spoddyandthemazda

Hi

after getting my coils/plugs and leads done, the car started ok this morning, when it was colder, but it was quite sunny today at 5pm and the battery went whoa whoaaa whoaaaaa, then tried again and got lots of clicks, so knew it was the battery. no starting from it at all.

RAC man tested it after giving me a charge and she fired up right away, however battery put in car was something like 380, and he said too small and need a 630 or something, but to put the correct mazda battery in. it had greenish corrosion over the copper + lead and was not the correct size. i believe the previous owner must have swapped the batteries before selling or the dealership. had no idea and been driving the car 2 times a week for 13 months

was late in the afternoon, so all dealerships closed, can anyone advise me of the correct type of battery for the 231hp engine, the 6 speed?

if i can get the correct one, which is the best make, varter or mazda's own?

thanks

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Group 35 ONLY

and need at least 650 CCA

not hard to find.

Most good batteries come with some sort of 3 yr free replacement warranty. Duralast Gold(Autozone) for example.

Some Sears's battery has 4 yrs. check

Nubo

Hard to know what you have available in Ireland. Agreed, stick with Group35. Any larger size will impede cooling airflow in the battery box. In my opinion, look for high amp-hours and/or reserve-hours rating. In addition, AGM batteries have lots of advantages. They are leakproff, maintenance-free and no corrosion to worry about.

If you have Sears, check out the DieHard Platinum-P5 group 35 battery. It's a re-branded Hawkwer Odyssey -- excellent AGM battery with deep-cycle capability. 59 amp-hours which is fantastic for a group35, and 740 CCA. Here in the States, it has a 4-year free replacement and 100 months(!) prorated warranty.

O'Renesis

As suggested above any good quality battery of at least 55AmpHr and with the physical dimensions to fit will do.
I replaced mine with this one from Halfords- http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...Id_165762#dtab
but it is an 1" shorter in height compared to stock. I placed 2 strips of wood underneath to make up the height which allows more cooling air to circulate around the battery and in fact works very well.

spoddyandthemazda

hi

thanks for your help guys, but no sears over here, and i dunno much about batteries group 35 etc. i would drive to the mazda dealership to get one, but dunno if they have one, as anything you ring, ie coils etc they have to order in.

would any make of battery do, which is high cranking, my rotary mechanic said get the highest cranking, damm used car dealership, the current one is not the full size and is sitting on two wooden blocks. only noticed when it wouldn't start knew nothing about battery sizes for these cars.

car is 3 months out of the years warranty i got, but i feel very angry as breakdown man told me it wasn't the correct one, they must have put whatever they had in or the previous owner thought it was ok to save money. he told me it could also damage the coils which may have added to the problem, i had driven the car for a week, but before coils went it started ok, just was a bit rough idling.

the car started fine this morning and drove up the motorway perfect, was a slight hesitation powering up the revs, so backed off at 55mph, but when i was in the motorway joining lane, i kept her in 2nd and red lined and she pulled fine, better than before, due to new plugs etc.

will a lower powered battery just make it harder to start the car on a sunny day, battery was tested and he said it just needed charging, alternator etc was ok, breakdown man was happy to meet someone interested in cars, was telling me about some of the turbo mx5's he tuned up etc in an older job, its my 3rd call out in 2 weeks 2 times for the 8 and once for the mx3. i am just very nervous of the car not starting at work if its another sunny day tomorrow lol. i thought you would not start in the colder mornings which it did ok. i had only driven the car home for 5 miles, but the drive to work was 30 miles so should have charged up. guy said it was just not powerful enough to start the 8, but it went down right away which confused me and led me to thinking battery not holding a charge. the greenish coating on the copper + lead made me think it was dying too.

i would need some advice from UK owners as to whether Kwik fit or Halfords would have one to suit?

thanks

O'Renesis

Halfords do not do a replacement battery for our car, that is they have one listed as a replacement but it is not the correct battery, which I found out when I was purchasing a replacement.

O'Renesis

These are a list of replacement batteries which are better than the original:

•Numax 005L - 60AH 525CCA - £46
•Numax 088 - 68AH 505CCA - £61
•VARTA ASIA dynamic 005L - 60AH 540CCA - £68
•VARTA Bosch 560 098 028 Equiv - 70AH 630CCA - £74
•Bosch Silver S4 026 - 70AH 630CCA - £96
•Optima Redtop 35R - 44AH 730CCA - £130
(will require raising and tightening of positive terminal)

The prices are only approx.

spoddyandthemazda

thanks o'renesis

i know varta batteries were always good, i just need one that will do my 6 speed UK model.
will correctly fit and basically start the car thats all, so what would be the best of that bunch?
there is a tyre garage nearby i could stop and check that do vartas, but no idea of having one for my 8.
also i may leave it till the weekend etc as have to go to work and my az3 is still out.
what do AH, CCA and the 35R mean, does it matter, i just don't wanna hurt my 8 by not having the correct
AH CCA etc etc, what does the 6 speed require?

it has not been my week automotive wise at all!
work colleagues were all oh having problems etc, and don't wanna get the 8 a bad rep, you know.

damm damm damm

O'Renesis

If you can get the Varta or Bosch 70Ah 630CCA battery that would do very nicely, i.e. 560 098 028 or equivalent.
Basically go with the highest ampere hour and cold cranking amps you can, that will physically fit in the battery box. The positioning of the terminals is also critical which is why group 35 is only recommended. The above list of batteries are all group 35 as far as I know.
The Halfords battery I have fitted is a very good replacement and like the Optima 'Red Top' mentioned above will need 1" of a lift so as the top of the battery is in the correct position for the cables etc.

spoddyandthemazda

so the bosch or varta will fit the 6 speed ok? without any modifications?
wish i had rang the guys and seen if they had one, then could have stopped on way to work etc. ah well i'll see if she starts ok tomorrow and then stop by and see. i have heard that the batteries should be surge protected in case you need to jump etc, if you did something daft like left lights on. never did that dunno why it died so quickly after starting ok this morning, was told it was holding the charge, just not enough juice maybe?

i had a look at the numax cheaper ones and rx8 reviewers rated them better than the oem one, only £46 too. i am happy to pay £70-£90 as long as she starts in cold and warm days.

anyone know the battery case in the 8's dimensions?

O'Renesis

I don't have the dimensions of the original battery, maybe someone here can help with that?
This is the Optima 35R- http://www.optimabatteryshop.co.uk/i...164-I7480.html
You can deduce from the given dimensions and compared to the Halfords I linked to above that the dimensions of the original should be approx- L240mmxD170mmxH215mm, give or take a couple of mm's (both these batteries are about 20 to 25mm lower in height than stock, so I added that to the advertised dimensions).

PS. the original battery was not made by Mazda but I think mine was Panasonic or some other Japanese make, and not of any great quality or power. As regards hard starting on warm days, as soon as you sort out your battery I would have the engine compression checked by a Mazda dealer, assuming the warm starting issue persists.

and yes the Bosch, Varta and Numax mentioned above will fit without any mods, that is according to the UK Owners site.

PS. not "damm damm damm" but "Zoom Zoom Zoom"

spoddyandthemazda

many thanks

i'll check out the bosch or vartas they sound a good battery. i think thats all it is as she started ok this morning and if compression wasn't good i don't think i'd get any starting.
it just need extra juice and battery had worn down, didn't even get a half decent crank.

i did plug in my solar panel ciggy charger you put in the window, was wondering did it drain it somehow. i might take a half day and take train to work then come home and go get a battery just to be on safe side. my mechanic said no fluids came out of the spark holes when changing plugs, and car is driving far better than when i bought it, so compression would be ok would it not, i mean she is pulling better, idling smoother stays between 800 and 1000 at idle, not moving up and down just as normal.

when i get the battery i am booking the car in to get tranny oil changed so will get the rotary guy to check compression, he said the engine would be ok, as they are quite strong if looked after, regular 3000 mile oil changes and use good engine oil and injector cleaner at oil change.
RAC man said good car too, not to worry etc just need high cranking battery, dunno why they put that one in, typical dealers not knowing about rotaries!

thanks again, i'll let you know how i get on. hopefully distributor will arrive from the USA by the weekend, priority UPS shipping with insurance/tracking so gonna check it now.

see ya later.

spoddyandthemazda

hi guys

well got the train to work, took a half day and ordered a new battery for the 8 off ford dealership, that also does mazda. i got the mazda zoom zoom battery about 550cca 60ah i think, was told it was the superceeded version, so got lift back to train station and brought battery home. bugger to carry but worth it, got home and took old one out, cleaned the terminals as lots of green crap over the copper positive lead. so noticed the battery was alot taller, and fitted in perfect, will put some copper slip on tomorrow, as it was getting quite cloudy and rainy and wanted to get it installed.

jumped in and fired her up, started alot quicker. i had tried starting the car with the older battery, and it fired up ok, but i put the new one in anyways. has a 3 year guarrantee so at least i'll be covered.

it may have been the corrosion around the terminal, or the starter may need replacing.
i'll see about sourcing a 2nd hand faster one out of a wrecked 8, and get it put in.

i may be able to get a man i know who rebuilds starters to do it up, although the faster one would help.

so i went out for a spin with my dad, who kept saying more power in his merc lol. he said the car was fast but not overly fast, i was holding back a bit to be honest so as not to worry him about the power etc. his 6 cyclinder merc with a turbo is a quick car, but then its a diesel with plenty of torque, not as nimble as the 8 though in corners, etc.

but anyways who the hell cares, i'm back on the road. i'll check the car out this weekend starting in the morning, driving to town and then home and then later in the day.

but she is pulling great, like a new car, the extra power in the battery seems to have helped ok.

all the best

O'Renesis

Great you got it sorted, hope you don't have any more issues with the battery. BTW you can replace the battery terminals with new ones which you can find at any good motor factors, and not so expensive, but also a good clean up and a coating of petroleum jelly should prevent any more corrosion.
cya, as I am packing for a trip to France, Zoom Zoom Zoom.

spoddyandthemazda

right o'renesis

enjoy your trip, are you taking the eight or flying?
anyways have a good time, see you when your back.

yeah its great to be zoom zoom zooming instead of zub zub zubing!

zg3409

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I would update it.
I just today (November 2017) bought a new battery for my 2008 RX8.

Halfords seem to have a good own brand battery in stock, that fits the RX8 holder and has fairly good capacity and cranking ability. It fills all the space. If going for a different one, note the halfords more or less fills all the space, so you cannot go any bigger. Its style is where the terminals stick up as opposed to sunk down into the battery, which I think is needed for this car.

Dimensions (LxDxH): 258x173x225mm

It cost me 90 Euro, but it was in stock and seems to have cured my slow to start issue.

The halfords number is HB030 (which is also what is recommends on the search tool) and all the other batteries they had own brand and branded seemed to be smaller or different. it is 68aH and 550cca


Here is a link:
Halfords 3 Year Guarantee HB030 Lea...

Startup Power: 550 Amps
AH Value: 68
Bench Charge: 4.0 Amps
Average Weight (kg): 18.3
Dimensions (LxDxH): 258x173x225mm
Guarantee: 3 Years
Maintenance-free (MF)