what size Optima in an early car?

[turbo dave]

Sorry about the stupid post, I know this has been answered before (probably many times), but I can't find it. I've already tried two Optima's, 75/35-925, and they are too wide.

Thanks,
David

[marc weintraub]

Don't use the Optima... buy the Stinger battery which will fit into the battery box without modification. It is actually slightly smaller than a stock battery for the 1969-73 cars.

Hope this helps,

Marc
marcw@pipeline.com

[turbo dave]

Thanks for the advice, but the Stinger is a little pricy, plus I need to get a new battery, quick (hope to get one this week).

Optima, or bite the bullet?

[marc weintraub]

Dave,

Bite the bullet and try to get the stinger (I paid 165.00). The following links should get you to a local dealer. The money you may save by buying the Optima will eventually grow because most people buy the installation kit also.

http://stingerelectronics.com/
http://aampofamerica.com/dealer_locator_stinger.asp

Hope this helps...

Marc

[turbo dave]

because most people buy the installation kit also.

Installation kit for the Stinger, or for the Optima?

By the way, which Stinger did you use?

[tobluforu]

Do not get the stinger, get the hawker odyssey. http://www.odysseybatteries.com/
It is the same battery with a different name and at a price that is about 50-60 bucks less. I spent a bunch of time looking into this. The odyssey, dynobatt, and holley (sla) battery are all made by hawker.
Get the 925 series-it slides right in. The optima has more cold cranking ability though., but it is much bigger-I have one in my 72 and the hawker in my saab.
The 925mft is about 15 bucks more because it comes incased in metal on four sides.
It is also lighter at 24 lbs.

[marc weintraub]

Hi Dave,

I bought the 800 and it has the same spec as the Optima. Most people bought the installation kit for the Optima. There is no need for one with the Stinger since it fits directly into the battery box with plenty of room to spare.

I am not sure about tobluforu statements since nobody has published the specs in this forum, but I do know that the Stinger I bought had the same specs as the Optima. For what it is worth, however, I have no knowledge about the batteries tobluforu mentioned and he could very well be correct. I also have no idea what he was quoted for a Stinger battery or which one he was looking at, so saying it is $60+- cheaper is open to debate.

My Stinger has been in my car for 3 years without a single failure regardless of climate changes or long storage periods.

[JCR]

I agree, get the Odyssey / Stinger (same battery).

I got the Odyssey at a local Batteries Plus store. Fits into my 73 box sideways with no mods. Came with a nice metal jacket and SAE brass posts.

[tobluforu]

Here's a pretty good write up on some batteries.
http://www.stealth316.com/2-dynabatt.htm#g16ep
I looked, but could not find a stinger 800 series battery for less than 178.00 in the past 2 weeks. Came accross the write up above and went with the 925. I guess I did not look hard enough.
Remember, I too have the optima in my porsche and at the time I installed it over 4 years ago, I could not find a stinger under 200 bucks. Did not know about these others like hawker and such.

[turbo dave]

Well, I guess this wasn't a stupid topic- I've learned more from this thread than I've seen recently, thanks so much for the info. One more thought- I've heard of the Westco Miata battery being used, does anyone here have more information on it?
From the specs, it looks like it'll work well (similar to an Odyssey), but its cheaper:


Westco Battery

[911pcars]

According to the battery chart in the link provided by Tobuforu (http://www.stealth316.com/2-dynabatt.htm#g16ep), the Stinger/Odyssey battery is NOT equivalent to the Optima, at least in terms of cold cranking amp ratings (CCA). What you gain in less battery weight (-10 lbs.) you lose in cranking reserve and battery capacity. In fact, the Hawker website sidesteps the CCA rating and lists a CA (cranking amp) and other ratings that are not commonly used to compare battery capacity. However, 400+ CCAs might be perfectly adequate for your application, climate and operating conditions.

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

[Early_S_Man]

The Miata battery, at 31 Ampere-hours, is less powerful than both the Group 42 battery used in VW Beetles from '67 thru '79 ... AND a single battery [36 Ampere-hours] from the twin-sets used in 911's from '69 thru '73!!!

Rather marginal I would suggest ...

[Early_S_Man]

Peter,

Then, I would say that the factory engineers knew what they were doing when they put the single 36 A-h battery in the lightweight RS 2.7 cars in 1973!

[NYSCAR]

Guys, check out:

http://www.sounddomain.com/shoplist~b~Stinger~t~Batteries

This is where I ordered mine, looks like they have a new cheap 660A model which might be perfect for an early 911!

Brad

[Chuck Moreland]

The Stinger, Dynabat, Holley and some others are rebadged Odyssey batteries (Odyssey is the "house" brand for Hawker, the manufacturer). They put their sticker on them and jack the price up.

Odyssey does provide the CCA for all their batteries. I have all the specs listed here:
http://www.elephantracing.com/battery/batteryspecs.htm

and the batteries here:
http://www.elephantracing.com/battery/batterymain.htm

My personal experience with these batteries has been very positive, in my own cars as well as customers including a number of pelican heads.