Battery for v10?
 

The Interstate batery that was in the Ex when I bought it just died. I have read about the Optima battery and am interested but I cannot find a series number that matches the 85 my v10 calls for.

What Optima battery and series should I use?

Thanks for the help!

idk i've heard that optimas have gone down in quality in recent years. i can attest to this w/my red top in my explorer which lasted 3 years w/ no discharges ever and died after 3 years one morning it just wouldnt start and after being tested it was toast.

my opinion, and what i did with my last 04 V10 was went to walmart and bought the biggest battery i could get. i think it was 1500CCA and installed it. comes with a 3 year warrenty and only cost me $89 verses the $130-150 of a optima.

if you are going to go with a optima, red tops are mostly for daily drivers. yellow is for big sound systems, winches, lots of lights..ect and blue is marine.

I have heard good things from some of the truck guys that pass through the shop about Braille Endurance Series batteries. Kinda pricey though.

I used the Optima Yellow - knew I was going to be keeping the truck and wanted a good battery. It was a bit pricey but you can sometimes find deals online with free shipping, etc which can help ease the pain a bit.

Your Excursion should be using a group 65. I've seen nothing but problems with Optimas in the past. So much that I refuse to own one.
JL

I really appreciate the input. After doing some additional searching for an Optima dealer in my local area, none were found with a battery in stock.

I actually made the jump to a Die Hard Platinum. Similar to the Optima (so I'm told), but with a longer warranty 4yr free replacement and 100 month pro-rated, I thought I'd give it a chance. Plus it is easier to find a dealer (mall) with a Sears and battery in stock if I do have an issue later on.

Thanks again for your valued input. Maybe this is an alternative for others to try also.

X2 4 U I think you made an excellent choice. The Optimas are not what they used to be and are quite pricey.

The second choice and best price I think is the Farm battery that Advance Auto Parts sells. Looks like an old style battery with the tops that screw off. Big ole heavy battery.

Just measure it and go to WalMart.......done.

i have a Die-Hard Platinum in my F250 since it's the weekend warrior, and am "working on" putting the pieces together for a small system. that is one BAD A** battery! i'm sure there's better, but i'm a believer in die hard.

my Ex has a Napa heavy duty (installed by previous owner) with 850CCA, and a pretty good duty cycle as well. the die hard has more umph, but so far the napa is doing good. when the napa does bite the dust, i will replace it with another die hard!

That's the same battery I tried to get but the Sears by me didn't have any in stock, so I ended up with the Optima. I'm happy so far, and my Optima was actually $20 cheaper! I would have loked the better warranty though.

WalMart batters are cheap and ratted best by Consumer Reports.

I use them in my Ex and law mower.

You guys do realize that there are only 2-3 manufacturers for ALL batteries sold in the US? They simply "brand" their batteries differently for the various vendors.
JL

I also recently bought a Die Hard Platinum, Great warranty and 930 CCA!

I have read that the dry cell batteries die suddenly, whether it's an Optima, Die hard or other. But they have a deeper cycle than a wet acid and also recharge faster.