Newer Bigger Battery?
 

Hey everyone, after doing a little searching, it seems the battery in my car is smaller than recommended (I'm seeing numbers around 640cca on up being recommended.) The car came with an "Interstate - Mega-Tron II" rated at 550cca. The battery appears new with a 10/10 date sticker on it.

My car already has slow starting from the "original weak starter". The car itself, has never failed to start yet... But in temps in the 30's or lower it really struggles to start, and sounds very slow at first. I've already ordered a "upgraded" starter and it's on the way here as we speak. But I was wondering if it was worth going out and getting a "newer" "bigger" battery. Especially after seeing one video on here of a member going through the process of replacing one at a time (original / new battery / new starter, new battery) and seeing awesome results.

I am the type of person to put ridiculous amounts of sound/electronics into a car, although for a car like this I only plan on adding a small sub/amp combo later down the road (somewhere in the range of 600-800wrms), and possibly some interior lights.

I'm currently looking at these 3 batteries...

DuraLast Gold - 640cca (about $100) <---budget thinking
Optima RedTop - 720cca (about $190)
Optima YellowTop - 620cca (about $220)

So.... Is my current battery good for now? (I Know later down the road when the sound is installed a bigger one will be required, but that won't happen till the car is paid off) Or should I just go ahead and get one of the batteries mentioned above now? Also the current battery has been tested and passed.

Your, Thoughts / Ideas / Experiences / Bitching to search more, are Welcomed. :wiggle:
Thanks,
-Shawn

In N.O. you don't get cold enough to need a big battery for extended cranking. I was looking at replacement batteries at AutoZone and they spec'ed a smaller size than what came with the car.

The first few years of ownership I was constantly having battery issues. One was replaced under warranty and I went through two Autozone batteries under warranty and I have no real aftermarket electronics at the time.

So, I went to autozone, and found their gold one that fit but has 700+CCA and more reserve time. i have not had a problem since. I also put my battery on a charger once a month.

Is this in the store or something? I was on their site and with my car info they listed the 2 top batteries I put in my post, I only listed the yellow top as it seemed to be recommended on here for cars with sound systems in them.

If what you are saying is true (where are the "official" cca numbers located?), then I should only need the updated starter, correct?

correct

I just went into the store and found one. They kept telling me the ones that failed were the right one but I knew something was wrong because the battery they recommended was too short height wise.

I had this battery had to get it replaced 4 times and did not last 3 full years would never buy again ---Optima YellowTop - 620cca

for example if your alternater will goes bad your electric steering it will eat that yellow top up so bad that it will not hold a charge and it will need to be replaced it ok for looks i guess but to me it just wasnt a reliable battery

Yeah, my dad had problems with the yellow tops in offroading after heavy winch use. It's weird some guys swear by them. My father has been using an expensive Die hard for the past year with no issues at all.

If you guys have a Costco membership, they sell batteries for $60 dollars that have a CCA rating of 620 or so. The battery is made by Johnson Controls and has a 3 year free replacement warranty. You really can't beat the price for that battery. Combined with an upgraded starter, my 06 starts in less than a second!

-Lawrence

I have a 20aH battery with 300something CCA (Maybe) that starts my car even after 3 weeks of inactivity...
A weak ignition can make cold starts worse when coupled with a weak starter :)

Thanks for all the replies guys. I personally only had Redtops and DuraLast Gold batteries before and I liked both of them and both were problem free for many years (+4 for the RedTop, +5 for the DuraLast Gold). I had one DuraLast Gold Battery Survive 2 Rx-7's and a Eclipse it was unbelievable.

bse50, My ignition was a problem when I first bought the car, since then I have installed : New Coils / Wires / Plugs from Race Roots and "Seafoamed" the engine. The car runs fantastic, but starting still sounds slow and quiet embarrassing.

I have been taking short clips of it starting, from when I got it to current, listing what I have changed in the process. If you guys like I could put it up even though it's not complete (new starter / possible new battery, missing still) My only mess-up is not recording the temps when the clips were taken.

Thanks,
-Shawn

If you have a fresh ignition system then all the other points are valid :)
I'd do a compression test just to sleep well too!

I plan on that some time next month after the starter is in.
When I say slow I am referring to the Starters Speed (especially when cold outside). I have no complaints of power in the upper or lower RPM range, idles great, and its very smooth.

I forgot to add on the third clip (the best start in my opinion) the battery was sitting on a charger while I changed the ignition, clean terminals and goofed off. (Which kinda led me to posting this thread). I really wish I would have recorded the outside temps in the process...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_sRUU4pWI4

Thanks,
-Shawn

I think you guys were right, Seems a new battery is not necessary. The upgraded starter deal went bad so I went out and got one from autozone. Very impressed for only spending $100 after I turned the old one in.

FF to 1:20 to see new starter in action.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eELOfcvGL2s

Amp-hour rating is more important than CCA. And for this car and your habit of adding lots of electronics I'd say deep-cycle is a very good thing.

Optima are not what they used to be.

You won't go wrong with this:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...1&blockType=L1

It's a re-branded Hawker Odyssey. Lots of reserve capacity, deep-cycle, zero maintenance, leakproof, solid warranty.

Of course if your current battery is doing fine, no big reason to run out. On the other hand, this one will keep you in the fight for a long time if you need to recover from engine flooding, and it will bounce back if you ever leave the car parked for a few weeks and run down the batt.

Thanks for the info Nubo, but after doing more research on here about the 8 I've decided not to add electronics to the car. I don't want to weight down such a fun car to drive. And it seems some members experience power steering issues after adding large electrical demands to their cars.

I did end up buy a optima red top, R34, 800cca and 1000ca sorry don't recal the amp-hour rating off the top of my head. I did it after a 30*f morning and the car was slow to start again. I have no personal bad experiences with optima batteries. So I feel confidant in my choice. If I ever do though I may just look into the one you posted.

Thanks
-Shawn

Oh, and I replaced the little flat tire kit with a 500amp jumper with air pump and lights just incase I flood and need extra juice.

-Shawn

Optima gone downhill since 2000 (I think thats when JC bought Optima's shares)

Even their lead engineer (designer) left the company and went Odyssey (if I recall correctly)

I bought 1 Optima and I got 2 for free :P can't complain that right ?


the one I bought died 1 time when I left the trunk open by accident and left the country for 3-4 weeks. came back the battery was deeply drain down to 2.2 v, didn't even bother to try to charge it I just replaced that one. no questions asked at the store. It wasn't even the correct size so now its in the RX-7.

Then I swap it with the free one (correct size), it was doing well most of the time (about a year), but it did die once, cuz I left it in my 8 outside my gf's garage, then snow storm came so the car buried in snow at 10-15 degrees for couple of weeks. I can't complain that right? I took it home let it sit for a day to get back to room temp then charge it up. back in the 8, looks good as new so far.

The last free one I used to use it to jump start cars. Now its in my father's CX-7. Lets see how long that will last, my father makes a lot of quick start and stop. his stock Mazda battery died just about 2 months ago.

if any of them dies I might go for an Diehard (its just Odyssey) or just get Autozone/AAP battery. at 60-70 bux with 3 yr warranty, can't really beat that. Will see :)

Just did a quick check,

Autozone's Duralast Gold 640 CCA, 100 RC, CA 800.
AAP's Gold Battery, 640 CCA, 110 RC, CA 800.
Optima's YellowTop 620 CCA, 100 RC, CA 770
Optima's Redtop 720 CCA, 90 RC, CA 910


All same size (Group 35)

Odyssey does not have Group 35 Battery. Its either smaller or bigger :(

hmm ..

The Sears Platinum Diehard is available in the Group 35 configuration; it's 746 CCA with a 100 RC :)

Okay just ran and checked my battery, this is what is says.


Duralast Gold

35-DLG

CCA @32F = 800 and CCA = 640 (not sure what the diff is between the two ratings)

Reserve capacity = 100

Well I was just talking about their own brand, not the rebrand ;)

The 800 is ca, not cca

Ca is the amount of power it can give for the first 5 seconds of cranking. I think, or was it hrca ir something. Don't remember right now

Odyssey 35-PC1400

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc1400_35.htm

It says Cold Cranking Amps at 32F :dunno:

BCI group 75/86 battery?

Well doesn't matter really, as long as it fits, I had a different size Optima before, it fits, no biggie.

From Autozone :

It doesn't matter really, its not a bad battery, and Autozone is pretty much everywhere in case you need them.

AAP is cheaper tho :)