The day has come. My original battery failed a number of times last year and I'm taking out my beast soon.
Battery recomendations please.
Brand and Part # would be great.
For a 03 Z06

Thanks

 

Replaced mine. Best battery/price was at my local GM store...got the stock battery side mount with snap down handle. Gorgeous looking battery that fits the look in a Corvette engine bay. All for $ 94- much cheaper than a synthetic oil change?!?!

 

I swapped mine out when I first got the my C5 even though it wasn't needed yet to the Optima Red Top. Works great and is sealed gel better so no chance of leaking and destroying anything like the precious harness underneath.

 

Also, top mounts provide convenient location for amplifier connection.

 

Optima is a AGM battery,not a so-called gel.Just hope you didn't get one of the made in Mexico batteries , as the quality was an issue after they closed the Optima plant in the USA and moved most production to south of the border.I put a Sears Diehard AGM in my 04 Z06.Its a bit pricey but sometimes they run sales and the warranty is much better then the Optima.http://www.sears.com/diehard-platinu...90000P?prdNo=1

 

Get it and forget it... The reserve capacity (135) is very important in our C5's and this is the perfect battery for us. This one in particular is made my Oddesey batteries if I am not mistaken and they make batteries for the military.

 

When my Optima Red Top died at the 3 year mark, I replaced it with a Sears DieHard Platinum. It has been in the car now for better than four years and no problems at all. Yes it is pricey, but it does come with a good warranty.

 

It's overkill for most, but I have an Optima Yellow top 34/78. Mine lasted 5+ years in two vehicles. I ended up killing it by draining it completely and repeatedly for several weeks during a very-long installation.

 

Surprisingly, a best bang-for-the-buck battery is just down the street at your local Walmart. Its MAXX battery cost a measly $100 but is almost always a solid 5-year battery. In fact it tops CR's list of auto batteries, year after year.
And the days of leaky batteries ended in 2004, so buying an expensive AGM battery is not necessary unless you plan to go off-roading with your vehicle.

 

But its Walmart!

 

Yellow Top here too. 8 years and counting.

 

Hello, I noticed your conversation involving our batteries and wanted to offer some assistance. While many folks indicate our batteries are “gel,” that is not the case at all. As CalF indicated, they are absorbed glass mat (AGM) lead-acid batteries. That is an important distinction when it comes to charging, because many battery chargers have “gel” or “gel/AGM” charger settings that may not fully-charge non-gel batteries. For those chargers, we recommend just using the regular settings for lead acid batteries to charge Optimas.

While I understand individual experiences can vary, CalF's claim about a decline in quality of our products is absolutely false. Our quality has always been excellent and the batteries we are producing today are the best we have ever made. Many of the "bad" batteries returned to us under warranty now are just deeply-discharged and work fine, when properly-recharged.

If tbrent or anyone suggests reserve capacity is important to you, I would suggest that proper voltage maintenance is far more important than reserve capacity. Whenever any battery is discharged below 12.4 volts, sulfation begins to form, which diminishes both capacity and lifespan. That makes a quality battery maintenance device far more important than reserve capacity. We believe in the importance of battery maintenance so much, we'll give you one of our Digital 400 maintainers for free, if you buy an Optima battery from a participating retailer this month.

Dave68's suggestion that the days of leaky batteries ended in 2004 is also completely false. All lead-acid batteries can vent gas and liquid that is both flammable and toxic in extreme situations. Flooded lead-acid batteries are still far more prone to leaking acid than AGM batteries and that hasn't changed since 2004.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries

 

Just don't drive your vette to Walmart and you'll fit right in.

 

I dont buy anything from Walmart. Dont care for the way they treat their employees....And I am NOT a woodchuck or Redneck!

 

Well duh... I think most folks learn letting a battery run down is bad about the time they get their drivers license.

And yes with C5 Corvettes Reserve Capacity IS important. To quote me and act like I am trying to make something up and sell the OP on something is tacky and silly. Considering years and years of posts and factual information brought to this forum about the subject. Or haven't you experienced the need for high RC with your C5.

I'll stick with my Diehard Platinum.

And you quoted CalF too. He mentioned that you closed a plant in the USA and moved to Mexico... Is that true?

 

UNBELIEVABLE! I just bought (my 4th) Optima Red top 3/30/14. Two day's they start throwing in $120 chargers for free. This sucks.

For the record, I have been buying Optima batteries for the last 10 years or so and have been very happy with them. Like any other battery, they need to be maintained as OptimaJim stated but when cared for they will outlast anything in its price range. I had a truck on bags that would hop clean off the ground running 2 yellow top's. These things take a beating and keep going.

 

Interstate MT7-78 AGM Battery
Correct fit and side mounts. I have it in 2000 Vert.
Stratford, ON
Dave.

 

I have had my Optima red top for 10+ years. i keep it hooked to a battery tender.

 

For a c5 at least 120 reserve capacity

 

Running a Diehard Platinum. No issues, long warranty, quote from CR - "Best battery we have ever tested". Good enough for me. BTW, you can leave your car parked for a long time with this battery with no tender. Left mine from early Jan to mid March - started right up.

Running MAXX from Wallies in our other vehicles - they work well, but then they are in vehicles that don't suck power when parked.