Advice on Budget-Minded Battery

[HDBrown]

While "looking around" on my '81 SC I noticed that there was a lot of battery acid corrosion around the front mounting bracket. I pulled the GIGANTIC Autocraft brand battery out and cleaned up the buildup with "battery acid cleaner", paper towels, and finally water. The battery has a small vent on top that appears to be venting acid down the side of the battery. I've only had the car for 8 months, but the previous owner seemed to be very finicky about things like this (he polished the cooling fan by hand etc) so I think it is a relatively new problem

I've read up a little on the Optima and I would prefer to purchase a new battery that is more reliable and less expensive. I do autocross and plan to start DE'ing soon.

Who has suggestions for a good, reliable, and less expensive replacement battery?

[azasadny]

Sam's Club and Costco carry the Optima Red top for about $100 the last time I checked (about a year ago).

[ischmitz]

Make sure the alternator is not "cooking" the battery. Your battery voltage should be around 14.2 - 14.4 volts with the engine running. Have someone rev the engine while you check the voltage. If the regulator is broken and the voltage is much higher the battery will spill acid. Not a good thing.

And yes, the Optima are a nice alternative and won't leak. But they are slightly more compared to the Autozone parts batteries.....

ingo

[azasadny]

Batteries are too important to just consider the price alone.

[scottb]

I bought a Kirkland (Costco's house brand) battery at Costco for about $60. IIRC, it has a 100 month warranty, with no proration for the first three years. It fit perfectly and has given me no problems since installation.

Ingo's advice is good, however. You should check your charging system to see if it's cooking your battery.

[Mitch Leland]

Howdy,

No matter what I wouldn't put a lead acid battery back in my car. There might be some draw backs to the Optima, but none of them can offset the damage that sooner or later will result with an acid battery.

You can do a search: Optima Battery and you'll find a lot of good information both good and bad about the Optima.

Optima power!

[emcon5]

Originally Posted by scottb

I bought a Kirkland (Costco's house brand) battery at Costco for about $60. IIRC, it has a 100 month warranty, with no proration for the first three years. It fit perfectly and has given me no problems since installation.

Kirkland,among many others is made by Johnson Controls, good batteries.

http://autobatteries.com/brands/index.asp

Ingo's advice is good, however. You should check your charging system to see if it's cooking your battery.

Absolutely.

Tom

[HDBrown]

Thanks for the advice thus far. Art is correct, its too important to consider price alone, but I am looking for value (price + performance). Sometimes the most expensive product is so because it has the best marketing campaign, not the best performance. I was surprised at the number of negative threads on the Optima - I've never had a battery go bad after a year, and most last well over 5 years. Why pay more for less if there is a better option out there. Maybe the Optima is the Harley Davidson of batteries....

I'll check the voltage output tonight. Thanks again!

[ChrisBennet]

I usually use the shorter (normal size) lead acid battery that will fits in a 911. There is even a 2nd hole for the battery clamp. Sorry, I don't recall the battery number.
-Chris

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

My Optima Red Top lasted about two years. Just replaced it with a small Interstate (my battery is in the smuggler's box).

[RickM]

When at the in laws recently I picked up a copy of Consumer Reports. Of all the brands Duralast (AutoZone) and EverStart (Wal-Mart) performed the best. I'm looking for the magazine now for the specific models.

Worthwhile excerpts from the online article:

http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.aspx?contentid=4023696

"Most auto batteries are made by just three manufacturers, Delphi, Exide, and Johnson Controls Industries. Each makes batteries sold under several different brand names. Delphi makes ACDelco and some EverStart (Wal-Mart) models. Exide makes Champion, Exide, Napa, and some EverStart batteries. Johnson Controls makes Diehard (Sears), Duralast (AutoZone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco), Motorcraft (Ford), and some EverStarts."

"The two most crucial factors in choosing a battery are its "group size" and "cold-cranking amps," or CCA."

"Reserve capacity is another important measure of battery quality. It indicates how many minutes your car might run using the battery alone, should the car's alternator fail. You may have to check product literature rather than the battery's labeling to find the reserve capacity.

"Buy a fresh battery—one manufactured less than six months earlier. Batteries are stamped with a date code, either on the battery's case or an attached label. The vital information is usually in the first two characters—a letter and a digit. Most codes start with the letter indicating the month: A for January, B for February, and so on. The digit denotes the year: 0 for 2000, say. For example, B3 stands for February 2003."

"Our tests of batteries regularly show wide variations between and within brands. See below for details on how to obtain Ratings and additional battery information.

"What you can do. Check the battery group size and CCA for your vehicle. Not every brand comes in every CCA level. To get the brand you want, you may need to go a bit above your car's CCA requirements.

Steer clear of batteries with a CCA rating below the one specified for your vehicle, as well as those rated 200 amps or more higher than the specified rating. It's a waste of money to go too high. Buy a battery with the longest reserve capacity you can find. If it's not printed on the battery (and it usually isn't), ask store personnel or check product literature. Should your car's charging system fail, a longer capacity can make the difference between driving to safety and getting stuck."

[HDBrown]

I checked the voltage with the engine running at 1k, 2k, and 3, RPM and it consistently read 13.8 Volts steady. Alternator is newer.

Should I replace the leaking battery or re-install and observe carefully to see if the leak was an anomoly? How about a battery mat?

Yes, I know the easy solution is buy a new battery but I'm a family man on a tight budget so every purchase is carefully considered.

[fred cook]

I bought my 911SC about 7 years ago. The previous owner had installed a used autozone battery (has used stickers on it). While it was still working well, I just replaced it with a new Autozone battery "just in case". When I removed the old battery, there was no indication of any acid spill or any corrosion. It would be a good idea to buy one of the Battery Mat pads that sit under the battery and absorb/neutralize any spilled acid. I believe that the Autozone Duralast batteries are made by Johnson Controls.

[chrisp]

FWIW, the previous owner installed the Optima Red Top in my car. I've owned it since Spring 2001. The battery is starting to have trouble holding a charge. The label has a date code system with little circles that should have been punched (none were) for the appropriate year/month of mfg. There are only three year circles: 98, 99, 00. At the youngest it's almost 8 years old & 10 at the oldest. That's pretty good for a battery. I don't drive the car all that much though. <15,000 miles in the time I've had it.

[84Bliss]

I just replaced my optima redtop with a brand new one (for free) after it stopped holding a charge after 38 months. Optima's have a 3 yr. 100% replacement warranty and a 5 yr prorated warranty. Sam's did a full 100% warranty replacement anyway even though I was a few months past 3 years.

When they were testing my old battery they said that all it needed was a charge, but I just pushed back and said that it will charge up fine but it won't hold it for over 24 hours.

Anyway - I walked out of there with a brand new redtop.

I also have the optima adapter from AJ-USA and it's worked out well. Others have made their adapters for much cheaper.

Even though it might need replacement after a while - the warranty is great and you have piece of mind that there is no acid to worry about.