Looking for a battery for my car.

[QueBert]

I think my battery needs replacing, normally I'd yank it out and take it to Auto Zone or Pep Boys to have it tested. But I have a Saturn Sky, which requires a shitload of tools, removing the fender and lord knows how many hours of work to figure it all out the 1st time you do it.
It's a 2008 with the original battery, so even if that's not my problem it's definitely close to it's end.

I'm leaning towards an Optima, I'd like a yellow top, of course Optima's battery finder is only showing me a red top for my car.Oh well, I'm not stuck on getting an Optima, I would like a deep cycle one though. I go to the drive-in a lot and watch 2 movies so a battery that can last with the engine off is a big selling point. Stinger has a great looking battery, but it's $400 which is way out of my budget. I'd like to keep it under $200.

Anyone have a suggestion for me here?

 

[pcgeek11]

Around here Autozone and Advance Auto will install the battery free if you buy one from them.

 

[QueBert]

Around here Autozone and Advance Auto will install the battery free if you buy one from them.

I'll call tomorrow to check, but I don't see how my car would qualify. I doubt anyone at my local Auto Zone would even know how to do it. I would assume free battery installation would only apply to basic installations. There are some videos on YT that show the process, and it's pretty involved. But Auto Zone doesn't carry the type of battery I'm after so it's kind of pointless to ask them about installation beyond so I can know.

 

[LTC8K6]

http://www.ehow.com/how_5033429_remove-battery-saturn-sky.html

Tedious, but not hard, imo.

Without removing the fender?

http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/f11/battery-swap-w-pix-61973/#post933224

I would just get a regular replacement battery.

 

[sm625]

I go to the drive-in a lot and watch 2 movies so a battery that can last with the engine off is a big selling point.

lol usually when you go to the drive in, it is fairly warm outside.It's cold weather that really tests a battery and separates the good from the bad. Any new battery should be able to sit all night and drive your accessories in fair weather.

 

[Zivic]

I put a couple red tops in two of my cars over the last year or so. I haven't had issues with them, but another fellow around town here I know has. He bought around the same time, and his failed within the season. I know the quality isn't the same as in what it used to be for the optimas... some say if the car sits for periods it kills the optimas (red and yellows alike).

My cars will sit for 2 weeks at a time, and I haven't had issues. I wanted the optima for my evo specifically because I relocated the battery to the trunk and don't need a covered box for it. Keep in mind, I paid only about a 10% premium vs a napa legend. if they were upwards of $200 a piece like I have seen the optimas at autozone, I would not have bought them.

I have had very good luck with Autozone Duralast batteries - both the reds and golds. I have a red that I use a forklift that gets about some of the worst treatment a battery could.... it will sit in an unheated shed over winters here in MN, and has started for years now....

I have recently started buying napa batteries as I get a good discount on them. They seem to be holding up well for the last 2 yrs I have been using them.

 

[realjetavenger]

I think my battery needs replacing, normally I'd yank it out and take it to Auto Zone or Pep Boys to have it tested. But I have a Saturn Sky, which requires a shitload of tools, removing the fender and lord knows how many hours of work to figure it all out the 1st time you do it.
It's a 2008 with the original battery, so even if that's not my problem it's definitely close to it's end.

I'm leaning towards an Optima, I'd like a yellow top, of course Optima's battery finder is only showing me a red top for my car.Oh well, I'm not stuck on getting an Optima, I would like a deep cycle one though. I go to the drive-in a lot and watch 2 movies so a battery that can last with the engine off is a big selling point. Stinger has a great looking battery, but it's $400 which is way out of my budget. I'd like to keep it under $200.

Anyone have a suggestion for me here?

It is a little more expensive, but Optima has a yellow top with the exact same dimensions as the red top they list as a fit for your car.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...35-yellowtop-starting-and-deep-cycle-battery/

Length: 9.38 in
Width: 6.75 in
Height: 7.69 in

 

[QueBert]

lol usually when you go to the drive in, it is fairly warm outside.It's cold weather that really tests a battery and separates the good from the bad. Any new battery should be able to sit all night and drive your accessories in fair weather.

I have an upgraded Pioneer head unit, it's not super powerful but it uses a lot more juice than the stock. I can't see any battery making it 3 hours with the car off. The car has the stock battery, and from day 1 if I didn't start it about every 40 minutes at the drive in, I would need a jump.

It is a little more expensive, but Optima has a yellow top with the exact same dimensions as the red top they list as a fit for your car.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...35-yellowtop-starting-and-deep-cycle-battery/

Length: 9.38 in
Width: 6.75 in
Height: 7.69 in

Interesting! I found it for basically the same price on Ebay. I've been reading to be careful where you get the battery from online so I'll look into it a bit more, thanks. I looked at the specs for both, and sure enough this one has identical dimensions. Would be nice, and uh, smart for Optima to list this under batteries that will fit in my car. If it hadn't been for you, they would have lost a sale, thanks to you I'll be ordering this Yellow Top.

 

[tortillasoup]

optima used to make really good batteries but the last 8 or 10 years, their quality has gone down to shit. A former engineer at Optima testified to the fact that they used poorer quality insulators on their spiral wound batteries and that the quality just isn't the same like it was prior to moving the plant to the mexico location. You'll be better off with just about any other brand. I've had optima batteries before and after and I've seen first hand the quality degradation.



check out this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjMuiUlcXO8

uploader's note:
****Note: Die Hard Platinum P3 75/86 are no longer sold....sorry....but great news-Odyssey was the original makers of the Die Hard Platinum and you can get the Odyssey 75/86-PC1230DT for your Sky for a few extra bucks...good luck all!!!

 

[QueBert]

still undecided on which battery to get, I'm looking at the XS Power D4700, has anyone here used their batteries? The reviews I'm finding have all been really good, but I'm not finding a ton of information on them. Car audio heads seem to love XS, and sometime early next year I'll be adding 2 amps a sub and some components. So maybe this would be a good route to go.

http://4xspower.com/shop/d-series/d4700/

This is the one I'm looking at, it's a BCI 47 which isn't the speced battery for my car, but the dimensions are close.

Length – 9.49 in
Width – 6.93 in
Height – 7.48 in

where a BCI 86 is:

Length: 9.38 in
Width: 6.75 in
Height: 7.69 in

 

[JulesMaximus]

I think my battery needs replacing, normally I'd yank it out and take it to Auto Zone or Pep Boys to have it tested. But I have a Saturn Sky, which requires a shitload of tools, removing the fender and lord knows how many hours of work to figure it all out the 1st time you do it.
It's a 2008 with the original battery, so even if that's not my problem it's definitely close to it's end.

I'm leaning towards an Optima, I'd like a yellow top, of course Optima's battery finder is only showing me a red top for my car.Oh well, I'm not stuck on getting an Optima, I would like a deep cycle one though. I go to the drive-in a lot and watch 2 movies so a battery that can last with the engine off is a big selling point. Stinger has a great looking battery, but it's $400 which is way out of my budget. I'd like to keep it under $200.

Anyone have a suggestion for me here?

I have a suggestion. Don't waste your money on an expensive battery.

Just go to Sears or Autozone or wherever and get the cheapest battery they sell. It isn't going to make a bit of difference anyway. A Pioneer HU isn't going to draw anymore power than the stock HU and even if it does the difference would be minimal and well within the charging capabilities of your alternator. Although, why you would leave your stereo on for 3 hours is beyond me...

 

[Gerle]

Although, why you would leave your stereo on for 3 hours is beyond me...

The drive in theaters often transmit the movie soundtrack over radio...

 

[QueBert]

I have a suggestion. Don't waste your money on an expensive battery.

Just go to Sears or Autozone or wherever and get the cheapest battery they sell. It isn't going to make a bit of difference anyway. A Pioneer HU isn't going to draw anymore power than the stock HU and even if it does the difference would be minimal and well within the charging capabilities of your alternator. Although, why you would leave your stereo on for 3 hours is beyond me...

Cheap batteries suck, there are countless stories of people going thru 4 Duralast (Autozone) batteries in 2 years. I went cheap and bought an Energizer for my last car, had 2 go bad within 6 months and a 3rd that barely lasted 2 years. Maybe I just had bad luck? I don't know, but I know it was the cheapest battery Pep Boys sold, and it performed like a cheap POS. Sure a $250 battery is overkill for most people, but I would never buy a Duralast or Walmart house brand battery. And I can attest 1st hand tp how cheap batteries don't hold up when the cars in ACC mode and you're just playing the stereo. When I had a Yellow Top in my old car, I could run shit without the car on for 5 hours and it'd still start fine. With the Duralast I had 2 hours would be pushing it. And 2 or 3 times running it dead the battery would already be on it's last leg. I probably ran my Yellow Top dry 3 dozen times yet it still would hold a charge better than a brand new Duralast Gold. A batteries one thing I'll never cheap out on. Nothing sucks more than being in the middle of nowhere and having a car with a battery that's only 18 months old that won't start.

Now Sears has great batteries, I would buy a Diehard Platinum in a heart beat, but they don't make one for my car. Price wise it would be as much as the battery I'm looking at any ways.

 

[BUTCH1]

Cheap batteries suck, there are countless stories of people going thru 4 Duralast (Autozone) batteries in 2 years. I went cheap and bought an Energizer for my last car, had 2 go bad within 6 months and a 3rd that barely lasted 2 years. Maybe I just had bad luck? I don't know, but I know it was the cheapest battery Pep Boys sold, and it performed like a cheap POS. Sure a $250 battery is overkill for most people, but I would never buy a Duralast or Walmart house brand battery. And I can attest 1st hand tp how cheap batteries don't hold up when the cars in ACC mode and you're just playing the stereo. When I had a Yellow Top in my old car, I could run shit without the car on for 5 hours and it'd still start fine. With the Duralast I had 2 hours would be pushing it. And 2 or 3 times running it dead the battery would already be on it's last leg. I probably ran my Yellow Top dry 3 dozen times yet it still would hold a charge better than a brand new Duralast Gold. A batteries one thing I'll never cheap out on. Nothing sucks more than being in the middle of nowhere and having a car with a battery that's only 18 months old that won't start.

Now Sears has great batteries, I would buy a Diehard Platinum in a heart beat, but they don't make one for my car. Price wise it would be as much as the battery I'm looking at any ways.

Yea, cheaper batteries tend to die off quick but even if you go expensive playing a amp-hungry audio system with the car off is bad for it, even the expensive batteries are not "deep-cycle" design and it it unwise to flatten them playing a stereo with the car off, your shortening the lifespan doing that.

 

[tortillasoup]

Pretty much if you have high drain electronics in a car like amps and whatnot, you'll have to supplement with an actual battery charger because those alternators aren't designed for charging, certainly not when idling.

 

[jlee]

FWIW the Interstate battery in my MR2 was over six years old when I replaced it (it was in the car when I bought it in May 2008) and it still hadn't died, but I replaced it anyway...with another Interstate. I put one in my Tacoma as well. I bought them from Costco.

My Lexus has an Optima Yellow Top that was installed when I bought it. I haven't had any problems with it, but I have heard their quality has slipped.

 

[BUTCH1]

Pretty much if you have high drain electronics in a car like amps and whatnot, you'll have to supplement with an actual battery charger because those alternators aren't designed for charging, certainly not when idling.

Well the are designed for charging, just not charging a completely flat battery. Counter guy at Advance told me the number 1 reason for alternator returns is people swapping out alt's and jump-starting the car only to have the new alt burn out trying to charge a flat battery instead of properly charging the battery first.

 

[tortillasoup]

Well the are designed for charging, just not charging a completely flat battery. Counter guy at Advance told me the number 1 reason for alternator returns is people swapping out alt's and jump-starting the car only to have the new alt burn out trying to charge a flat battery instead of properly charging the battery first.

If you call float charging "charging" then sure but a car that gets a lot of short trips, lots of electrical accessory usage, etc. will have a burned out alternator relatively quickly. It takes about 15 minutes of driving to recharge the energy lost in cranking the engine and that's hoping that the electricity sapping electronics you've got running aren't competing for that energy. This is why the Prius is such a superior vehicle because it *should never have this issue.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Cheap batteries suck, there are countless stories of people going thru 4 Duralast (Autozone) batteries in 2 years. I went cheap and bought an Energizer for my last car, had 2 go bad within 6 months and a 3rd that barely lasted 2 years. Maybe I just had bad luck? I don't know, but I know it was the cheapest battery Pep Boys sold, and it performed like a cheap POS. Sure a $250 battery is overkill for most people, but I would never buy a Duralast or Walmart house brand battery. And I can attest 1st hand tp how cheap batteries don't hold up when the cars in ACC mode and you're just playing the stereo. When I had a Yellow Top in my old car, I could run shit without the car on for 5 hours and it'd still start fine. With the Duralast I had 2 hours would be pushing it. And 2 or 3 times running it dead the battery would already be on it's last leg. I probably ran my Yellow Top dry 3 dozen times yet it still would hold a charge better than a brand new Duralast Gold. A batteries one thing I'll never cheap out on. Nothing sucks more than being in the middle of nowhere and having a car with a battery that's only 18 months old that won't start.

Now Sears has great batteries, I would buy a Diehard Platinum in a heart beat, but they don't make one for my car. Price wise it would be as much as the battery I'm looking at any ways.

I usually buy the longer lasting "premium" battery but I've never spent more than $100 on a car battery in my life and I've never had a battery fail in under 4 years of daily use.

You're throwing money away if you're buying a $400 battery and I doubt that it would last any longer than any other battery.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I buy the cheapest I can find and only use the stereo when I'm driving. They never last less than 4/5 years.

 

[BUTCH1]

If you call float charging "charging" then sure but a car that gets a lot of short trips, lots of electrical accessory usage, etc. will have a burned out alternator relatively quickly. It takes about 15 minutes of driving to recharge the energy lost in cranking the engine and that's hoping that the electricity sapping electronics you've got running aren't competing for that energy. This is why the Prius is such a superior vehicle because it *should never have this issue.

Meh, I doubt that, most cars start quickly these days, yea the load is intense but it's only for 2-3 seconds. The Prius really shouldn't be in the discussion since a hybrid is really a different class than a regular car which does not have regenerative braking or an electric motor.

 

[tortillasoup]

Meh, I doubt that, most cars start quickly these days, yea the load is intense but it's only for 2-3 seconds. The Prius really shouldn't be in the discussion since a hybrid is really a different class than a regular car which does not have regenerative braking or an electric motor.

Like I said, it puts quite the drain which is why it takes so long to recharge. 15 minutes of charging isn't actually that long when you consider that it can take hours to charge a 50ah battery. Since most cars don't have excessively high charging voltages but usually around 13.2-14.1, charging times are actually longer than on a dedicated battery charger. A car that has a charging voltage of 13.2 will take a very long time to charge the battery which is why I mention the whole 15 minutes to restore lost charge due to engine cranking. But that's just engine cranking, what about all the lost power from the parasitic electronics? And then the best of all, the smart key system on some cars which is a HUGE parasitic draw. Alarm + Smart Key + Heated Seats + frequent engine cranking + short drives = dead battery in a year or two if you don't do periodic charging.

Prius doesn't have this issue as much (smart key is a killer though) because the hybrid battery does all the cranking and the hybrid battery to 12v converter always keeps the 12v battery fairly well topped off until you get towards the end of life. On one older prius, the owner didn't want to replace the 12V battery right away even though it's 10 years old and has a resting voltage of 11.5, so I turned off the smart key system which had the effect of boosting the fuel economy from an abysmal 40mpg to 47mpg average. That's what you get when you have a weak/bad battery!

 

[JEDIYoda]

Around here Autozone and Advance Auto will install the battery free if you buy one from them.

But not If iy involves taking half the car apart...

 

[pcgeek11]

But not If iy involves taking half the car apart...

They do have an out I guess.

Free installation with a battery purchase "on most vehicles".

 

[tortillasoup]

Those shops will not install a battery if it's too difficult or takes too much time. I believe they even have certain vehicles that are "blacked out" for the purpose of installing a battery. I mean you really think AZ is going to install a battery in a Saturn Sky?