I used to run a 680MJ, I had so many issues I literally had one in the engine bay and one in the car for when that one died. The extra ~20 lbs or so just wasn't worth it for me - maybe in a pure race car but frankly you can save that weight elsewhere - I like going out to my car after it's been sitting a few days and knowing it's going to start up with no issues.

 

I do like the solar charger myself. But one problem with that, is the car when it is sitting, is always under the car cover .

I may just stop at Wal-Mart tonight to see what they have for battery tenders. Granted taking it in and out I'm sure will become a pain, but what hasn't been a pain this time of year.

 

The Deka ETX14 is a great and cheap alternative to the Odyssey and Braille. 60 dollars. 200 CCA.

 

I use this one:

http://www.bigcrank.com/bigcrank_batteries.php

I have been using the ETX14 battery in a Nisei battery tray. So far it works great. Though I did let the car sit for about two weeks and she drained down. Popped her on a Battery tender for about 16hrs and good as new. Still has about 11.9v on it right now after sitting for a couple days.

Buddy of mine has had one of these for two years in Texas--no issues.

BTW...Deka makes Braile...and this one as well.

 

nisei genesis

 

Or you could spend less than half the money and get a lighter battery that's just as strong.

 

The solar charger would be helpful to keep the battery topped off when its just sitting during a full day at work, or your cars uncovered at home for the day while your at work. Its sure better to always have these mini-batteries in a constant state of charge.

11.9v is a SHOT battery. If you let the battery go below much more than 11.4v while sitting, its not good for the life of the battery. Granted, a lot of these batteries are able to be deep cycled and still perform, they can only do that so much before it starts to affect performance and reliability.

 

Oh wow...I didn't know that. She still turns over well enough....hmmm.

Maybe I'll put her back on the trickle charger for a while. Thanks for the heads up! I figured that 11.9 wasn't too far off of 12v.

 

Well guys, for an update on my situation. After talking to several people and what not, I had decided to just go with the Odyssey PC680. So I called a few places on it, just to check stock, just to be safe, and guess what, BACKORDER. So after talking to a guy at a local motorcycle shop, I got the number direct to Odyssey, and they said the same, the reg PC680 is on a backorder for 22 weeks. Can't imagine why.

It gets good though. I spoke to the lady there, explained the situation, and for the record, she was a real helpful, she showed some awesome customer service. So in the short, they are shipping me out one PC680MJ-T (which is basically the reg, with the red metal sleeve, and SAE terminals), for the total of $140.95 to mu door USPS from CA.

Now I play the waiting game...oh and thanks for all the tips guys!

 

Cool.

 

wow that is a great price. So did you have the mini battery last winter bill? How did it hold up through the cold?

 

Spins4, the Odyssey is the battery that came with your Buschur mini battery kit. It is a great battery, but you could get the Deka, which is pretty much the same battery only lighter, for 60 bucks. Vankuen and I tried to save you a few bucks.

 

seeing alot of this lately now that its cold. My gets driven once a week or so since im in IRAQ. should be good though but i also have been looking at the braille.......

 

Go to your local parts store and get a Miata battery. Its 1/3 the size of the stock one and it IS a car battery.

 

That is what i was thinking. Westco makes a really nice miata battery. It is $90 with like 475CCA and is tiny. I am not so concerned about weight as long as it isnt HEAVIER then stock. I am just not sure they are small enough to run with most UIC pipes.