Best car battery brand?
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You are currently reading a thread in /o/ - Auto
Hello anons,
I need a new battery for my car. This is my first car, so I have no experience with this sort of thing. Which car battery brands have served you well over the years?
Thanks
>>13826451
Odyssey. Some Die Hards are made by Odyssey
>>13826466
That may be true but they cost way too much for the average user and don't offer a better warranty. A $75 Walmart battery with a 3 year warranty will serve the same purpose as a $200 odyssey in a commuter car.
Optima.
Braille, m8
>>13826472
OP here, WalMart's EverStart were the ones I was eyeing the most. Maybe I'll go for one of those.
Research around, there are only 3 car battery makers in the US IIRC and all the brands are just restickered versions of the same batteries. The one I remember is Braille batteries are made by East Penn who sell cheap batteries under the name Deka. You can get a Deka that is identical to a Braille for less than half the price.
>>13826483
For the price and warranty where you can easily go and swap it, there's not much that will beat it. If you don't need a deep cycle battery then there really isn't a need to spend the extra money.
>>13826488
I have done a fair bit of research. The problem is that for any given brand, there are a bunch of people who swear by it and another bunch who claim its crap.
>>13826496
Awesome, sounds great. I'll go pick it up today. Thanks for your help!
>>13826451
Panasonic, none better.
>>13826497
I mean research who is actually making the batteries you are looking at, you aren't going to find meaningful feedback for car batteries on the internet, but you can find out who makes what battery fairly easily.
>>13826472
Odyssey has a 10 year warranty, and is lighter and smaller for the same amps
>>13826477
meme battery
>>13826451
Sooo. you need a battery for your car and you're trying to decide which is the best that could last you for a couple of years.
Some batteries, even good branded ones will have a bad batch somewhere that may only last you for a year or two depending on many factors. The best way to go about this is to buy a brand that will offer you the best warranty. Interstate battery offers some pretty good warranty and you can bring that shit to any of their dealers and they would warranty it.
Die-hards can only be purchased at Sears or k-mart stores so it will be a bit tricky to get their warranty.
Don't know any shit about optima.
Stay away from the wal-mart batteries, they tend to fail for some odd reason.
Lastly, if you buy a battery, make sure that receipt is with you at all times. That is your warranty ticket.
Based on tests (cold-crank amps, water usage and such) Exide and Tudor scored best
>>13826451
I had an Energizer battery last 11 years before it died. Replaced it with a Walmart battery that only lasted 2 years now i've been using an Autocraft Gold from advance auto for the last 3 years.
>>13826483
>>13826496
This.
>>13826510
Why Use ODYSSEY Batteries
Better warranty
Limited 2-year full replacement warranty — not pro rata.
Longer service life
3-10 years of service life to save you time, money, and aggravation
Warranty =/= service life
Since people seem more inclined to share what their favorite sticker is I looked up myself.
Odyssey are made by EnerSys. The Sears Platinum battery is identical but cheaper.
Everstart, Interstate, Motorcraft, Energizer, and most OEM batteries are all made by Johnson Controls. They also make Optima but obviously those aren't identical to the others as they are AGM.
As I said earlier Braille are just restickered Deka batteries made by East Penn.
>>13826480
This nigga knows what's up
interstate is an awesome manufacturer that is widely available in the US but they're somewhat spendy. don't get part store batteries, they suck and they will try and jew you out of a replacement.
I really miss Costco batteries, so cheap and reliable with a great warranty..
>>13826601
I'm an Interstate fan, who is lucky to have Interstate location nearby. I don't pay store mark up prices, get them straight from Interstate. Interstate battery for Everstart prices. Can't beat that.
>>13826556
I got 5 year full replacement warranty on my Interstate winter climate battery.
>>13826601
>interstate is an awesome manufacturer
Interstate is not a manufacturer
>>13826571
>most OEM batteries are all made by Johnson Controls
For cars built in the USA.
>>13826451
wreckers charge $10 for battery's here, i buy those
Fuck batteries. Ultracaps are where it's at.
Just need a bit of DIY setup to work, but they don't care about temperature, and can burst at such high amp levels that your car will turn over regardless of conditions.
Magneti Marelli
MotoMaster
I haven't seen much choice on 810 amp batteries, so...it's some Exide renamed whatchamanameit.
>>13831356
What do you need 810CCA for?
>>13826516
Duralast Gold is my favorite bang for the buck battery. 5 year warranty, middle road pricing, replace for free at any autozone worldwide. Most importantly, you don't have to hold on to some gay receipt. You can literally tell them to trash it for you, and it doesn't matter. Pretty sure this is how most places do things anyway. You just give them a name or phone number, and they look it up in their computer. It's not the 1950s anymore, you know.
>>13826601
>jew you out of
I am the GM of my local autozone. We have never refused to replace anything that is still under warranty. Even if it's into the prorate portion, we'll always override it and replace for free. And the new part starts over with its own warranty. Hell, if you buy a set of brake pads at my store, you'll never have to buy them again so long as you own that car. I've heard of some stores being less than what's expected of them, but none of the 50+ I've worked at would try to fight a warranty swap.
>>13831569
It's 850 even , I remembered wrong. It's ridiculously huge and heavy. Pic from google.
>>13831700
Yes, pic. This one. That I forgot.
>>13831706
Really, a BMW? Interesting. What engine is it?
>>13831742
THE engine.
>>13831760
Yes.
Who makes it doesn't really matter. All batteries are pretty much the same. There's only like 3 companies in the entire world that actually make the batteries, because of the environmental impact and hazardous material disposal.
The only difference you'll see is between AGM and standard lead acid batteries.
>>13831569
Ultracap anon here.
I do shit in Canada during the winter. Can't be bothered with a car that cannot start when it's 30 below outside. It's not a trivial thing to set up, and it cost 1.5-2 times what a top end battery would, but I've never been unable to start my car. Literally been -45C and started.
3000 amps burst under short circuit conditions, and you get no voltage drop because the internal resistance of a capacitor pack is almost zero. The resistance of the wiring in the car limits the current more than my pack, which is not the case with a conventional battery. Normal batteries at several hundred amps typically drop the voltage down significantly.
Higher current + higher voltage = engine turns on in a snap no matter what.
>>13831883
what capacity in farads is your supercap and can i get one at princess auto?
>>13831883
How do you have them installed?
>>13826451
I just replaced a Duralast from Autozone that lasted through 6 years of Texas heat. I'll have to see how long the new one lasts.
>>13826483
I work at shop. The techs call those NeverStart.
>>13832164
not bad, but would you consider 6 years of 'last', 'Dura'?
Any good diy for ultra cap?
>>13832186
And any of the kits sold online good?
>>13832186
Just go to a nigger/spic car stereo store and buy a few 1farad caps
AC Delco have some good batteries. They usually offer different CCA's & warranties for each size battery.
>>13832179
Considering most car batteries last 2-3 years here, yes. Batteries hate extreme temperatures, which Texas has a lot of.
>>13826516
Autozone batteries are crap
Walmart batteries are crap
Napa batteries are expensive but good
O Reilly's are good
Advance's are mostly good but have seen them die quickly
Costco batteries are crap half and half
AAA batteries are crap
Motorcraft & Chrysler batteries are the worst crap
Interstate batteries are decent
Honda batteries are mostly crap but have some unicorns.
>>13832264
>Walmart batteries are crap
>Napa batteries are expensive but good
>Motorcraft & Chrysler batteries are the worst crap
>Interstate batteries are decent
Those are all literally the same battery. Did the sticker imbue some with special powers?
>>13832293
Lol
>>13831889
>>13831911
It's 6 3000F 2.7V Maxwell in series. I ordered them off an electronics website. There's three problems with ultracaps you need to consider before going with a setup like mine. First, they bleed over time. That means that if you let them sit for a month, they won't have much/any charge left. The second problem is that they have a VERY low total energy storage capacity. You cannot leave your radio on for 5 hours and expect the car to start. Something else to consider is how much energy your car sucks while idle. Lots of luxury cars have crap that constantly sucks power. Economy cars don't tend to have this problem. The third problem is that they may passively drain and accept charge at slightly different rates. Good capacitors all have similar tolerances, but you need to have load balancing circuitry to handle it.
The solution to the first is to just use a small solar panel hooked into your car with diodes to prevent energy from damaging the panel. 2-5 watts is enough to completely charge your pack in a couple of hours. Remember the total capacity of the caps is stupidly low.
The second problem is just something you learn to live with. Don't leave your lights on. If you do you can't do anything until you recharge them.
The third problem is is simple to solve, but you need to make the first problem even worse, or use complex circuitry. I have each of my capacitors "shorted" with a 200 ohm resistor. The higher the voltage in a single capacitor, the faster it drains energy through the resistor because of the higher voltage differential. This is totally passive and really simple, but if I don't use the car, or have it in the sun, I loose all charge within a week. Active load balancing works, but requires a microcontroller to monitor the voltage of each cell and drain it when it gets too high (I'd use 2.5 as a safety buffer on a 2.7v capacitor).
...cont
>>13832409
If the caps are fully charged, you're pushing too much voltage through the system.
>>13832409
Because I have very good capacitors I can get away with very slow passive balancing because the tolerances are all within a few percent of each other.
My solar panel charges to ~13.2 volts. The car charges and runs at almost exactly 14. I start having problems with the starter below 8 volts (which is something that happens frequently with lead acid batteries when its -30). Thus I can define the usable power in my capacitors as 0.5*3000*((14/6)^2-(9/6)^2)/3600*6
That gives you the power available from 14 to 9 volts. It's JUST under 8 watt hours. For comparison a big ass car battery is probably going to be closer to 500 usable watt hours. However, you need to remember that my pack can slam ALL of that energy out in a second or two. A lead acid battery cannot. I'm limited by the wiring going to my starter, not the battery.
The bleed resistors drain around .12 watt hours an hour (more when fully charged, less when low, don't feel like explaining the calculus for the exact drain cause it's not significantly different enough to give a shit) The capacitors passively lose a little bit as well. I can go about 36 hours from 14 volts to 9. The 5W solar panel fully tops stuff off every day, even when it's cloudy. When it's sunny it can top it off for 24 hours in under 60 minutes.
I probably don't technically need the bleed resistors because all of my caps are very close to eachother in terms of tolerances. However with them, the widest voltage differences between caps I've ever seen is 0.1 volts. Usually it's 0.07 or less.
As for the pack construction. I just bought the threaded caps and bolted them together into a six pack using 3/8 inch aluminum sheet. Soldered the bleed resistors in, then wrapped the whole thing in duct tape except for the end terminals. It's shaped like a normal battery. It weights a touch over 5 kilos ~12 pounds. That's really it.
Odyssey.
Only battery I'll spend fucking money on. Stock battery dies, insert odyssey. Never think about battery again.
>>13832499
It sounds cool, but what about a hybrid system? Capacitors for burst current when starting, and a battery for reserve power for accessories?
>>13832471
How are they going to get fully charged exactly? The input voltage is 14 volts from the car. That's what the alternator puts out. The solar panel is 13.2. So if the car has been sitting it charges up each day to 13.2 through solar power. If I turn it on, the alternator bumps it to 14 in under 20 seconds. The capacitors can handle 2.7 volts each. That doesn't mean you have to charge them to 2.7. These aren't batteries. They don't behave the same way.
Like batteries, it's very bad for them if you charge them past their rated voltage. You can permanently damage them. Same thing if they go into negative voltage.
This is why the bleed resistors are important. If the tolerances between the capacitors are poor, you could theoretically have one capacitor negative, and the other 5 at 2.5. Or you could have one go up to like 3 and the other 5 down at 1.5. Both those are bad. The bleed resistors drain faster the higher the voltage on a cap is. Since they are all getting the same amount of power when charging, the bleed levels them out. I have about .4 volts of overhead before there even could be a problem. That's enormous.
-----------------------------------------
Other fun bits. They have millions of charge cycles. Combined with the fact that they don't give a fuck about hot or cold, and their ludicrous burst power, they are far better than standard batteries if you can work around their shortcomings. I wouldn't use them on my mothers car because that thing sucks 3-5 watts continuously for some unknown reason. For me the shortcomings are easy to work around, and the durability of them is unrivaled. I don't anticipate getting a new set of these for at least a decade. Probably two.
>>13832618
>How are they going to get fully charged exactly?
I don't know, I had no idea how you were charging them. I was just making you aware, if you weren't, that 16.2V is a dangerous voltage for a 12V automotive system.
>>13832610
Hybrid systems do give you the cold crank burst power, but you still have to replace the battery just as often. If the battery fails, the capacitors will be drained with it. Probably a good idea for someone with a diesel truck in a location that get's super fucking cold. Otherwise it's not worth it over just getting a die-hard or something.
If you do go hybrid, you can use much smaller capacitors. http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/XV3560-2R7407-R/283-4209-ND/3878067 10 dollars a hit for 400F. The 3000F ones are 60-70.
For me I chose not to even bother with a real battery. I don't leave my lights on. I always have sun, and the car has no wireless dongles or other crap to drain power while it's off. I can work around the shortcomings of caps.
>>13832642
I'm aware, but the only way for that to happen is if the alternator charges them past that. The solar panel has a limiter for 13.5. At max it produces 13.2. Alternator has a limiter for 14v I believe. Either way the highest I've ever see is 14.
>>13832672
>Hybrid systems do give you the cold crank burst power, but you still have to replace the battery just as often.
I was thinking about using it so I could have massive reserve capacity with a couple deep cycle and use the caps to keep the starting ability. I guess I would have to isolate the caps from the batteries somehow, with that setup. Probably more complex than it is worth.
>>13832589
do you use the mini size (PC 680)? thinking about getting the PC680 and password:jdm mount for my AP1
>pic related
>>13832703
I don't know why you wouldnt want a battery with your caps. I was actually surprised you REPLACED the batt with caps. I mean, sure you'll get great starting amps, but shit what if it doesnt start on the first try, then you're SOL
>>13832830
>password:jdm mount for my AP1
WHATS THE ACCOUNT NAME??
>>13832830
I wanna get a mini and hide it in the fender.
The ultracap idea seems great. Need to look into that more.
Do they work well on jap cars? They run exclusively off battery power, alt only charges the battery.
Old 80s car, nothing special. Pop up headlights, stero with amp and woofer.
>>13832859
kek
>>13832853
I tested it and I can turn over and hold a dozen times before I run out of power.
Considering that it always starts on the first try, and nearly instantly, that's not a problem.
