Ultimate Starter Battery Size

[California Dreamin]

I brought an 80 amp UK Type 110 battery cheap a couple of months ago on the off chance that what someone had mentioned was indeed correct. That a Type 110 would actually fit in to a VW battery box 'lid shut' and here it is to prove it.

I was having a bit of a 'musical chairs' with my batteries today, starting with the leisure battery under the drivers seat (L/H/D Westie). I already had a substantial Lucas Type 100 (68ah) battery in there, which is in good nick but as I'd acquired this at a good price W 315mm X D 175mm X H 175mm Code 110 EXIDE, I wanted to try and see if it fitted...

Here is the EXIDE Type 110



Next to the Lucas UK Type 100 .. you can see that the 110 is about 35mm wider.



Now fitted under drivers seat (L/H/D Westie) ignore the very messy wiring..lol



Lid shut and if I said it fits like a glove I would be under emphasizing the point.





And then for the starter battery swap....not that there was anything wrong with the starter battery, it still cranks like a good'n, so the only reason for the swap was its age and the fact that it came fitted to the van when I bought it back in 2007 and as the Lucas battery (the one I was using for the leisure) is only a couple of years old and higher capacity, so I thought I would swap it anyway.
OMG! it Turned out to be a 'GERMAN labelled' battery dated 2002 (13 years old wayhay)..still going strong, which is pretty amazing, I'll use it to power lights in the Eriba when its used this year, Here it is:





So the 'CONCLUSION'..... IF you want the absolute biggest capacity starter battery inside a VW battery box 'LID SHUT'.. A UK Type 110 DOES FIT! at least the one I bought does. But be warned, its a bloomin tight fit. Another 80-90 member made the remark about TYPE 110 batteries fitting so obviously mine is not just a one off. I'm not sure I would change the WIKI recommendations as I still think the suggestions are good, however, UK Type 110 batteries are certainly worth consideration if you really want the most powerful option.

Martin

[CovKid]

Watch your fingers when it goes in and if the handles broke, you're stuffed

[nicq]

I've got one in mine and it has no handles.
You can still remove it no problem.
The only negative is you must make a good cover for the poss terminal as it is so close to the cover

[California Dreamin]

I agree with the need for good insulation around the positive post, however as the UK Type 110 is a low profile (175mm high) battery, the actual clearance to the battery lid shouldn't be any closer than a Type 100 or indeed an original fitment Type 075.

It's a very valid point though...you can see the large square patch of inner tube I've used (with double sided tape) in picture three, not exactly pretty but very effective.

Martin

[zak]

Good post.

I need to change both starter and leisure batteries as mine are both shagged after a year layup. Only thing is my battery trays have an angled lump in the corner that would make that size difficult. In the pic below its at the top left, out of curiosity did yours have that?



And outside

[California Dreamin]

Can't say I noticed it if it was there. However, I can't imagine that Volkswagen would have varied the battery box shape between models. Type 100 (low profile 175mm high) are a safe bet. This size has been recommended for the last 3 years and knowone has reported back fitting issues.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-Car-Van- ... 2c93419800" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Martin

[clift_d]

Might be a Syncro vs 2WD thing - I think the battery boxes were modified on some of the Syncros to allow extra clearance for larger tyres.

[Superal]

I need a new starter battery so thanks martin for the link

[CovKid]

Well theres a post over a year old resurrected