recommended batteries?

[weeaazz]

hey guys,ive searched around and theres a little bit of this topic here,there and everywhere spread throughout other threads but i thought it would help to put it all together.

im in the middle of relocating the battery to my boot,but cannot 'legally' use the one i have as its not sealed and just a regular battery.
an auto electrician is sorting out all the wiring out for me for around $150 but the battery is left for me to decide,he recommended and optimax yellow top(i beleive siliconangel uses one) but theyre very expensive,the benefit of them is they can be layed on their side and are a sealed battery so therefore legal in a wagon.

i plan to have the battery hidden under everything either in the spare wheel or take the spare wheel out.

so what do you guys recommend as a good battery and what are their prices?im guessing its not one of those areas i want to be tight-ass about,as it starts the car,and runs one 4-way amp atm and soon to be at least one mono block.

any help would be appreciated

james

 

[CANDEE]

I would either use an orbital, optima or a kinetic.

 

[weeaazz]

are there any major price differences between the three,i was just quoted $400 plus freight for a yellow top optima,not sure on the size

 

[Zild]

Murphy's Law says that if you take your spare wheel out, you'll be kicking yourself within one week of doing so

 

[weeaazz]

i dont have anything that fits the lugs on my wheels anyway,so even if i do have a plow out im stuck without the tools to change tyres anyway.so either way ill need someone to bring the tools and therefore a spare wheel as well,

but im hoping i can get a battery that will fit in the spare wheel,thats why a calcium battery looks good because i can lay it on its side if that fits better

 

[weeaazz]

does anyone know if theres is a certain cca rating i should be looking at with these batteries

 

[Guest]

in the past i've used odyssey batteries but not sure if they fit into any of the criteria you're looking for

 

[weeaazz]

yer well i know i can get oddysey dry cell batteries cheaper than retail,i just need to find the right size

this is one im looking at
http://rocketindustries.com.au/descriptions.php?partno=ODPC1200

 

[Guest]

I got a OPTIMA Yellow top for $275, Its great, and only 5" wide and about 12kg.
Its a D51R, 450CCA Deep-Cycle. NS60 case size.

Its smaller and lighter than the larger one.
Larger one the D31 is 27KG, thats a heavy battery but it has about 900CCA.

 

[J-B]

Did you have to change the terminals over when you got that battery?
I'm pretty sure my battery has positive where your negative is.

 

[Guest]

No they are standard, just changed the terminals to the larger ones ,well like normal Australian ones as japan ones are really small.

 

[weeaazz]

the problem is my battery will have to run my battery through 6 meters of battery cable before it gets to where your positive wire is.so im not sure if the smaller one will be suitable

 

[Guest]

hey james i'm just in the process of relocating the battery in the boot too. I'm using two Pulse gel cells. They are approx 6 x 18 x 18 cm and when laid on their side next to each other fit under one of our side floor compartments next to the lid to the spare wheel. Together they have 400 cca in parallel and cost about $170 each from battery world. And you dont lose your tyre.

 

[weeaazz]

that sounds like a good idea,ill look into it,i wasnt even aware you could link batteries together like that but then again thats why im asking so many questions,are you using a circuit breaker?
ive got 6 metere of heavy duty battery cable plus 6 metres of hose that fits it perfect for even better insulation and protection,biggest problem will be getting such a thick cable/tube through the fire wall

 

[Guest]

supposed to use a fuse for safety but some people have had problems with them , i'm probably going to run the cable outside under the car then through in behind the plastic inner guard where there is a big enough hole to get to the battery

 

[weeaazz]

ahk smart,im looking at these xs power batteries and if 400cca is enough to start your car then ill be more than fine with these as most crank so high and are light and tiny,so therefore gonna hurt my wallet most likely,lol

 

[SiliconAngel]

Optima Yellowtop D34 is the one I have and recommend, with 750CCA goodness. I got mine for $324.50, but that's 'cause I wrangled a trade discount - most places want over $400 for them. If you don't want to spend that kind of money the Optima Redtops are also great, just have a bit less (perhaps slightly more sensible amount of) juice.

I'll eventually do the battery relocation thing but don't want to go changing any more than I have to before the car goes off to the panel shop.

Running cables under the car is scary... and not including a fuse is just asking for trouble

 

[CANDEE]

I have one of the big yellowtops atm, though they are $700+ NZD atm to replace..

400CCA is the bare minimum that I would use to start our cars, with 500+ being preferable.

 

[weeaazz]

cheers guys,ive read more about the xs power range and they seem very similar to yellowtops,theyre extremely light,like 14lb for 685cca and can be layed on any side but upside down,ill get some prices but if cost is similar i mite just go the yellowtop as i know it will be fine.thanks heaps

 

[weeaazz]

so for anyone else reading this thread wandering about batteries to choose,you need around a
400cca minimum

preferably more if you're running some amps or running to the boot where the current needs to run through 6 metres of cable.
a dry-cell sealed battery if youre using it in the boot of your legnum,any battery if its in the boot of a galant (some states may have different laws)

the bonus with yellowtops and other similar dry type batteries is that you can lay them on their side and do not let off hydrogen gas or something similar

feel free to add more input,this has helped me a lot already

cheers,
james