I was at Sears the other day and I started to look at batteries. The Group 35 battery that is in our cars is about 7" wide x 9-1/16" Length x 9" High. I looked at the Group 26R battery and its dimensions were 7" wide x 8-3/16 length x 7-3/4" high. It looks as though this battery would allow for an extra inch near the intercooler piping, weighs about 7-10 lbs. less, has correct orientation for terminals and get this........525 CC Amps with plenty of reserve capacity. The price was $35.00

What I am wondering is this extra inch of clearance sufficient to run most intercooling pipe set ups that work with stock airbox (Like Nisei)

Other options can include:

Group 52: 5-13/16 Wide x 7-5/16" Long x 8-1/4" High
Group 54: 6-1/16" Wide x 7-5/16" Long x 8-3/8" High

I am not sure about the Group 52/54 terminals since they were not in stock at the time.

How much extra clearance is required for these intercooler piping set ups?

 

Getting this battery is bad for two reasons, 1 it wont do anything for you if you are looking to get better IC pipes, the battery is not small enough and the tray will still be there.
2, this is a VERY cheap battery, if its 35 bux then you are talking about the plus start, Its not even a die hard if its 35$. I would either stick with the 35, or go with a group 51/52, (cant remember which has the correct post orientation) if you want a mini battery, but again, you will have to change the tray to reap the benefits of the smaller battery as you are concerned with the IC pipe kits.

 

Thanks for the advice. I guess an inch is still insufficient enough to allow room for the piping. I realized that the tray would have to be trimmed. Probably could get a new one cheap to do this.

You mentioned the 51/52 series batteries, but according to my data:

Group 51: 5-1/16" W x 9-3/8" L x 8-13/16 H - I cannot see how this battery could buy you any extra room in the space available.

Group 52: 5-13/16" W x 7-5/16" L x 8-1/4" H - This may work since it will buy you 1-3/4" in the length.

Then next time I go to Sears, I will check if the post orientation is correct on a 52

 

I got the Miata battery, when I had the upper IC pipe, it worked fine!