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Best batteries?

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Old 04-28-2009, 09:38 PM
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Best batteries?

What are the best batteries to buy for a 2005 F-250 6.0L? I got a quote from auto zone on some duralast Golds, they have 1000 cold cranking amps. Also I have herd that the optima's suck for deisels.

Thanks
Mike
 
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Old 04-28-2009, 10:11 PM
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I replaced both of mine last December with Craftsman Platinum P-2s. They are expensive, but highly rated. Consumer Reports rated them their #1 battery last year and I know quite a few people who have them. Here is the link: DieHard Automotive Battery, Platinum P-2 - Group Size 65 - Model P-2 at Sears.com

My next choice would have been Interstate Batteries.
 
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Old 04-29-2009, 07:33 AM
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big fan of Motorcraft batteries here. I have NEVER had one fail prematurely. Going on 7 years in my 95 7.3. I have them in all of my diesels- a total of 8 trucks. The only bad thing is they are sold by the dealer... i bet if they didn't say ford on them they would be much cheaper and still last forever
I havent tried Diehard's from new but a used tractor I bought with them in it quit holding a charge less than 5 years according to the date.
Stay away from NAPA batteries if you want them to last.
 
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Old 04-29-2009, 08:02 AM
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My Motorcrafts lasted 2 months past warranty. Went with the Duralasts for price and the fact that there is an Autozone almost everywhere.
 
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Old 04-29-2009, 09:51 AM
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I am using the Optima red tops. They are great. It is a gell cell techknology that doesn't freeze. Has the same cranking amps at -40'F as it does at 80'F above. Thats a good thing up here.
 
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Old 04-29-2009, 10:03 AM
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I'm partial to Motorcraft. It seems all other brands have failed premature for me
 
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Old 04-29-2009, 10:17 AM
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M/C Max 100 BXT-65-850s...just put two in a few months ago...figured they were a sure fit and upgrade from the 750s that were OEM. Just get plenty of CCA to warm up those injectors on a cold morning...LOL.
 
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Old 04-29-2009, 10:29 AM
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The Motorcraft batteries seem to be very good, but I went with Interstates because I wanted what I consider the best. I'm not considering Optimas because of their ridiculous cost.
 
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Old 04-29-2009, 10:44 AM
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I went with Bosch. The previous models had 875cca but the new ones have 850cca. I believe they are 1000ca and have a RC of 75. I bought mine in Nov. of 2007. I just had to replace them under warranty as one of them tested bad and the other was near the end of it's life. I killed em though when my alternator went bad about 5 months ago and again when my FICM died. The price also went up from $69.99 to $99.99 each.
 
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Old 04-29-2009, 01:30 PM
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I would stay away from those junk Autozone Duralasts. I'm hard on my batteries so after I killed the Motocrafts i bought the duralasts they lasted 2 months and Autozone wouldn't help me with the warranty. So I bought the Die Hard platinums and they are holding up awesome a year later.
 
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Old 04-29-2009, 02:04 PM
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I've always bought Interstate and had no problems.

We have about 150 batteries in the fleet.
 
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Old 04-29-2009, 02:11 PM
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Duralast..... Bought a optima once and had issues. Given the price and the warranty the duralast gold had 1000cca and nearly everywhere there is a dairy queen there is a autozone around here. I have used cheap batteries and blems with good sucess but on this truck I'd rather have piece of mind and know they will both be replaced if one fails under warranty than save a buck
 
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Old 04-29-2009, 06:41 PM
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Red Top Optimas

I put two red tops in June 06 and have put 40,000 miles on the X since. In almost 3 years, never had a problem. The yellow top in my 12' dump trailer spent 4 years in my Thunderbird SC prior to the past 2 years in my trailer. No problems. I have a 2 year old red top in my Z06 that was fully discharged because I left my XM radio receiver on. Recharged it per the site instructions and no problems. I have 2 three year old blue tops in my Scarab and another 2 year old blue top in my Maycraft 17' CC boat. No problems. I don't mind paying extra money for a good product and, IMHO, Optima batteries are a very good battery. The AGM technology creates no corrosion like lead acid batteries and can be mounted in any position.

DSMMH
 
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Old 04-30-2009, 12:09 AM
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Optima if you have the $. Every OE Motorcraft we have had has failed within 6 months of warranty expiration. Perhaps the replacements the posts above like so much are better spec than the OE batteries.

Really tired of OE Ford crap....

-m
 
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Old 04-30-2009, 07:49 AM
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Thumbs up Interstate Batteries

Interstate batteries are the best batteries on the market. 9 times out of 10 it will run past the warranty time. I ran a shop for 8 years and Interstate is all I sold. They had very few warranty problems. Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY A NAPA BATTERY. It will probably die within the first year. Go for the best, GO INTERSTATE!!!
 

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