myfinalcoffinx Posted November 12, 2005 Share Posted November 12, 2005 What do you guys recommend? I'm planning on replacing my battery, and I'm curious as to what kinds you suggest. I currently have an optima, and I was happy with it, till it started going out. What brands are good, and what should I avoid? Also, is it worth the extra money to get the non-mainteniance ones like i have right now? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95 super subbie Posted November 12, 2005 Share Posted November 12, 2005 interstate batt that what i would choose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I like the Sears Die Hard Gold. The Optimas are very good but I don't think they are worth the higher cost unless you are doing some wild things with the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 If your battery has an easy life, ie no big current drains without the alternator running, and run regularly, non mantainence ones arn't really worth it - the level in my regular battery hasn't gone down in at least a year. Get one with a good guarantee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I've had great luck with my Optima. It's been in the car for four years, seen temps from 80 above to 40 below, been overcharged by a bad alternator at least once, sat for long periods of time without use, and has never needed a jump or a charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I've had good luck with the EverStart maintenance free battery WalMart sells. I had one sitting on my garage floor for about two years when I put in in my Subaru. I was worried it might not hold a charge, since it was already four or five years old, but it's started even on cold mornings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobmater Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 what would you guys recomend for me, i have tons of lights lol optimas are pretty darn spendy! thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capn_r Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I have started getting the group 75 optimas and using them. Just a little smaller dimentions and thirty some dollars less money than the group 24's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 what would you guys recomend for me, i have tons of lights lol optimas are pretty darn spendy! thanks I would go with a deep cycle or marine type battery, as it will handle repeated discharges a lot better than a regular automotive starting battery. Optima yellow-tops are probably the best, but one from NAPA or wherever would probably do just fine, as long as it's a deep cycle battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samo Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Another vote for Optima. I've had two red tops and a blue top and they're amazing batteries. They're on the expensive side, but worth every penny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 i have always used interstate 60 month batteries. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rol1 Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I needed a battery I went to autozone and got a duralast gold. It came with a card that's good for 2 jumps a year for 3 years, at up to $50 a shot. I didn't see a GM alt upgrade on your sig? Maybe get 2 batteries and a battery isolator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 A bigger alternator. Batteries are only used to start the car and as backup when the alternator can't keep up. what would you guys recomend for me, i have tons of lights lol optimas are pretty darn spendy! thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Costco Kirkland brand. They are cheap, and have a 100 month prorated warrantee. I get the 800CCA ones, which is bigger than a subaru really needs. $50 each. I'd like an optima yellow top for running accessories more without the engine on, but those are $200 each or so. Soooo, not yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subestyle18 Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 If you have a lot of draw i would say go with two batteries. A optima red top has a 2 or 3 year full replacement warrenty and you will have to work hard to kill one in that time. Ive had one for 1 1/2 years and have drained it all the way down quite a few times and you just jump it and charge it back up and it'll sit at 12.6 forever. When i started adding lights and stereo stuff i added a second optima a group 31 blue top and a automatic charging relay. This seperates all the accesories from the start battery and runs them off the deep cycle while the car is off so you wont drain your start battery if your hanging out with the lights or stereo on for a long time and the car is not running. When the relay sences that the alternator is charging again it connects the two batteries and charges them both. I also added a little 10 amp 4 stage marine battery charger so if i want to run the accesories for a long time i can just plug the car in and keep my batteries charged up. One great thing about the optimas is that the red top is rated at 1000 cold cranking amps. Thats way over kill for our little subaru's starter but that means if you drain your battery down to 12.2 or so it'll will still crank the engine over when a normal battery would not. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subestyle18 Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Oh yeah the group 31 optima has 75 amp hours 1000 cca and fits perfectly in the spare tire area of an ea-81. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=8369&sort=1&cat=500&page=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 2 our of 3 of Noah's Subies agree, Red Top Optimas are great. They also don't take in crap water when you sink them and die on you at in opportune moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallyruss Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 optimas are great. when I used to work for a parts store we had very low comebacks on them. I have one thats almost 8 or 9 years old. still works. they dont act like regular batteries. when you kill them they can be brought back to life. I have seen it done mutiple times. but do NOT use the cars alt. to charge a completely dead Optima. they can suck up a lot of amperage. use a battery charger and hit with high amps for a while then trickle charge. repeat untill its tests good. interstate batteries are good too. last much longer than most. the kirkland batteries are a cheapo interstate. they dont hold up as good as the real interstate batts. both are manufactured by johnson controls. Deka is a decent battery if you can find them. aviod Exide. not long ago sears switched to Exide as its battery manufacture. quality dropped. dont know if they changed that yet. I agree if you have a lot of load on the system you will need a bigger alternator. I killed mine not long ago because I had too much load for it to handle. currently running an XT alt. as it puts out a little more amperage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfinalcoffinx Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 I guess this post was a bit premature. I'm currently running an Optima yellow top and I've LOVED it for a couple years now. It still holds a charge, so I guess that's not my problem... but thanks for all of the tips. They are a bit expensive, and when it finally does die, I wasn't sure what exactly to do. Anyway, if anyone knows anything about electrical problems, I would appreciate some help. I started another thread called "low voltage-- battery, alternator fine" and it's located here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46624 Basically it outlines my problem, and tells what I've already tried. Again, I would appreciate any help I can get, as it stresses me out. Thanks, Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 u-haul trucks use interstate batteries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Roberts Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 I was wondering about putting a second battery in the spare tire area. No problems with heat, up in that space? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Its got to be ventilated somehow to the outside. A battery makes explosive gasses during its charge/discharge cycles, and sometimes they can be down right nausiating. You will also need a isolater/charger controller. Any reason you want a second battery? nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 for anybody living in the Vancouver area, go to polar battery... very good people... i got one of there own batteries for 60 bucks... rated at i believe 900CCA... bargan eh? these aren't cheapy batteries either... high quality 2 year warrenty(if i remember correctly...) unfortunatly! my dad took it! he told me, "oh we don't want that new battery dying on you while your car sits... how bout if i put it in the truck over here..." and its been in there ever since...:-p when he gets rid of the truck or does whatever with it i'm gettin' my battery back!(walmart batteries aren't my style...:cool: ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 You will also need a isolater/charger controller. Any reason you want a second battery? nipper You only need an isolator if you plan to run one battery way down while powering your stereo or whatever while saving the other battery for startup. If you just want more cranking capacity (which is why I just bought two 750 CCA orbital batteries), an isolotor is not necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudduck Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 I run an optima red top now. I used to run two, one for the car and the other for my cb equipment. I have steped down in size, so I am using just one battery now. I had the second mounted in the rear of the car, in a custum box I made to hold my 6 pill, 2 pill driver and second battery. I ended up steping down because I was replacing alts almost every two weeks to a month. I am planning on adding a gm alt to give me more juice, or even a second alt in place of the ac unit just to supply power for the 6 pill. When I do this I will have three batterys mounted in the back of the car. Bottom line, get an optima, and you shouldn't have any dead battery woes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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