I need a battery
 

I just checked the 800 CCA Duralast battery on the 79 TA in my signature. It came at 441 so I need a new battery. What batteries are the enthusiasts that drive these cars buying?

I usually buy the best Walmart or Autozone has to offer. If it croaks on me in east bum F*** I can find a Walmart or an Autozone that will replace it .

I'm a huge fan of the XS Power and Braille "AGM" batteries. I recently had to replace the Braille in my '72 Cutlass, and it was about 12 years old.

My 10-second 2-ton Falcon wagon had the little XS Power S925 in it, about 26#, and it worked great. Even highway driving in 100+ temps, stopping for gas & drinks for 10 minutes, hit the key and the motor turned over as easy as it did when it was cool. The CCA are VERY deceiving, only rated at 640 or so. Under normal situations, the S925 will spin your motor at least as easily and quickly as a 1000cca lead-acid battery.

I went with the slightly bigger S1200 for the Cutlass. I didn't need any more cranking power, but wanted a bit more reserve power.

Lead-acid battery prices have gone WAY up recently, so the price difference between those and AGM is not so big.

For my daily drivers I've been using Super Start batteries from O'Reilly. I get a good 4-5 years out of them. For the TA I've been using a NAPA battery just because it had more CCA (800) and was black in color so I thought it also looked better.

I used to swear by Interstate batteries years ago but they are harder to find.

Costco in our area has Interstate labeled batteries.

George

If you can find them in your area, Deka batteries are hard to beat. Made in the USA as well.

I've had great luck with Northstar AGM batteries. You can actually hear the difference of how fast the starter kicks over compared to a normal battery.

I go to the local Costco and buy Interstate. Price wise they are a hair cheaper than the chain store batteries.

Oddly, we have a big Interstate Battery distribution warehouse in town, yet Costco is the only place in town that carries them.

I usually buy Interstate batteries from Costco- but recently needed one with top and side posts so went to the local Interstate store as Costco didn’t have it…

I will comment on the two brands I use the most. For collector cars where I don't want the battery to "stand out", I have been using NAPA Legend branded batteries. Cost is reasonable and they have a black case. All the stickers can be easily removed and you are left with a plain black battery with good specs. and a good warranty. I always test them before installing new. They always test 115%-120% of rated CCA, new. For cheap cars and customers on a tight budget, Batteries from Rural King are hard to beat for the $$. At about 60-70% the cost of a typical car battery, they are adequate for 2-3 years. Most of my customer cars will have some other fatal failure long before that. Like running it out of oil or coolant.

Optima has always worked for me.

This is the first and foremost concern for me. All the Interstates I use are now black cases and stock appearing, and accept a tar topper if one so chooses.

They also have to fit the original battery tray properly. Some of the aftermarket batteries on the market aren't even close to fitting.

No brainer for me. The NAPA battery is called "The Legend":D

I have had zero luck with AGM batteries. I have tried both Optima and Diehard (Odyssey) and both crapped out in 2 years of pampered use. I replaced the last one with a Duracell from Sams at less than half the cost and it has been going strong for 6 years. Granted, I have always removed my batteries and throw them on the appropriate maintainer for the winter: https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-40-206-5...67516060&psc=1

I surprised that ACDelco hasn't been mentioned.

No matter where you buy it, you can get a warranty replacement at any GM dealer (as long as you have proof of purchase - store it in the glove box). There are GM dealers in towns that don't have a Walmart or (insert name of any autoparts store).

They are black and are very good batteries.

As to where to find them:

1. Any GM dealer
2. Menards
3. Many independent car repair shops stock them (look for an ACDelco sign in the shop)
4. Many used car dealers stock them
5. Some locally owned auto parts stores carry them
6. At an ACDelco warehouse distributor - or one of their stores

As to Interstate battery availability (as FormulaJones brought up), not many retail stores stock them. But many independent repair shops do. Interstate was my most common competitor for batteries for the repair shop customers of mine while covering southern MN and northern IA for my employer - an ACDelco warehouse distributor. We would sell batteries to the public at our main warehouse or any of our 13 stores.

2 years out of an optima? something was going on to make it die in that short of a time. optima has a pretty good warranty & would have replaced it. i have friends that use the red top & yellow top optima in mostly race only cars but some street use... the red top lasted 10 years & the yellow in it now is at 8+ and doing fine. he never maintains them or uses a maintain charger, just starts it up in the spring or puts it on a charger for a couple hours if its slow cranking.

i want to try one of the lightweight AGM batteries like braille next time i have to buy one, but for all 3 of my cars & my daily driver i use either super start from oreillys, last one i had just died after 12 years, or have had very good luck with dura last from auto zone, got 9-10 years out of the last 2 ive used. my daily driver uses walmarts more expensive brand that was in it when i bought it, going on 6 years old now with no signs of slow cranking. i also have 2 walmart batteries i bought used for $20ea, they are 2017 date & also still working fine. only battery i've had die in 4-5 years was an interstate...

on my cars that are stored in the winters, i dont use a maintainer, just bring them inside to a not always heated but insulated garage, or in the house before i had this garage. i charge them for a few hours once a month & within a couple weeks before spring use. been doing this for 25+ years, when they are about to die they will start to slow crank & not hold a charge as long but never been stranded or had a no start issue. if a battery is dying in 2 years or even less than 5, something else is causing that like too cold or hot of temps when not fully charged or the maintainer is not charging right & cooking the cells.

That's odd. I've had no problems with my AGM batteries and I lean on them pretty hard as I have a large stereo system in my Tahoe (Daily driver). I also run a Mechman 340 Amp alternator and 2 runs of 0 gauge. I just added a limitless lithium battery last weekend along with wiring to power the winch on the trailer. I have near zero voltage drop now. https://limitlesslithium.com/product...s-lithium.html

Are the battery warranty's changing everywhere else? Our napa batteries just switched to a 2 year free replacement, no pro-rating. After 2 years no more warranty. We were told the industry is switching to this.

I just bought a new Legend battery from NAPA for my 05 GTO in August, I asked the counter guy about warranty when I picked it up. He said 2 years, and no pro rate after the 2 years. He did say that this warranty just changed recently. This was a Deka made battery.

I just had 2 batteries go bad in my diesel truck from Rural King, they told me the same thing, 2 years, and it's out of warranty. One was still in the 2 year range, the other one was 2 months out, I had to eat the one. These were Exide batteries.

For about $800 you can get a Lithium Iron battery. Should last ten years. Put one in my hard to start motorcycle that would eat a battery every two years ... spins it over like a cordless drill. ( Smaller ... about $250). Typically don't need any kind of trickle charging, can last the winter no problem. Not to be confused with the Lithium battery chemistry used in phones etc. These don't blow up, they are specially designed for starting, high load, short duration. Plus ... about 60% lighter than lead acid.