I know in the past there has been many posts on a battery - But it is that time of year to start driving and i want to get a battery that is not going to cause me any problems from leaking, or any of the other problems that has caused in the past. Please respond and make my Corvette come back to life soon!!!! Thanks in advance!!!!

 

Interstate

 

I've been happy with the Optima Red Top battery - have had it in my last two C5s.

 

I would STRONGLY suggest an AGM Battery, they won't (normally) leak acid.

Your battery is located diretly over your computer. Although ruining the $165 computer is not the problem, its corroding all the connectors ! The problems and cost to replace these could be endless (I've seen quotes of $7500 to replace wiring harnesses)

I use an Optima Red Top, BUT I also use a battery tender on it when it sits 3 days or more. AGM batteries are not good for sitting and discharging, it WILL affect their life. C5's are battery hogs when sitting.

 

Fortunately, the days of "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" as far as leaking batteries is long gone. The last leaker battery was produced in 2000 and has long since been turned in for a new one. Batteries produced since then have been so well built that I have not read of one leaker in the last 10 years of perusing this forum.

So, you now have a tremendous choice of good batteries. I have the AC Delco 7YR Professional battery. This battery will almost definitely last longer than 7 years. It has a 50 month free replacement warranty - best in the business. The Optima Redtop, like the 01-03 AC Delco AGM battery, can be reliable if kept well-charged. If not, it is more susceptible to early failure when compared to a good non-AGM like the AC Delco Professional.

But if you are like C5 owners who feel better running runflat tires, the best AGM out there is the Sears Platinum. It weighs almost as much as a boat anchor and costs $180, but to its credit, it is an excellent battery.

If you are on a limited budget, two batteries that come to mind have proven to be very reliable:
The Costco Kirkland battery and the
Walmart MAXX battery.
Either will give you 5+ years for less than $80.

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...or-optima.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...for-my-c5.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...t-battery.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...y-is-best.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...h-battery.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...-or-other.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...-one-with.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...-you-have.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...esnt-leak.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...t-battery.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...your-hood.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...for-my-c5.html

I found all of those in about 30 seconds. IMO, you are fine with any well known brand name battery. I run a DieHard right now b/c I happened to be going to Sears the day my old battery died. I have also had AC Delco Professional and Optima Red Top with absolutely no issues.

I have heard of individual incidents of battery problems recently, but not of one individual brand having more problems than most. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that almost all car batteries are made by one of three companies anyway. Just buy something you've heard of that you can get a good price on. If your car sits for long periods in between driving buy a deep cycle battery like the optima yellow top so that it won't be damaged by the constant draining and recharging.



EDIT: Here is a link to a page on OPTIMA's site that is a pretty good overview of the different types of batteries... http://www.optimabattery.co.uk/engli...a/tutorial.htm

 

I have had my Red Top for 5 years and being a weekend driver I keep it on a float charger

 

Braille 3121. Very small and lightweight. Keeps a charge well also.

 

When it is time for me to get a new battery for my C5, as I did this past fall for my Tundra as its battery lasted over 6 years, I'm just going to go down to my local AutoZone and get their EverStart battery as they are relatively cheap and there are AutoZone's all over the place here in MA.

 

Lightweight Odyssey. Great looking and performing battery!

 

I can tell you what battery NOT to buy... OPTIMA I've personally known too many people that have had all kinds of problems with them (sure there are some here who have not had problems).

IMO, you should be able to leave a car sit for 3-4 days without having it sit on a float charger That's just plain crap.

Everstart is good, Diehard, AC Delco , I run the Excide Orbital. It's not cheap but I've had one now for 3 years no problem. I put it on a battery tender in the winter because the car sits from Nov-April without being started.

Stay away from Optimas