I desperately need a battery for my 2004 RX-8. I called my local Mazda, but they are having issues getting one due to the earthquake in Japan a couple months back. Any recommendations would be fantastic.

 

where are you located? you could walk into most any autoparts store and pick up a battery

 

I can just imagine the derisive comments to follow this, but my car has had a wal-mart battery from '08 (from the previous owner) to just now.. it tested good but I replaced it anyway because the cooling fans weren't coming on as usual. I was out of town on vacation... lol

Anyway, solved the problem for me.

 

The guy on the phone made it seem like the battery needed to be very specific for the RX-8. Seemed odd to me so I thought I would ask here.

 

search around here and you'll find a threads upon threads about aftermarket batteries for the 8. I'm currently running an optima yellow top remoted located in my trunk.

 

Just go to autozone.

 

Voltage is voltage, I'd be surprised if there was anything truly special about the batteries they're trying to sell you as opposed to a walmart battery except maybe durability, even that could be debated though.

 

It has to fit the holder, but it's a very common size, Walmart, Costco, AutoZone will all have them.

Tip - they usually have a date code on the top, a sticker that says D1 or some other code - usually, the code starts with a letter that corresponds with the month--'A' for January through 'L' for December (some manufacturer's codes omit 'I'; for them, 'M' indicates December). The second character of the code is a numeral that stands for the year.
Thus, a code starting 'A2' indicates that the battery was shipped in January 1992; 'B2' indicates February 1992, and so on. (Delco reverses the letter and the number; a Delco code starting with '2C' indicates the battery was shipped in March 1992.)

batteries are charged at the factory, but after six months on a shelf they get 'stale' and will hold less charge forever - you want a nice fresh one from the rack.....

 

This is just silly talk. The OEM battery since the 2005 starter/battery upgrade is Interstate and they're readily available. So are a host of others.

 

Yup, Interstate Batteries with a Mazda label. Even come in an Interstate delivery truck. Personally I like Interstate batteries, but I believe most batteries come from the same US factory. Johnson Controls or something.

I think it's considered Hazardous waste or something to ship batteries overseas from Japan. I think that is one of the reasons you can't buy the actual Mazda Miata Panasonic AGM battery (even though it won't spill) and have to use a regular Mazda/Interstate battery when they need a replacement.

 

I recommend the RX-8 sized Bosch battery sold at Pep Boys. So does Consumer Reports. About $90.

 

The only specificity is finding a battery with the terminal posts in the correct orientation.

 

Onamazu strikes again ...

and is this a DIY on how to fail at putting the topic in the correct forum?