best batt?
Postmaster
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,854
Likes: 0
The higher the Cold Cranking Amps the better, as well as Warranty.
Personally I never go for the best cause it doesn't need it here in the South. I just get the standard issue from WallyMart.....takes a lickin', keeps on tickin'!
Personally I never go for the best cause it doesn't need it here in the South. I just get the standard issue from WallyMart.....takes a lickin', keeps on tickin'!
Postmaster
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 3,241
Likes: 3
From: Broken Arrow, OK
We sell Interstate where I work and have had excellent performance from them. We used to sell Delco, but they did not do the job all the time. Many of the cheapo batteries are just Delco knock offs. I know the Wal-Mart Ever Start batteries used to be, but maybe not anymore. We call the Never Start for a reason. I have run DieHard in my truck for several years and it has never let me down, even when I've had the lights or something else on for a while without the engine running.
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,006
Likes: 4
From: Sussex County, DE
CCA is important, but so is reserve capacity (RC). I've had great results with Interstate, Exide, Deka, and (drumroll please) Optima batteries. My personal favorites are Deka for a conventional style battery, and Optima or Exide Orbital for an absorbed glass mat battery. A monster CCA rating but a low reserve is no good. Go for a more modest CCA and a higher RC, like a marine duty or "deep cycle" battery if you can swing it and remember, you get what you pay for! The $40 battery you think is a bargain now won't be such a good deal in mid February. It's $40 for a reason. Also, don't be suckered by the "Cranking Amp" rating (CA), it's a bogus rating done at a higher temperature that CCA is done at, and suckers people into believing that a $40 battery is a better buy than a more expensive, quality battery.
Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,175
Likes: 0
From: charlotte nc
Ive had alot of differant ones but I must say INTERSTATE seems to be the ones that lasted longest. I have one in my 94 aerostar that was in it when I got it 2 years ago ,who knows how old it is.......Beware of places like autozone that sell so called "new" batterys that are really ones that have been "remanufactured" , they are usually ok but they for sure ARENT BRAND NEW
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,493
Likes: 1
From: Great NW
Consumer Reports did a study on the best batteries in November of '05.
They determined that the NAPA Select (Exide) batteries performed the best in cold climates and the AC Delco second and third place.
I like mine so far. I will own no more DieHards nor Interstates.
They determined that the NAPA Select (Exide) batteries performed the best in cold climates and the AC Delco second and third place.
I like mine so far. I will own no more DieHards nor Interstates.
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 970
Likes: 3
Interstate Diehard and who knows how many more are made by Johnson Controls one
of the if not biggest battery mfg's in the USA. Yes cca is important but when I worked fleet work we found the highest were short in life. A engineer for the manufacturer told
me the reason. It takes more plates to get the output and they get thinner and longer
so they are in the sediments earlier and eaten thru sooner. Go to mid range it will do what you want and last longer. My observation.
Kotzy
of the if not biggest battery mfg's in the USA. Yes cca is important but when I worked fleet work we found the highest were short in life. A engineer for the manufacturer told
me the reason. It takes more plates to get the output and they get thinner and longer
so they are in the sediments earlier and eaten thru sooner. Go to mid range it will do what you want and last longer. My observation.
Kotzy
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Freshman User
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
From: northeast
I had to replace the factory battery in my 1996 Bronco last winter and went with a optima red top, seems to be fairly good so far, I also bought the same for my 1996 F-150 after the Interstate "megatron" battery that my old man gave died he said it was at least 8-9 years old( he said that was the reason he bought it was because it said "megatron" on it). Thats a long time in new england for a battery.
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,218
Likes: 2
From: Parkville, MO (KC)
My personal experience is that every battery, from every manufacturer will die eventually. I have had batteries fail catastophicaly, spewing acid over my truck. That is much much worse than just a dead battery.
For that reason, I only will run an Optima or equivalent AGM (absorbed gas mat) battery that cannot blow up. They are reputed to be good, long lived batteries as well.
C'mon -- over the course of 4-5 years you spend hundreds in oil, filters etc. And then you want to cut corners with the battery???
For that reason, I only will run an Optima or equivalent AGM (absorbed gas mat) battery that cannot blow up. They are reputed to be good, long lived batteries as well.
C'mon -- over the course of 4-5 years you spend hundreds in oil, filters etc. And then you want to cut corners with the battery???
Senior User
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 347
Likes: 0
i only cut corners on batteries cause of how frequently i kill them, it doesn't matter what brand i am hard on them. i have no indicator that tells me my lights are on, plus when my friends and i hang out i put my 6x9's on the roof and kill the battery with the stereo if i forget to start the truck every hour or two. to make matters worse my friends and i always wind up using the off-road and fog lights on our trucks for lighting instead of a drop light or a tripod light when working on each others stuff, plus those late night summer time pick up games don't help. i usually buy seconds batteries, which either out sat their shelf life or something like that and i only pay like 30 bucks for a battery.
Senior User
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 347
Likes: 0
the wal-mart batteries are junk, i'd rather wind up with an exide that has slightly outlived its shelf life. i've tried the wal-mart batteries, sometimes my truck would start, others it wouldn't. most of the batteries i have gotten that are seconds i have killed four and five times and they still hold a charge and still start the truck just fine.