found a dsm website and an e36 group claiming they were getting great results with the "gruber power" motorcycle battery (YTX20-BS). Im just about to swap to the 1jz so this battery is small enough to keep in the stock location adn still squeak the pipes by it for the cold side. The 1j is lower compression than the e36 6cyl would be so im confident this will work for me. Very similar (better) numbers to the odyssey 680 battery that is getting more and more expensive by the day. this one is 83 bucks shipped to the door. Ill keep everyone posted on how it works out for me. Current battery is a hair over 46 lbs, new battery claims to be 12 lbs. would also save 34lbs from high up in the car. thats almost as much weight savings as switching to a cf hood for a lot less money.
Kevin

 

Why not relocate the stock battery to the trunk?

 

why? this resolves both intercooler piping problem and a weight issue. trunk is useless already, why use more space in it for a battery.
p.s. im also hunting for a toy tire to replace the full sixe over 50 lb spare in the trunk currently, again solves two problems, the weight of the full size and the problem of needing a spare tire if you remove the full size.

 

AAA

 

theyre not cheap, but definitely small - check out braille batteries:
http://www.braillebatteries.com/

 

miata batteries are pretty small, about half the size of a conventional battery and they don' cost any more than a regular one.

 

i spoke to the people at gruber when i ordered and they make alot of batteries, few of them are automotive related. They really dont seem to have figured out that they could be competing with much more expensive batteries(i.e. odyssey and braille) the rep seemed to be a little astonished when i told him I would be using it in a car. I went over all the specs with him and it bettered the odyssey 680 in almost all comparisons. most significant being price, and it comes with terminals already so no additional cost for that. will keep you all posted when it arrives.
Kevin

 

Yeah I went with a Honda Civic battery it was smaller and lighter. Bought the high cranking one, had to put a shim under the hold down.

 

so i got the 1jz in today and tried out the tiny battery for the first time, after sitting in the box it came in for like 3 weeks, cranked the 1j with absolutely no problem. its freaky how small this thing is too. we will see how it holds up over time.
Kevin

 

I just relocated my battery. With about 30 bucks, anyone can do it, and it helps with weight distribution. That way you can get an optima and not clutter up the engine bay.