Battery Recomendations?

gilly

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
SA
First Name
Simon
Drive
2000 Legnum VR4 Type S
I had a look at a few batteries today at Autobarn and realised how many options there are! The saleman (a mate of mine) was asking questions along the lines of what size, how big are the terminals, spacing between terminals etc.

Obviously 8th Gen galants are not in any fitment guides, so was just wondering if anyone had any solid recommendations of what brand and model battery to go with which will suit my Legnum perfectly?

I dont plan on doing any major stereo installation - I just need something that will do the job, and last a while.

I looked at some Century batteries today - were priced between $100 and $180 and come with a 3 year warranty. Is this the price I should expect to pay?

Cheers guys.
 

BuzzPuppy

OZVR4 Ambassador
Lifetime Member
Location
Victoria
First Name
Gavin
Drive
レグナム Super VR-4
Terminals are easy to change on the +ve and -ve on the car. Just get a spanner, undo them and fit whatever brass ones suit you. :)
 

gilly

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
SA
First Name
Simon
Drive
2000 Legnum VR4 Type S
I swapped in my brothers galant battery this morning to check to see if it is definately the battery that is the problem, but the tiny little terminals wouldnt fit! They look a bit cheap and flimsy, and the battery appeared a bit small in comparison to my brothers battery.

I think new brass terminals wouldnt be a bad idea.

Can anyone recommend a decent brand/model battery?
 
G

Guest

Unregistered
i bought a new battery the other day as mine died (was one of those small ones that took up about 1/2 the battery area, lol.

can't remember the model, but it cost $169, and was 480CCA.
i bought new terminals too, as 1) i couldnt find any batteries with small ones, and 2) they looked flimsy as you said
 

gilly

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
SA
First Name
Simon
Drive
2000 Legnum VR4 Type S
thanks Mitchy, did you go with a Century?
And where from?

Im heading out in a few mins to get the terminals and battery.
 

gilly

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
SA
First Name
Simon
Drive
2000 Legnum VR4 Type S
I ended up going with a Century Hi Performance - 3 year warranty - 480cca - fits perfectly (I had a few different sizes to choose from).

It cost $170 from autobarn, plus $20 for some decent brass terminals.

I just need a bigger clamp now, the old one is too skinny.
 
G

Guest

Unregistered
oh yeah.. i bought a 7" clamp for mine too!

i think its a bosch battery.. not sure, 3yr warranty too though.

edit: it was a Bosch B67, as thats what it said for a 7th gen galant, and i thought it would be similar.. however i'd use one with the terminals switched around, as the terminals are on the headlight side of the battery, so the cables only just reach, but if you get the opposite, you can spin in 180 degree's and it will be sweet!
 

gilly

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
SA
First Name
Simon
Drive
2000 Legnum VR4 Type S
my Century has the terminals on the correct side for my car, so didnt need to stretch them.
 

SLY-031

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
South Australia
First Name
Joel
Drive
VR-4 Legnum
Make sure you get a Left battery. I ended up getting a Century with the three year warranty. about 450 or 480CCA. Not sure what the code is. I also changed to larger forged brass terminals.

Cost was ABOUT $180 all up from Battery World.
 
G

Guest

Unregistered
I got one today that fits in perfect, has small terminals and has the same dimensions only its a bit shorter in lenght. You can still use the original clamp and terminals. It looks good too as its black with a red top.
From Repco $163 Champion X4OCP has a 3 year warranty.

If you still have the Jap battery I would recomend changing it anyway as you don't know how long it will last and it sucks if your somewhere and it goes flat. Lucky I was at home when mine went flat.

Edit: This battery only has CCA 310 so I would not recomend if you were going to get an amp for your stereo. I got a rufund and am swapping for a bigger one.
 
G

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Unregistered
There is a pic, the top is red looks a bit off colour in the photo.
 

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king_panther

Gettin' tanked
Location
New South Wales
First Name
Brad
Drive
2012 VW Caddy 1.6TDI 7-Speed DSG. Still crappy DSG.....
Hey ET that battery looks really small ??? Wow.

I've got a Champion brand battery... 480cca. Though the car went dead last night & turned out I didn't have the -ve terminal properly clamped down.

Boy I felt like a d***head !
 

SiliconAngel

1 AYC Bar
Location
Perth, WA
First Name
SA, Trevor
Drive
'99 Legnum VR4 Black MT
Haha nice one Brad :rolleyes:

The batteries they use in Japan are quite underpowered. The Owners Manual for the VR4 recommends a 520CCA capacity battery (I've mentioned the exact model elsewhere on the forums). I seriously doubt you can get a battery that powerful with the small size terminals.

Just because the terminals are small, don't just get a little battery to fit. I strongly recommend replacing the terminals and getting a much bigger, more robust battery. New terminals just bolt straight on anyway and they're not very expensive, so don't be scared of changing them :)
 
G

Guest

Unregistered
Dam I totaly forgot to check that. Its only 310CCA. It has been working really good though no problems. Doesn't that just mean I can't run the stereo for as long with the car is turned off. It supplies the same voltage, is new and has a 3 year warranty so it should last for 3 years I hope.
Also it is smaller and lighter. Hmmm I don't really want to buy another new one so soon, hmmmmmm. 520CCA would have been nice though.
 
G

Guest

Unregistered
i wouldnt worry about it.. the one that came out of my car was 280CCA.

CCA is Cold Cranking Amps, or how many amps it can supply for 30 seconds at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
it's only used to start the car, after that the alternator powers the car.
 

SiliconAngel

1 AYC Bar
Location
Perth, WA
First Name
SA, Trevor
Drive
'99 Legnum VR4 Black MT
Well, that all depends on just how much juice you are pulling - if you're running a ridiculously overpowered stereo then you can exceed the capacity of the alternator and start draining the battery while its running... Obviously this is Not A Good Thing. And its not something anyone with a reasonably sensible stereo ever needs to worry about (read: you can't kill yourself by being in the car while the stereo is going).

Mitch is right, CCAs is basically a measurement of what current the battery can supply in a rather cold state. However it also gives you an idea of the overall capacity of the battery and thus its useful lifespan. A smaller battery will drain faster and is thus more susceptible to sulfation. Even given the best drain / charge cycling you can come up with running it in a controlled laboratory environment, a larger, higher capacity battery will last far longer than a small one given the same load.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, Emanual. Just use that battery for the next few years until it starts to give up the ghost and get a larger one next time. Just don't ever leave anything running in the car on ignition power while the engine isn't running, 'cause you'll drain it pretty bloody fast!
 

naughtika

OzVR4 Stalker
Location
Brisbane, QLD
First Name
Christian
Drive
'96 Galant VR4, '17 MB A180, '25 Macan GTS
There is a pic, the top is red looks a bit off colour in the photo.

that battery's small and your battery area is quite tidy.. you should check mine out.. the qld guys might agree too as they've seen it already
 
G

Guest

Unregistered
I have an Optima Yellow-top D31. Surprisingly, it fits perfectly and I doubt my car will be run flat anytime soon. Even if it does, at least I can charge it up again. :)

Leigh
 
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