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I went with an Optima Red Top battery that I got at Pep Boys. You can get them here on the forum for $110 shipped. There may be better batteries out there, but I have had no problems with mine and it looks pretty cool under the hood. :D And it won't leak like my stock one did! :mad Install was easy.
Because of the great design of the C5 which put the PCM below the battery, I would recommend that you get a AGM battery of some sort. I chose the Optima Red top and like it. No leaks.... :) BTW, welcome to the Forum!
What's wrong with good old Wall Mart? I am still running the Delco AGM
in my C5 but when it craps out, I will go with the Wall Mart. I had all kinds
of battery problems with my 1996 C4 until I replaced the Delco with a
Wall Mart. The Wall Mart (I think it is Excide) had better cranking amps,
warranty and price. You can't beat Wall Mart for service. Most are open
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You never know when your battery is
going to die. When they die (and they all die), you need a replacement fast.
My next battery will be a Wall Mart at half the price of Delco or Optima
I recently installed an Optima red top; $110 shipped overnight from LAPD, great service.
For my other cars, I don't mind conventional (= less $$) batteries. But take a look at what's right under the large opening in the C5 battery tray: wires, PCM, etc. Expensive to repair/replace if the battery cracks, leaks, or whatever. From many posts on the forum, it's happened.
Optima Red Top batteries are similar to normal batteries used in automotive applications. They are best suited for starting the car, running lights, etc. These batteries are not designed to be discharged completely and recharged, like you might experience if you don't use a trickle charger when your car is stored for more than a few weeks.
Optima Yellow Top batteries are more like batteries used for trolling motors. They are deep cycle batteries designed to deal with repetitive discharge/recharge cycles. The drawback is lower cranking amps.