recommendation on top of the line car battery?
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Joined: Nov 2005
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From: socal
recommendation on top of the line car battery?
i was looking for some advice on some brands of car battery.
i am interested in brands that are top of the line.
here are some of the things im looking for in a battery.
-reliable proven.
-easy to purchase. prefer not to order online and wait for delivery if possible.
-must have the highest cca and reserve.
-must be of high quality.
-no maintenance
-great with changing atmospheric temperatures
-AGM or Gel cell
*price is not an issue. i am willing to pay for the best.
i am willing to go with Gel Cell battery to try out if they are considered better than AGM. i dont have any experience with gel cell but i have used AGM.
so far i am i have only found a few brands i think are good but no experience with them at all.
braille battery.
odyssey battery.
XS Power.
northstar battery.
i am interested in brands that are top of the line.
here are some of the things im looking for in a battery.
-reliable proven.
-easy to purchase. prefer not to order online and wait for delivery if possible.
-must have the highest cca and reserve.
-must be of high quality.
-no maintenance
-great with changing atmospheric temperatures
-AGM or Gel cell
*price is not an issue. i am willing to pay for the best.
i am willing to go with Gel Cell battery to try out if they are considered better than AGM. i dont have any experience with gel cell but i have used AGM.
so far i am i have only found a few brands i think are good but no experience with them at all.
braille battery.
odyssey battery.
XS Power.
northstar battery.
Evolved Member
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 805
Likes: 110
From: Vancouver, BC
I just have Optima YellowTop (AGM) D35 installed and it works great. It starts so strong that I feel it's going to break the starter, lol.
The OEM Panasonic battery has been in the car for 4 years. It is otherwise fine, but in cold winter morning it struggles to crank the starter, sometimes dropping below 10 volts and could not start the car. I have tested the starter and alternator in the Evo and both appear to work fine.
I was trying to get a Bosch S6 Flat Plate AGM (which has a venting tube port), but the availability is low. The YellowTop otherwise is available everywhere.
Optima YellowTop D35 in a CZ4A Evo X
Edit: I did recently found this:
Hello, I noticed your conversation and wanted to offer some assistance. Even though our batteries have a “sealed” design, all lead-acid batteries can vent gas. Under normal operating conditions, an AGM battery will not vent gas. Since alternators or chargers can fail, the safest and correct mounting method for trunks and passenger compartments is to make sure that any possible gas venting will escape to the outside of the vehicle. All vehicles with original equipment battery locations in the trunks or passenger compartments will have a vent provision that should be used.
Our group 27, 51, 34C, and 31 batteries all have ports for connecting a vent hose. Although people do it anyway, we would never recommend installing an unvented battery in any enclosed space, because there's a legitimate, albeit unlikely, safety risk involved.
For example, IF there is a voltage regulator failure, and IF the battery is severely overcharged, and IF this goes unnoticed, and IF the battery vents because the internal pressure exceeds the release pressure of the vents, the gasses are both flammable and toxic. This may sound like a lot of “ifs,” but attorneys and engineers get paid to plan for every worst-case scenario. If anyone has any questions about our batteries, I'll do my best to answer them.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
Our group 27, 51, 34C, and 31 batteries all have ports for connecting a vent hose. Although people do it anyway, we would never recommend installing an unvented battery in any enclosed space, because there's a legitimate, albeit unlikely, safety risk involved.
For example, IF there is a voltage regulator failure, and IF the battery is severely overcharged, and IF this goes unnoticed, and IF the battery vents because the internal pressure exceeds the release pressure of the vents, the gasses are both flammable and toxic. This may sound like a lot of “ifs,” but attorneys and engineers get paid to plan for every worst-case scenario. If anyone has any questions about our batteries, I'll do my best to answer them.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
Last edited by Lightsaber; Jan 22, 2018 at 09:04 AM. Reason: Added info
Newbie
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 15
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From: SF
I just have Optima YellowTop (AGM) D35 installed and it works great. It starts so strong that I feel it's going to break the starter, lol.
The OEM Panasonic battery has been in the car for 4 years. It is otherwise fine, but in cold winter morning it struggles to crank the starter, sometimes dropping below 10 volts and could not start the car. I have tested the starter and alternator in the Evo and both appear to work fine.
I was trying to get a Bosch S6 Flat Plate AGM (which has a venting tube port), but the availability is low. The YellowTop otherwise is available everywhere.
Optima YellowTop D35 in a CZ4A Evo X
Edit: I did recently found this:
The OEM Panasonic battery has been in the car for 4 years. It is otherwise fine, but in cold winter morning it struggles to crank the starter, sometimes dropping below 10 volts and could not start the car. I have tested the starter and alternator in the Evo and both appear to work fine.
I was trying to get a Bosch S6 Flat Plate AGM (which has a venting tube port), but the availability is low. The YellowTop otherwise is available everywhere.
Optima YellowTop D35 in a CZ4A Evo X
Edit: I did recently found this:
Newbie
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: SF
I just have Optima YellowTop (AGM) D35 installed and it works great. It starts so strong that I feel it's going to break the starter, lol.
The OEM Panasonic battery has been in the car for 4 years. It is otherwise fine, but in cold winter morning it struggles to crank the starter, sometimes dropping below 10 volts and could not start the car. I have tested the starter and alternator in the Evo and both appear to work fine.
I was trying to get a Bosch S6 Flat Plate AGM (which has a venting tube port), but the availability is low. The YellowTop otherwise is available everywhere.
Optima YellowTop D35 in a CZ4A Evo X
Edit: I did recently found this:
The OEM Panasonic battery has been in the car for 4 years. It is otherwise fine, but in cold winter morning it struggles to crank the starter, sometimes dropping below 10 volts and could not start the car. I have tested the starter and alternator in the Evo and both appear to work fine.
I was trying to get a Bosch S6 Flat Plate AGM (which has a venting tube port), but the availability is low. The YellowTop otherwise is available everywhere.
Optima YellowTop D35 in a CZ4A Evo X
Edit: I did recently found this:
Interesting. I haven't checked mine yet but does the Evo X have provisions to allow the battery to vent any gas externally?
Yeah, the OE battery setup has a vent. With AGM/Sealed batteries it's more of a fail safe than a required safety item as an AGM will only out-gas if overcharged.
I'm a big fan of XS Power batteries these days. Optima's quality control has been less than stellar the last 5 or so years and I don't think they're worth the money any more but their widespread availability at the average auto parts store makes them the most accessible battery for our cars.
The Bosch S6 is identical to the Exide fp-agm35, in case you can get Exide more easily locally.
I'm a big fan of XS Power batteries these days. Optima's quality control has been less than stellar the last 5 or so years and I don't think they're worth the money any more but their widespread availability at the average auto parts store makes them the most accessible battery for our cars.
The Bosch S6 is identical to the Exide fp-agm35, in case you can get Exide more easily locally.
Last edited by splattj; Apr 4, 2019 at 06:04 AM.
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Evolved Member
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 805
Likes: 110
From: Vancouver, BC
My darn Optima battery recently died. To avoid Optima I intend to try a different AGM battery the next time:
Optima Yellow Top Group Size 35 is the part. I don't want to put garbage like the Optima in my car again.
Walmart Canada has EverStart AGM MAXX (680 CCA). Across the pond in Autozone they have Duralast Platinum AGM (680 CCA), and in Batteries+Bulbs they have X2Power Premium AGM (740 CCA). These will be my preferred replacement choices.
Walmart Canada has EverStart AGM MAXX (680 CCA). Across the pond in Autozone they have Duralast Platinum AGM (680 CCA), and in Batteries+Bulbs they have X2Power Premium AGM (740 CCA). These will be my preferred replacement choices.
Evolving Member
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 469
Likes: 38
From: HWY 9
I've had great luck with Optima batteries. I run a red top in my IX and it's going on 4 years now with no issues. We also used to use Deka Intimidators which is Deka's higher-end AGM. Never had problems with those either.
@Lightsaber , batteries that use electrolyte(sulfuric acid and water) do not handle extreme cold conditions well. I don't think the issue in your case was a fault of Optima, but was simply an environmental issue. I imagine any other battery that isn't a Lithium cell is going to experience the same issues in harsh conditions.
@Lightsaber , batteries that use electrolyte(sulfuric acid and water) do not handle extreme cold conditions well. I don't think the issue in your case was a fault of Optima, but was simply an environmental issue. I imagine any other battery that isn't a Lithium cell is going to experience the same issues in harsh conditions.
Evolved Member
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 805
Likes: 110
From: Vancouver, BC
-20°C (-4°F) isn't the coldest here. Under that temperature, all my coworkers drove their cars to work with no problems, except one coworker's battery (4 years old) died. Most of them aren't car-sophisticated and use whatever the cheap batteries they can find. There is no excuse that Optima's AGM dies within 1 year.
The seller, Canadian Tire apologized to me regarding the dead Optima and gave me a new one under warranty. The shop wasn't even busy that day. Most cars started fine.
The seller, Canadian Tire apologized to me regarding the dead Optima and gave me a new one under warranty. The shop wasn't even busy that day. Most cars started fine.
Newbie
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 15
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From: SF
Newbie
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: SF
My darn Optima battery recently died. To avoid Optima I intend to try a different AGM battery the next time:
Optima Yellow Top Group Size 35 is the part. I don't want to put garbage like the Optima in my car again.
Walmart Canada has EverStart AGM MAXX (680 CCA). Across the pond in Autozone they have Duralast Platinum AGM (680 CCA), and in Batteries+Bulbs they have X2Power Premium AGM (740 CCA). These will be my preferred replacement choices.
Optima Yellow Top Group Size 35 is the part. I don't want to put garbage like the Optima in my car again.
Walmart Canada has EverStart AGM MAXX (680 CCA). Across the pond in Autozone they have Duralast Platinum AGM (680 CCA), and in Batteries+Bulbs they have X2Power Premium AGM (740 CCA). These will be my preferred replacement choices.
Evolved Member
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 805
Likes: 110
From: Vancouver, BC
Evo X comes from factory with a battery tray and a tie-down for size 35. I'm currently using size 35, which fits right in. Many owners use size 34R because it's bigger and supposedly(?) better. My understanding is that to fit a size 34R battery, you need to use an aftermarket tie-down to accommodate the increased size.
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