So I went to buy a new battery today, and I wanted something that works well against drains and is also lightweight. Anyway I went in trying to buy an Optima Yellow Top (which is not light by any means), but the person at the shop recommended this...
http://www.kinetikpower.com/hc600.asp

From the website, it seems that was meant to be a supplemental battery. Does anyone know if this one is strong enough to work as a replacement to the OEM battery? The person at the shop was saying since this had 600 cranking amps, it should be ok. I have no clue about batteries, so what do you all think?

If you have suggestions of a better battery, let me know.

Thanks,
-hS

Hmmm... the braille seems to have 900 cranking amps for $25 less. Also coming in at 11 pounds. Also comes with free mounting kit.

http://www.brailleauto.com/ProductCart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=4&idproduct=1#details

Is there anything significantly better about the Kinetik that would justify the higher price?

-hS

The Odyssey Batteries are comin in at around 100 to 125 dollars.

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/applications/auto.htm#bcigroup

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=101591&highlight=braille+auto+development

That Braille + Power Connecter seems to be exactly what i need. I know its not september anymore, but i'll see if they can give me a good deal.

Thanks!

np!

So i call Braille to order the battery, and they must be pretty busy. No answer over the phone and no response to email. I guess I'll try them again tomorrow.

So I went to buy a new battery today, and I wanted something that works well against drains and is also lightweight. Anyway I went in trying to buy an Optima Yellow Top (which is not light by any means), but the person at the shop recommended this...
http://www.kinetikpower.com/hc600.asp

From the website, it seems that was meant to be a supplemental battery. Does anyone know if this one is strong enough to work as a replacement to the OEM battery? The person at the shop was saying since this had 600 cranking amps, it should be ok. I have no clue about batteries, so what do you all think?

If you have suggestions of a better battery, let me know.

Thanks,
-hS

I think "supplemental" refers to its use in a big audio system, to prevent voltage sag during big bass hits, etc.

Whether or not it's appropriate as a starter battery depends on your goals, I guess. While 600 CA is enough to start the car; overall I think these super-lightweight batteries are marginal as starting batteries for *general* use. They just don't have much of a reserve. You really have to hope the car starts quickly, and on the first try. You may not have much luck recovering from even a partial flood. And this is with a brand-new battery. Factor in loss of capacity over time and it becomes even more dicey.

Not saying it won't work for you; just that the engineering compromise is skewed much heavier towards weight savings than reliability. Whether or not the 20+ lbs savings is worth it, is up to you. It is weight at the periphery, which does translate to lower polar moment of inertia... but I don't know if it's something you're really going to notice in performance on a daily basis? Maybe save it for the track.

Glad to see someone is reading this thread and not assuming those tiny batteries are a good thing.

I've been puzzled by the appeal of paying three or four times as much money for a battery with about a quarter the capacity of a conventional one. As Nubo suggests, it can make sense for the track where every bit of weight counts, but it leaves a lot to be desired for every day use.

I'm also puzzled by the acceptance of the term "pulse cranking amps." Is that a real term? When I google it, all that shows up are the makers and sellers of these tiny batteries. When I google the the conventional term "cold cranking amps" I get how-to and reference sites, as well as vendors listing the CCA ratings for their batteries. Why don't the makers of these batteries use industry-standard specs?

Ken

Interesting points fellas, and I appreciate the input.

I bit the bullet and bought the braille today. I'll let you know how it works out for a daily driver car. Then again... the car is only driven 4 or 5 times a month.. but still its not only for when i race.
Also, one good thing here in Hawaii is it never gets cold so "cold starts" aren't really a big issue for us.

Like i said before... i'm a total noob when it comes to batteries, so i appreciate all the info. If anything this is gonna be good learning experience.

-hS