Battery

k9t8m

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After a long winter of the battery sitting in the cold, all 6 cells are dead. Time for a new battery. Does anyone prefer one brand over another? I just want a decent battery that can withstand the abuse of highway driving with all the electronics and big stereo, and also the trips to the race track.

Im pretty bad about not charging it when it runs down, so ill be running one of these from now on.

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Any suggestions on a decent battey?
 
I have gone with Advance in the past and have not been sorry as they backup their stuff. Just make sure you buy the most CCR battery.
 
We'll I have a Red top Optima on mine and it hasn't failed yet.

I had one for a couple year, worked great until one day it started getting hot, leaking hydrogen, and bulging ominously. :eek:

I'm currently runnig a Braille no-weight battery, size of a stereo head unit. One of their smallest and it turns my v8 like a champ. One of their larger units should be able to support anything you care to hook up. the Are AGM batteries, light and easy to mount.... bit expensive though.

I've heard good things about Odessy, too.
 
Optima Batteries if you want to spend the bucks, otherwise a titanium advance auto battery is good. I believe the same company that makes Advance Auto batteries makes Die Hard for Sears and a few others. I put a titanium in my wife's Jetta a few years ago and no problems starting it even after it sits for a few days in the middle of winter.
 
I'm currently runnig a Braille no-weight battery, size of a stereo head unit. One of their smallest and it turns my v8 like a champ. One of their larger units should be able to support anything you care to hook up. the Are AGM batteries, light and easy to mount.... bit expensive though.

Have any pics of the mounting?
 
Up here in the frozen north, I learned at an early age to buy the biggest battery that will physically fit. In my older cars, that meant measuring the battery tray with a tape measure, and getting the largest battery that fit in hole - to heck with the book. (my lawn tractor and Town Car have the same 1000 CCA battery!)

In the Mark, it was a bit trickier because of the mounting system. I just got the largest available in that size from Car Quest here in town. Cost about $100, if I recall correctly. Also, when I store the car for the winter, I pull the battery and keep it inside.

Which reminds me. How many of you have broken the battery clamp on your Marks? I haven't broken my own yet, but I've broken a handful of T-Birds and Cougars with the same system. A bit or rust combined with that really long bolt, and it twists right off!
 
Red top optimas have worked well for me. I have seen some guys in another forum use the braille ones with great results but they are really expensive. Also, the sears die hards have work well for me also, until I let them sit dead a few times.

The battery you had probably would have been fine with a maintainer on it or just disconnected from the car. Once a lead acid battery dies completely it looses a huge portion of its capacity!
 
Once a lead acid battery dies completely it looses a huge portion of its capacity!

Single largest cause of death for typical batteries. That's why I went with the Odyssey brand. Their deep cycle construction tolerates excessive discharges much better than wet cell batteries. I'm sure the same holds true for Optima and other such brands.
 
I believe the optima yellow tops are the true deep cycle battery vs the red top. The only disadvantage to the yellow vs the red is typically less CCA for the same size battery.

JP, what does an Odyssey battery go for?
 
JP, what does an Odyssey battery go for?

It's over $200. Summit carries them, PC1200LMJT is the model I have. They currently show an estimated ship date of 5/18!

I bought mine in '04 from batterycountry.com for like $160. They now are asking almost $300! :eek:

Sure makes them Braille batteries look cheaper by the day. :D
 
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