if one is already paying the membership fee, one may as well derive some benefit from it.
See what cca you need from your manual. Don't buy much more cca than you need , unless you are in a very cold area.
More cca in the same size battery means more and thinner plates. More suseptible to failure over time and vibration.
@The_Jeff was saying the same thing.
I look for the biggest physical battery that will fit , with the lowest cca that covers my spec.
More cca in the same size battery means more and thinner plates. More suseptible to failure over time and vibration.
@The_Jeff was saying the same thing.
I look for the biggest physical battery that will fit , with the lowest cca that covers my spec.
The general idea would that they would be thinner with more of them when trying to get more current out of the same size with about the same out of lead used. I'm also guessing that packing too many thicker plates has a drawback beyond just cost.
All the factory installed Group 51 or 51R batteries I've seen listed a rated 400 CCA. I suppose the idea is that they might sit on a lot for a while and the construction is such that they can last longer even if they can't put out as much current. In a mild climate, that's all that's really needed.
I'd recommend a Deka. But I'm not sure where the OP might be able to find one in Group 51R. Lowe's has the Group 51 that can be delivered to a store for pickup without additional shipping, but the price has really gone up since I got one in 2018 (might have been $75 back then?).
Why so high reading ?
I've installed a Group 35 battery in an Element, but not in a CR-V. However, I don't believe you have to change the negative cable on the Gen 4 CR-V if you install a Group 35 battery because it is only 1/8" taller than a 51R. As the 35 is 1+3/4" wider than a 51R, it certainly won't fit in the OEM plastic battery tray. You can always go with a Universal style tray sourced from AutoZone or O'Reilly Auto Parts. The universal tray will accommodate both the Group 35 and 24F batteries. You would need to drill one or two holes (or use strong tie-wraps) to secure the tray to the sheet metal battery shelf. I used the AutoZone (Lynx) tray in the Element.
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f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2026
They aren't. You can tell by the weight. For the same size battery, the higher CCA will usually weight a bit more, due to packing more plates in the case. Plus from a manufacturing stand point, it is more costly to make different (thicker) plates for the same size battery, so they won't. It has also been postulated that this can potentially cause shorter life, as it is easier for the tightly packed plates to short out between each other from sulfation. But that can be prevented by good battery maintenance, such as periodict "top off" charges with a battery tender, or using a battery tender with continous desulfation.
I think I decided on a Deka 51r AGM for when I need to replace my wife's battery. It is the only AGM in that size that offers 500CCA. The rest are 450 or lower. Well, the Napa may be 500 but I'm not convinced about their warranty. Website says 36 month free replacement but their warranty doc says 18 months free then 18 prorated.
garageman402
$100 Site Donor 2026
NAPA has been sketchy on their battery warranty for a while now. Go by what you have in writing, I don't think printing out the webpage would help.
The Walmart ones on the West Coast are Korean. Not sure about Sam’s. I go to Costco more than than WM but I’m tempted to go get the next battery there.
All of the Sam's Clubs in the U.S. sell DURACELL labeled automotive and marine batteries. DURACELL batteries are sole-sourced from East Penn and can be also be found at Batteries Plus+ stores.