Car Battery Advice

I

ifoam

New member
I don't have a system, or anything other than stock for my car. I need a new battery. The geniune Honda battery is 85 dollars + core and tax. A battery from autozone, advance, or oreilys cost about 75 for one with 3 year warrenty.



Should I opt for the Honda battery or just go with one from the parts store? Please don't consider price.



Thank you!
 
I think for your needs any of the big brands will do you fine. Compare cold cranking and normal output numbers before purchasing. I think Honda batteries are just Panasonic batteries. I can't remember though, it's been a while since I've owned one and changed its battery. Definitely not worth the Honda markup! I think Optima Red Tops can be had for around that price range too, and those have loads of juice.
 
OEM batteries are junk. They're just cheap batteries that manufacturers buy in huge volume but cost consumers a lot because they're fed through the mfg/dealer parts distribution system.



I prefer Optima batteries too. They'll cost more (over $100, Costco has the best prices around here) but are well worth it.





PC.
 
I have actually been working for a certain battery company for about a year now so I can give you a general idea of what to look for and avoid...



The main thing is that you shouldn't really perceive batteries by the name on the sticker, but go more by their overall design. There are a couple large companies that manufacture automotive SLI (Starting, Lighting, Ignition) batteries and do private labelling for what you see on the shelves.



Delphi, Exide, and Johnson Controls are the major players in the game. Optima was actually just bought by Johnson Controls, but I believe they were previously under Enersys/Hawker.



At work, I generally see many many varieties of batteries come in from failure due to mechanical issues or owner neglect. More than often, the ones that come in with problems seem to be the "maintenance-free" type that have permanently sealed off vent caps. I can't honestly give a specific reason, but dead cells pop up as the most common culprit.



Now, for a battery for your car, you'll be fine with a OEM match. Since you said you have a Honda, you most likely will need a BCI group 51 or 51R. You could very well put an Optima in there if you have the room, but unless you subject your vehicle to high vibration or long periods without activity, it's pretty much overkill.



If you're going to do some shopping around, try to take good mental notes on how certain batteries look. Remember if the vent caps are recessed or lie above, and pick them up to compare weights. Chances are if you spec out a battery at different stores, and it's built VERY similarly but differently branded, it's probably going to be the same thing. At that point you just need to compare prices and warranties to get the best deal.



Cheers



Will
 
Good tips truzoom. What type of "build design" should we look for, and what types should we stay away from. You mentioned that maintenance free batteries seem to fail more often than maintenance type batteries, but is there anything else to look out for?
 
Removable vent caps are very helpful when you have a battery that may be giving you trouble. A cheap $3 turkey baster type hydrometer can give you the true status of a battery. Each cell should read around 12.8 Volts for a fully charged battery.



As far as design goes, the environment in which you drive your car will be a big factor. Many consumer battery lines provide a OEM spec'd battery with the minimum CCA rating, and then they will usually give you the option of a higher CCA rated battery. If you are in a particularly hot environment, you aren't doing yourself much of a favor when you buy the higher CCA rated battery simply because BCI standards keep sizes fixed.



Gaining an extra 150CCA in a battery of the same size means you have to pack more lead plates in, which makes heat dissapation a big issue. Cold weather brings out the bad in a battery, but summer heat is what contributes to their actual failure (for the most part, anyway). Ask any Jaguar or BMW owner when they last replaced their battery and you probably won't get much of a response since the majority of those cars have trunk mounted batteries which I've seen last as long as 7 or 8 years.



Now, there are situations where having the extra CCA is helpful. Non-stock engine modifications that require more cranking force or large diesel pickups that sometimes have a 12V/24V variable system usually benefit from the extra power.
 
I certainly don't know as much about batteries as truzoom but when I shopped batteries around town a couple of months ago for my wife's Honda CRV I ended up buying the Costco battery due to best price/best warranty combo.
 
thanks guys, i finally took it to the stealership to get checked out. even though autozone said my battery was good, they told me it wasn't. my total was 130 for parts and labor. the battery was 90 i think. I figure if they didn't install it, they still would have charge me 40 bucks for looking at it. Better safe than sorry! Now the car starts like dream! It's an amazing difference.



It's a standard 3yr/36mth full replacment with 100 month limited warrenty.
 
I have an Optima in mine and love it..........of course when I worked for Advance Auto I got a great deal on it ;)
 
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