Battery problems
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
I have had good service with Delco batteries. One thing you must be careful of is to not let your batteries sit doing nothing for long (4+ wks)
periods. Lead acid batteries self discharge 1% each day even disconnected and lead sulphate collects on the plates during discharge. Lead sulphate is a good insulator and a fully sulphated battery is a door stop. Always periodically charge your battery up. A battery tender is a good way to maintain your battery at full charge (see www.harborfreight.com). If you already have a battery charger, buy an interval timer (turns your house lights on each night when you aren't at home) and have it charge your battery each day for its minimum interval (usually 15 mins, but an hour is ok). Each time you fully discharge a car battery and charge it up you permanently lose some of its amp-hour rating. Take care of your battery and your battery will take care of you!
periods. Lead acid batteries self discharge 1% each day even disconnected and lead sulphate collects on the plates during discharge. Lead sulphate is a good insulator and a fully sulphated battery is a door stop. Always periodically charge your battery up. A battery tender is a good way to maintain your battery at full charge (see www.harborfreight.com). If you already have a battery charger, buy an interval timer (turns your house lights on each night when you aren't at home) and have it charge your battery each day for its minimum interval (usually 15 mins, but an hour is ok). Each time you fully discharge a car battery and charge it up you permanently lose some of its amp-hour rating. Take care of your battery and your battery will take care of you!
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,524
Likes: 10
From: Lufkin Texas
St. Jude Donor '05-'06
This one has been beaten about fairly often in here in the past and there are a ton of indifferent opinions hence the lack of immediate response. It's like avoiding a squabble that is inevitable if it gets started. 
So as not to leave you hanging I'll go ahead and state my opinion.
#1 Optima, but very expsensive.
#2 Sears die hard gold and good ol Delco
#3 I've also had good luck with interstate but some in here haven't.
#4 Anything with a good warranty like walmart if you want to play the exchange game.
Remember, this is JMO based on my personal experience. Whatever you choose charge it well before install and keep it refreshed often.
So as not to leave you hanging I'll go ahead and state my opinion.
#1 Optima, but very expsensive.
#2 Sears die hard gold and good ol Delco
#3 I've also had good luck with interstate but some in here haven't.
#4 Anything with a good warranty like walmart if you want to play the exchange game.
Remember, this is JMO based on my personal experience. Whatever you choose charge it well before install and keep it refreshed often.
Last edited by skateparkdave; May 15, 2005 at 11:24 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 3,493
Likes: 0
From: The Clem MI
CI 7-8 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07
After numerous attempts at Optima, and lots of headaches associated with that battery, I ended up with a Delco. Lesson learned the hard way! You can also do a forum 'search' on batteries and find lots of information/opinions.
Originally Posted by pwrful c4
I purchased a nascar approved battery and it wont last the year,what is a good battery for our toys.
Elite Torch Red Member
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 57,805
Likes: 23
From: Exit 89 GSP,Lakewood,NJ The Land Of Mojo
Cental/South NJ Events Coordinator
CI 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 Vet
CI-II Burnout & Drag Champ
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07
I will never buy a crap Delco ever. They have a bad habit of falling apart, namely the terminals. Happens on C4's and C5's.
I have a NAPA?Exide and I'm not so sure about that one.
I've always had good luck with Diehard.
I have a NAPA?Exide and I'm not so sure about that one.
I've always had good luck with Diehard.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,461
Likes: 715
Titanium battery from Advance Auto lasted nine months
I bought a Titanium battery from Advance Auto and it lasted nine months, but that was because my 1990 has a current leak. The battery went dead at least a dozen times. It would no longer hold a charge. I could charge it to 100 percent and disconnect ithe negative terminal and it would drop to 60 percent in 24 hours.
Ironically, when I returned the battery to Advance Auto, they hooked it to their test machine and the machine said the battery was good. I told the manager that the battery wouldn't hold a charge, and they gave me another battery free of charge.
I've got to find the current leak. I suspect that it might be in the driver side headlight because when I hook up the negative terminal, I hear a subtle groaning noise in the headlight motor. I had a shop replace the bushings in the headlights just about the time that I noticed my battery was going dead when I didn't drive the car for a week. I'm going to pull the headlight fuse and see if that stops the groaning noise when I reconnect the negative terminal. -- Eric
Ironically, when I returned the battery to Advance Auto, they hooked it to their test machine and the machine said the battery was good. I told the manager that the battery wouldn't hold a charge, and they gave me another battery free of charge.
I've got to find the current leak. I suspect that it might be in the driver side headlight because when I hook up the negative terminal, I hear a subtle groaning noise in the headlight motor. I had a shop replace the bushings in the headlights just about the time that I noticed my battery was going dead when I didn't drive the car for a week. I'm going to pull the headlight fuse and see if that stops the groaning noise when I reconnect the negative terminal. -- Eric
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 6,470
Likes: 2
From: levittown pa. usa Even a bad day with my `Vette, is better than a good day at work
St. Jude Donor '10
Believe it or not, Consumers reports did a battery comparo last year, & the top rated battery was from Pep Boys. They rated it better than Sears Die Hard, Interstate etc. They also tested several Opitma batteries, & concluded that they weren`t any better/worse than other batteries of their type (mat-Gel), & that they were not worth the C note that they cost. Sorry I don`t remember the month that they did the tests.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 40,156
Likes: 45
From: San Pedro CA
I find it interesting... there are only like 3 manufacturers of batteries... The rest are brand names.
I have had VERY good luck with Exide - That's the NASCAR "approved" model - more like NASCAR marketed model.
I have had VERY good luck with Exide - That's the NASCAR "approved" model - more like NASCAR marketed model.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,159
Likes: 0
From: royal palm beach florida
Originally Posted by bogus
I find it interesting... there are only like 3 manufacturers of batteries... The rest are brand names.
I have had VERY good luck with Exide - That's the NASCAR "approved" model - more like NASCAR marketed model.
I have had VERY good luck with Exide - That's the NASCAR "approved" model - more like NASCAR marketed model.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 96,443
Likes: 9
From: Fort Knox, KY
Cruise-In IV Veteran
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Cruise-In VII Veteran
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
I've had a DuraLast battery from AutoZone four years now and it's never given me a moment's trouble. I keep mine trickle-charged with a Harbor Freight battery tender, though...
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 238
Likes: 0
From: Michigan
Make sure you buy a float charger and keep you battery topped up when you don't run the car for more than 3 weeks at a time.
The batteries discharge and get sulphide deposits. This dramatically shortens their life.
There are a numbe rof brands, but the cheapest one I have found that works great is from Harbor Freight
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42292
Now on sale for $7.49 !!!
The batteries discharge and get sulphide deposits. This dramatically shortens their life.
There are a numbe rof brands, but the cheapest one I have found that works great is from Harbor Freight
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42292
Now on sale for $7.49 !!!
