When I bought my 04 it had a almost new, smallish NAPA battery, I thought I was good for several years. WRONG, one year later the NAPA crapped out. Replaced it with the largest DieHard AGM battery that would fit and have had no problems.

 

 

You can't go wrong with either a red or yellow top, we have 7 vehicles and have a red top in every one including 2 in my diesel ram. Whatever you do stay with a gel type battery so you don't have the terminal corrosion and chance of leakage on your computer wires below.

 

I had a 7 year old gm battery and then went with this Duracell AGM from Sam's Club.

 

I've been using Everstart Maxx for years now. $80 bucks at Wally World. The battery has a 700 cranking and a 5 year warranty. 3 years regardless, and 2 years pro rated. I've had several of these batteries in my streetrods and they are well over 5 years old and still cranking away (I don't use a trickle charger or disconnect the cable either). Everstart is made by Johnson Control and is virtually the same battery as an Interstate. People complain they leak. That usually occurs when you over tighten the battery cables which distorts the connection causing them to leak. You can buy a red or yellow top Optima for over $200 and probably won't out last a Everstart. I figure I can get 3 batteries for the price of 1 optima.. That's a minimum of 15 years of batteries. I'll take the extra money I save and use it on something else. Just my 2 cents!

 

i used a new OEM. First one went 8 years and I only replaced it because it just seemed to dam old and didn't want a unwanted surprise.

 

The Sears Diehard mentioned above is actually an Odyssey AGM Battery but you pay about $80 less getting it through Sears. I put one in my '04Z and the CCA lights up the engine so much faster then the original battery ever did. Love it....

 

OPTIMA 75/25 RED TOP--made in mexico--no diff when made in america--3 year full waranty--no worries about acid drip

 

Sorry, been out of this for a while, but was a "rabid" C5 guy for ten years and what I can tell you is as follows:

I cant find the link to the detailed thread I did when replacing my battery (after the new red top died) but the gist of it is:


Oooo found it...
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...w-battery.html

You need to look at Reserve Capacity (not CCA), the C5 was originally specced for an RC of 90.......experience over the production years updated that to an RC of 120.

Drove the C5 for ten years, had problems but none after I started keeping it on a Ctek Charger when parked.

Sold the car (to another WTC survivor) who didnt have the means to keep it on a charger (no outlet in leased storage) and he has the same problem with killing the battery (although he can recharge the Die Hard).

Bottom line =
Some (not sure how many) C5's eat batteries.
If you use a battery with an RC of 120 it will do better.
If you have the ability to keep it on a charger while its parked, its a non-issue.
You absolutely do not have to worry about a leaking battery killing the harness under the tray if you buy a recent battery, it was an old problem that essentially all manufacturers addressed......you'ld be hard pressed to find a battery that leaks today on the shelf.....even the $60 ones. The often stated "get a Red Top" point of view was in relation to the very real fears of the original Delco that did leak if tightened to serverely, sooooo people went with Red Tops.....not the best battery for this car that can have a 400 ma/hr drain when parked, and in the cars that dont seem to have a drain.....they do work well.).
Many people put a cheap battery from Costco or Autozone in and have zero problems.
You wont know until you use the car as you use it for a while.

Enjoy

 

I too am only concerned with weight and used a PC680 on my track Mustang....it worked perfectly and would start the car even when very hot coming off the track. But, the Mustang had nowhere near the electrical draw that my C5Z06 has with all its much more advanced features, etc. The Mustang was pretty basic for a modern car. I'm pretty confident that the Z06 takes much more amperage just to operate with the HUD, climate control functions, stability control, etc.

Did you ever find that the PC680 would have a hard time cranking over a very hot motor? My car will mainly be a track day vehicle, but I will occasionally drive it on the street and sometimes at night. I'm thinking the alternator will be able to keep up with the lights, etc.

Any thoughts??

 

No problems starting ever. The electrical draw has more to do with your alternator when the car is on. Not the battery. Never had a Problem with my PC680. Without keeping them on the tender in cars I did drive for a while the batteries would last about a year. With this one I have now and a tender its still going.

 

Thanks Johnny,

Do you know if anybody is building a custom type mount to hold the small PC680 in place or did you make your own mount?

One of the other ideas I had but don't want to be the guinea pig is those small lithium booster batteries than can jump start a car but are literally about 2 lbs each. Since the prices have dropped to around $60.00, I wonder if running 3 of them in parallel would work for track duty or even driving on the street. I would think you'd want to keep them plugged in when the car is not being driven for days, but this just might work.

Who is going to be the first to find out??

 

The pc680 lays down perfectly in the Stock Battery spot and hooks up easily also. Its always funny hearing people ask...."THATS your battery?!"

 

I just use black gorilla tape and mounts strong and track officials pass