Best battery for daily driver

[Bad Habits]

Optima if you are not worried about weight. Best bang for the buck out there. Had a Braille in my MSP and never had any issues, have also heard good things about Odyssey too.

[ScionFR-S]

I honestly think it was me not tightening my terminals enoug because it would happen so often that I would just tighten them with my hands

[Poodles]

Originally Posted by Foobar

Still better than the stock Panasonic and most other crap on the market. There's a lot to be said for a 36 month replacement warranty.

Another battery to consider would be the Odyssey or DieHard Platinum (re-branded Odyssey).

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Actually Panasonic makes some of the best batteries out there, the issue is weight and shipping to other parts of the world making them too expensive.


Odyssey is pretty good. AGM batteries are general heavier, but have the advantage of not easily leaking. Charging can be a bit trickier on them though.


Keep in mind there's only a few manufacturers for batteries in North America. Each "brand" is simply made to different specs and yes, some are worse than others.


There are better than 3 year warranties out there, though they're getting few and far between because of the cost of batteries going up because of lead mining shortages and recycling plant closures.

[TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by raptor87

my Panasonic does not crank strong when its cold out it seems like a junk battery. I have a dash cam wired up with a power magic but I have disconnected it for the winter as I do not trust it.

The stock small panasonic is notorious for doing poorly when those temps drop. Even on other vehicles like honda that use them.

Pick up a better with at least another 100 more CCA and you will be pleased with the result.

I personally like the Sears Die Hard Gold Series but it really depends on your budget and goals with the battery.

Some of the Wal Mart Batteries have a 5 year warranty. 3 Year free replacement and the last 2 years are pro-rated. In my personal experience with the wal mart batteries they don't tend to last long.

Opitma batteries used to be better back in the day. The changed manufacturers a few years ago and I hear mixed reviews as of lately.

Originally Posted by ScionFR-S

I honestly think it was me not tightening my terminals enough because it would happen so often that I would just tighten them with my hands

That is definetely going to contribute to your battery not performing optimally. Get a 10MM socket and tighten her up properly.

[roflcopter]

Originally Posted by Foobar

Still better than the stock Panasonic and most other crap on the market. There's a lot to be said for a 36 month replacement warranty.

Another battery to consider would be the Odyssey or DieHard Platinum (re-branded Odyssey).

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I just bought a battery for my winter car, and I got one right from the Nissan dealer with an 81-month warranty. Are aftermarket warranties really only 3 years!?

[Foobar]

Originally Posted by roflcopter

I just bought a battery for my winter car, and I got one right from the Nissan dealer with an 81-month warranty. Are aftermarket warranties really only 3 years!?

Full replacement warranty at 81 months? That's insane. Usually battery warranties are prorated, so you only get some percentage of the value as it ages. Full replacement for 3 years is pretty good, more than that is awesome.

[jonbonazza]

I have a Braille 11lb lightweight battery and it started w/o issues last night after sitting 8 hours in -20*F weather. I am not sure what the CCA is on it, but I can't imagine its insanely high.

Just looked it up. It's only 360 CCA.

Sounds like you have a drain somewhere.

[irax]

I got my Braille battery for my Miata from AutoAnything.com it was like $150

I got the B106, which has something like 283 CCA. But they also have the B2015 which has 425 CCA. They also had the CF versions of the batteries and the the trays as well.

[speedrye]

Avoid the Optima and just go with a DieHard Platinum or Odyssey if you're going with a heavier battery and want something that will start when you need it to. Sears has decent sales on the Platinums on a regular basis as well. You can usually get them around $150-$160 on sale.

[Eazy-V]

Originally Posted by Foobar

Precisely the reason I switched mine out. I also have a cam with a power magic and the repeated discharging to 12V eventually killed the Panasonic to the point where it was needing to be jumped.


Loosen the negative battery terminal connector, loosen the positive battery terminal connector, loosen the battery tie down, lift out the battery.

Take the new battery's top cover piece and attach it to the bottom (snaps right on to give it more height to match the stock size), put the battery in place, tighten the battery tie down, attach the positive battery terminal connector and tighten it, attach the negative battery terminal connector and tighten it.

Start the car.

With exception to the Optima cover piece attached to the bottom, these instructions apply to any battery you get. Also keep in mind that any Group 35 battery will physically fit, so long as the negative is on the left and the positive is on the right. If you get the polarity reversed, the existing cables won't reach without some serious hacking.

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but does the OEM tie down fit the Optima D35? Mine doent’t seem to fit, but I forgot to attach the top cover to bottom, so hoping that fixes the issue.

[Foobar]

Originally Posted by Eazy-V

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but does the OEM tie down fit the Optima D35? Mine doent’t seem to fit, but I forgot to attach the top cover to bottom, so hoping that fixes the issue.

Yes, with the bottom attached.

[LotsaMiles]

So, I'm looking for a new battery for my 2013 with 162k miles on it and I just have a couple of thoughts:

1. I bought a Subaru DL brand new in 1977. I lived in Seattle and the original battery lasted over ten years.

2. I just checked Costco and they say they don't have a battery for an FR-S.

Number 2 is funny because when I researched I discovered the FR-S uses a group size 35 battery (and not 35R). So on a lark I checked if they had a battery for my Scion iA and they do. And it is group size 35 as well. So, looks like I'll be able to get it at costco.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by LotsaMiles

So, I'm looking for a new battery for my 2013 with 162k miles on it and I just have a couple of thoughts:

1. I bought a Subaru DL brand new in 1977. I lived in Seattle and the original battery lasted over ten years.

2. I just checked Costco and they say they don't have a battery for an FR-S.

Number 2 is funny because when I researched I discovered the FR-S uses a group size 35 battery (and not 35R). So on a lark I checked if they had a battery for my Scion iA and they do. And it is group size 35 as well. So, looks like I'll be able to get it at costco.

They just don't have a listing for the FRS. I found the same with the Costco wiper blades. They had the blades but FRS wasn't in the book. I think the book was also from 2011 so they may not be great at updating their documents.

[LotsaMiles]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

They just don't have a listing for the FRS. I found the same with the Costco wiper blades. They had the blades but FRS wasn't in the book. I think the book was also from 2011 so they may not be great at updating their documents.

Ha! I bought my wiper blades from Costco last year solely on length. I didn't even look at their book.