Hi kids

My cheap k-mart battery has been on its last legs for the last week or so. Every time I start the car, it hesitates to turn over, and when it does, it takes like, 2,3 goes until the car starts.

Anyway, tonight, it finally gave up on me. Turned over once, and just died, and all the lights went dim. I guess its time for a new battery!

I think I'm leaning more towards a dry cell battery, with a high CCA.
Any suggestions? I know, I know, probably something from odyssey, optima, stinger etc etc...

So, tell me, what battery do u guys use? Worth spending extra on a dry cell? stability of dry cell/lead acid? Usable lifetime of the two compared?

I wouldnt mind seeing what most ppl think is a good battery as i may need to upgrade mine with my new audio gear that will be coming in.

Tom

Without a doubt... Optima Yellow top...

Will last forever and a day, you can run it flat hundreds of times with no loss (unlike conventional batteries which deteriorate rapidly when you run them flat) totally sealed, you can mount the thing upside down.

Leave the car for months it will crank up first time. Will do wonders for your audio too.

If you dont wanna spend that much look to others in the odyssey/optima range

Stinger gear is usually pretty exxy for what it is. I saw some hot stinger altenators though. I would stick with the optima if possible.

Peace

Tim

Without a doubt... Optima Yellow top...

Will last forever and a day, you can run it flat hundreds of times with no loss (unlike conventional batteries which deteriorate rapidly when you run them flat) totally sealed, you can mount the thing upside down.

Leave the car for months it will crank up first time. Will do wonders for your audio too.

If you dont wanna spend that much look to others in the odyssey/optima range

Stinger gear is usually pretty exxy for what it is. I saw some hot stinger altenators though. I would stick with the optima if possible.

Peace

Tim

how much would a Optima Yellow top cost

Like s_tim_ulate said, if you want the best.. get a sealed lead acid battery. They are hell expencive though.

If you want a decient battery, get a normal car battery with a little more CCA than the recomended but maintain it. Buy a bottle of demineralised water and to up the battery every time you change your oil. If you do this you will have a good battery for the life of the car, so long as it doesn't run flat more than a handful of times.

yeah, see i was leaning towards a sealed one, but the pice is the main concern, and I don't know how long it'll REALLY last...i mean, "run it flat hundreds of times, and it still keeps working" sounds a little too good to be true lol

Yelloowtops
D51 RRP$319

D34 RRP$499

D31 RRP$539

I'm guessing the 'one' to get for me is the D34? Seems like the right type, its the deep cycle one....

Honestly though, how long would a yellow top last? 5years? 7 years? 10 years? My trips are usually 20 minutes long....with the occasional 1.5hr drive up or down the coast, and I NEVER have the stereo on with the car off.

PM Philcom Rally. He does batterys and could probably give you some decent advise and price.

yeah, yellow top would probably last 8-10 years or so...however, I don't think anybody seems to have a D34 yellowtop sitting around in their store in brisbane :doubt:, so I'll just make my way to supercheap and grab athe best one i can find :cry:

the best well thats got to be optima for sure nothing is as good. ive got a yellow top in my tp never had one so good. it cost me $150 butt i know the guy and it fell off the back of a truck hehe lucky me

the best well thats got to be optima for sure nothing is as good. ive got a yellow top in my tp never had one so good. it cost me $150 butt i know the guy and it fell off the back of a truck hehe lucky me

damn i hate you!! :rant: :rant:

if u think about it...optima yellow top $380...lasts 8 years

Cheapo lead acid...$100....lasts 2.5-3 years. so u buy 3 of these, lasts a bit longer and saved urself a bit of money!! Only diff is that I won't be cranking my stereo when the car's off...but who does that anyway eh?

Few mates of mine in car audio (talking a near 5000 w rms) have used their yellowtop d34's for 10 years...

And still going strong.

And they tell me its the best thing they've ever bought, u end up making money as you never have to buy another battery again.

i have had my optima yellow top battery for over 5 years and still going strong and have had stereo on while car is off.

No problems with it at all!!!

Buy it, best thing u will ever do!!!!

How long does it run with the stereo off?

How long does it run with the stereo off?
ummm
a few years

with stereo on is all dependent on current draw and amp hours of battery

Well my original battery with magna Diamon brand 420CCA lasted almost 3.5 years , with alot of music with engine off ( not crancking but soft listening), oh and i got car for 2.5 years and haven't toped the battery for once.

Replaced with RACV's Top of the range 560CCA for $139.

so considering that 139 x 3 = $417 = 10.5 years (3.5 x 3) atleast. and its still cheaper than D34 and may be more life than D34.

So i really wonder in how much "longer time" it will be cheaper to have D34 installed.?????

but in the end its your choice and your money.

My last elcheapo weakling battery cost me 80 dollars, i bought that when i bought the car. If you look after them (keep fluid levels up) they last at least 5 years. Mine is turning five soon and its the same as it was from day one. I used to pump my two 10's and amp for a good half a day at car shows and its lasted still.

The only reason you would need a SLA battery is if you wanted to remote mount without the ducting required by law. Also the fact that they are lighter for the equivelant battery, so for racing purposes I will be getting a very small SLA battery and mounting in the boot, to reduce/distribute weight and lower the centre of gravity by lowering the battery positiong.

Oh and ofcourse wank factor.

r u running 2 guage lol

cheaky :P

Bought a KE brand new in Dec 96. Origional battery died in jan '99 and replaced it with a Bosch gold series and it is still running like new. It is the recommended battery in the bosch manual in the Gold series. You can pick them up froim Super cheap for about $110. They have the handy indicator window in them so you just have to look at that rather than opening all the caps up. They are also a fairly high output battery as well which is good.

Hey, I have to agree about not needing to go the hard-core expensive batteries unless you are an audio diehard.
I have had a cheap autobahn battery in my R31 Skyline for 4.5 years, only topping it up when I can remember. It has been flat only a couple of times.
On the other hand in my R32 Turbo I used to go through the top century & exide batteries every 2 years and they were maintenance free.

The main thing that killed my R32 batteries was the heat! My engine bay got so hot that you couldnt hold the bonnet stay after a decent drive. Both cars were always charging around 14.2 v, which is important for keeping battery in good charge.

SO if you get a battery with a two year warranty and keep it cool and don't run it flat too often you should get atleast 3 years out of a battery, especially if you get one with a higher rating than std.

P.S. I have just got a TJ but it doesn't have a battery cover like my mates TH, is it supposed to have one? haven't seen another TJ to compare yet.

Stephen

battery CAI anyone?

The battery cover dabacle is still not really know but apparently MMAL decided to remove it as it was keeping the heat in the battery area and cooking it.

So dont worry about it u dont need it anyway, ive actually got the one from my TF lying around the house somewhere.

Tom

Bought a KE brand new in Dec 96. Origional battery died in jan '99 and replaced it with a Bosch gold series and it is still running like new. It is the recommended battery in the bosch manual in the Gold series. You can pick them up froim Super cheap for about $110. They have the handy indicator window in them so you just have to look at that rather than opening all the caps up. They are also a fairly high output battery as well which is good.

WOMFOWOIIHLKGUIHEIUGI#*(HJKBN<MFOMGW

damn...I got one of these at super cheap today! lol. $109, with a 3 year warranty, 480CCA or something, and yeah, it has that cool window which tells u the condition its in.

heat's a big killer i know, but yeah, i have a battery cover, plastic thing, which should help its lifespan.

The battery cover dabacle is still not really know but apparently MMAL decided to remove it as it was keeping the heat in the battery area and cooking it.

So dont worry about it u dont need it anyway, ive actually got the one from my TF lying around the house somewhere.

Tom

too lazy to copy paste..

anyhow....REALLY??

Might need to wire up a few dozen computer fans under my battery cover then eh?!