Good Battery Choices for a SHO?

[vortex2450]

So the DieHard battery that my car came with had obviously sat for a while and holds a smidgen under 12v when installed in the car but the positive terminal is corroding so it's time to get a fresh battery.

I haven't bought any batteries first hand so I have virtually no experience with the different mainstream brands, I've built an EV using Trojan deep cycle batteries bat that's a whole different beast. Moving on.

What are some good choices for the SHO?

From my understanding the SHO motor relies on a strong amount of power to run tip top so it would benefit from a battery that was above par.

I'm looking in the $100 to $150 range. Send me some suggestions.

Thanks.

-Josh

 

[SeanMc]

Duralast. Or just clean off the terminal with a wire brush .

 

[TwistedMunky]

I've had good luck with mine from costco for right around $100. I also had good luck with the wal-mart brand ones too.

 

[Eric VerValin]

I've had good luck with mine from costco for right around $100. I also had good luck with the wal-mart brand ones too.

Around here, Die Hard, Autozone, and Wal Mart get their batteries from a place out by the airport called Johnson Controls. Plates of lead, some fluid, same batteries. This does not count the ones with a little reserve pack on the side or other "optional" things like that.

IIRC.. 34 is the largest size you can get in. The next time I get a battery tho I think I'm going to opt for a side terminal so its not right on top of the hood tho. Just a thought.

 

[itwonder]

Optima redtop and Interstate brand batteries are really good. Costco batteries are adequate and have a generous replacement policy. Sears DieHard Gold is darn good too. We also have a Duralast battery that seems to be doing well.

 

[vortex2450]

Duralast. Or just clean off the terminal with a wire brush .

This is beyond cleaning, there's a crack in the terminal and the gases are leaking out causing that nasty green build up, also electrolysis is causing the terminal to erode into nothing, as in the nut no longer exists! haha

Around here, Die Hard, Autozone, and Wal Mart get their batteries from a place out by the airport called Johnson Controls. Plates of lead, some fluid, same batteries. This does not count the ones with a little reserve pack on the side or other "optional" things like that.

IIRC.. 34 is the largest size you can get in. The next time I get a battery tho I think I'm going to opt for a side terminal so its not right on top of the hood tho. Just a thought.

Considering how long the battery sat without being cranked/charged this Diehard Gold in the car does great, it doesn't look to old and kevinspann told me that Sears might prorate it for me, if so I'll upgrade to a Diehard platinum.

I know about the 34r debacle.

My dad swears by Wal-Mart batteries but every 3 years he's getting them replaced, I don't want a mediocre battery like that.

I think I'm going to convert my terminal to marine grade stuff with the quick disconnects to make pulling the battery easier when I replace this one.

Optima redtop and Interstate brand batteries are really good. Costco batteries are adequate and have a generous replacement policy. Sears DieHard Gold is darn good too. We also have a Duralast battery that seems to be doing well.

Optima is a little out of my pirce range and it's too bad because we had 2 laying around the house but they were neglected into a death by sulfate.. O well

AutoZone seels the duralast stuff but I think I wanna try out a new DieHard.

I want a battery that gives me some deep cycle to work with but will still offer that intiall 1-click crank, although, my current batt hasn't let me down.

I'm thinking I'm going to shoot for a DieHard, and if not that a Duralast Gold....

Thoughts?

Thanks.

-Josh

 

[Johnlemon]

sorry to hijack the thread, but I think I might need a battery replacement too, my battery won't hold a charge for more than ~10 minutes while playing CDs with engine off does this mean the battery is bad?

 

[SeanMc]

This is beyond cleaning, there's a crack in the terminal and the gases are leaking out causing that nasty green build up, also electrolysis is causing the terminal to erode into nothing, as in the nut no longer exists! haha

Ah, ok. Next time spray some of that anti-corrosion stuff on it . I've had a duralast in mine for the past couple years, and it's working well.

 

[kevinspann]

Optima is a little out of my price range and it's too bad because we had 2 laying around the house but they were neglected into a death by sulfate.. O well

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/pors...echarge-deeply-discharged-optima-battery.html

I wonder if this would work?

 

[SHOZ123]

I bought an Odyssey battery that had been siting around discharged for over a year. It even froze solid. I have one of those 6/12V chargers. To get the dead Odyssey back to life I first charged it at the 6v setting then on to the 12v. Been using it for the last three years.

 

[AREA 91]

I rock Group 34 Optima Red Top's in both my SHO's.

 

[zoomlater]

The last battery I bought was the Napa brand and I haven't had any issues with it.

 

[vortex2450]

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/pors...echarge-deeply-discharged-optima-battery.html

I wonder if this would work?

That is not a bad idea, the parallel configuration would drop resistance between the two and split the current allowing the optima to be charged at a state of deep discharge. I'll give it a try for the **** of it.

I rock Group 34 Optima Red Top's in both my SHO's.

Not a bad idea, If I bought Optima I would go with Yellow tops.

I bought an Odyssey battery that had been siting around discharged for over a year. It even froze solid. I have one of those 6/12V chargers. To get the dead Odyssey back to life I first charged it at the 6v setting then on to the 12v. Been using it for the last three years.

Odyssey makes good stuff, I see them a lot in EV's.


I look at the battery and found the production sticker, it was made June 2004, so if it's still giving me 12.5v at the battery after that long and with the obvious time it spent sitting I think I'm going to stick with Diehard, Sears can prorate me for a years worth of Warranty, we'll see how much that adds up too.

Thanks,
Josh

EDIT: 12 months of warranty left was worth about$16, but the guy I talked to on the phone sounded like he might hassle me, he kept trying to tell me that I didn't need a group 34 sized battery and I gave up trying to explain on that front, I think he was trying to push the idea of a slightly bigger battery because it's left $15 more than the 34 size. I might go up there this week, time will tell.

Any bad experiences with Diehard/Sears?

 

[whiteman_01]

I have had an optima red top in my sho for the last 8 years. Only had one go bad, the girlfriend left the headlights on over night. I couldnt get it to take a charge, but im starting to think my charger is junk as of late. The battery was still under warranty anyways.

 

[SHOclass]

The Napa legend Battery has been in my '95 MTX for 7 years and counting, Highly recommended

 

[vortex2450]

I have had an optima red top in my sho for the last 8 years. Only had one go bad, the girlfriend left the headlights on over night. I couldnt get it to take a charge, but im starting to think my charger is junk as of late. The battery was still under warranty anyways.

Optima is no doubt doubt a quality battery. I am trying what was described the link kevinspann posted, charging the optima in parallel with a marine battery. The charger is automatic but as of now it's pumping out 14A which breaks down into about 3-4A hitting the Optima depending on how much resistance it is offering.

The Napa legend Battery has been in my '95 MTX for 7 years and counting, Highly recommended

Ive heard good things about NAPA when it comes to higher cost items, but if I can get this optima to hold anything over 12.5v I'll be happy.

If not I'll go look at the NAPA down the road, Johnson control manufactures all the batteries that come from Wal-MArt,Sears, Autozone, and Advance and might even manufacture NAPA's batts too but I believe that is Exide's domain.

Kevin, time will tell if the Optima can relive, thanks for that info.

-Josh

 

[91PDXmocha]

I'm with Area 91 , I run redtop optima's in all my cars . Back in 2004 I bought a used redtop from my neighbor and put it in my first Sho , it fell into the alternator pulley and drilled a hole into 2 of the cylinders . I wrapped it in duck tape and continued to use it for another 4-5 months with no problems. Been using them ever since .

 

[JRA2000TL]

AZ's Duralast red in the red 89 (34-DL) and Duralast Gold (34-DLG) in the 95. Unless you're powering a bunch of extra crap like a huge sound system or interior LEDs to make your car look like a rave club inside, a standard battery will do just fine. Optimas are good batteries but you don't necessarily have to spend that $50 more for one.

 

[vortex2450]

I'm with Area 91 , I run redtop optima's in all my cars . Back in 2004 I bought a used redtop from my neighbor and put it in my first Sho , it fell into the alternator pulley and drilled a hole into 2 of the cylinders . I wrapped it in duck tape and continued to use it for another 4-5 months with no problems. Been using them ever since .

Those things must be built like tanks. Duct tape FTw huh? haha

AZ's Duralast red in the red 89 (34-DL) and Duralast Gold (34-DLG) in the 95. Unless you're powering a bunch of extra crap like a huge sound system or interior LEDs to make your car look like a rave club inside, a standard battery will do just fine. Optimas are good batteries but you don't necessarily have to spend that $50 more for one.

Duralast, DieHard, EverStart, and whatever Advance sells are pretty much all close to the same thing being as they are all manufactured by Johnson Controls.

I am planning to invest some money into my sound system, nothing extraordinary but stuff like a dedicated 4 channel amp, dedicated mono amp, and a 1 farad cap.

 

[SHOtime2511]

Wal-Mart battery.
Take the money you save and buy a relocation kit and put the battery in the trunk.
Keeping the battery out of the elements will help it last longer.