Car Batteries: The best you've used.

[Bunnykid68]

Used to use the Interstate only until my mechanic quit using them. I use NAPA batteries now

 

[Butch627]

Optimas had the best reputation going in the off road world where winches, electric fans, offroad lights, etc put huge strains on the battery. They also came with a lifetime replacement warranty. As they have been cheapened the lifetime warranty is gone and they are not what they once were. You are paying for a name and a reputation that have seen better days. At one time I had optimas in all my vehicles, I now have none.

 

[Leo]

Maybe I have just had 15 years of really good luck, but I think batteries have gotten better than they were when I was a kid. Back then a 3 year old battery in a Chicago winter was just asking for trouble. These days even "generic" batteries from places like farm Fleet seem to do well in the cold and last a long time. I have a six year old battery in my outdoor parked V8 car that I only drive every other day, and it never even cranked slow. The Battery in my blue car was a 60 month battery that was 84 months old when it died. In the late 60's you seldom saw a battery last over 3-4 years.

 

[Dr.Midnight]

I have an Interstate battery in my truck, but the one I am most pleased with is the one in my Honda ATV. That ATV is a 2005 and still has the stock battery in it. It gets parked outside in my pole barn year round, but it has never missed a beat. I've had to replace a few things on that four-wheeler due to age and wear and tear, and every year I think this is the one I'll need to pop for a battery, but that sucker just keeps on going.

 

[Ungie]

I changed to an optima 12 months ago because that was all they had where I was stuck, and it seems to be ok at this point I have however been very please with Interstate batteries they have always been good to me. I have them in all of my lawn equipment and in my boats. We used to sell them at the place I worked, so maybe they took care of me a little better. I am hoping the optima lasts through its warranty

 

[moosebag]

Duralast Gold!

 

[Butch627]

The most stress on a battery is when it is cranking the engine. Years ago before fuel injection you might have to crank for several minutes in the cold before it would start. Now with modern fuel injection and synthetic oil they start in a second with much less stress on the battery. Modern charging systems are a lot more precise in their output. These are 2 big factors in extended battery life.

 

[gunworks321]

Odyssey AGM in my Diesel motor home. More expensive, but last 8-12 years. Never had a failure to start. Duralast in the cars and lawn tractors.

 

[IndyLongColt]

Switched to an AGM on my GoldWing 3 years ago and Im sold. Its a YUASA, is completely sealed, wont leak if punctured, can be mounted upside down, and holds a charge longer than a wet cell....if left sitting.

AGM all the way!!!

 

[IrishSon of Liberty]

The last couple batteries that I've purchased have been thru NAPA. I found that was my best bang for the buck. Fit my application, had a great CCA rating, warranty & pro-rating included; I couldn't beat the price & quality anywhere else. Both of our vehicles now have NAPA batteries, we both park outside, and never had the first issue this winter.

 

[K_W]

Brand does not matter, there are only 4 main manufaturers of batteries anyway...

Internal design (flooded vs AGM) actual manufacturer, power ratings, and warrenty are what you really need to pay attention to.

For example the manufactures some popular batteries are...

Johnson Controls makes...
Optima
Interstate
Sears DieHard
CarQuest's ProStart
Walmart's EverStart
Advance Auto standard flooded
AutoZone's Duralast and Duralast Gold

Deka makes....
Deka
Meijer brand
Sears DieHard AGM
AutoZone's Valucraft and Duralast Platnium AGM
Advance Auto's AGM's

 

[Tired of Lies]

The ice truck thread got me thinking. What name brand battery do you use in your car/truck/snow mobile? What batteries have you bought that were junk? The best?

I personally only use Interstate batteries. Have used them in the past 3 cars I've had. This winter my car started EVERY morning (and I park outside). There were a few times it was close but I never had to ask for a jump. On the other had I have had to jump start other peoples cars.

Interstate is great...if you want to add to battery life and performance in the cold add a battery heater and oil pan heater and plug it in whenever the temps drop.

 

[williamsjr22]

I gotta go with NAPA. My battery is 7 years old and still holds a charge like it is brand new

 

[mrjarrell]

The last battery I had to change out was in my now dead 4-Runner. The factory battery lasted about 9 years so I'd say whatever battery Toyota used stock was pretty damned good. Replaced it with an Energizer from Sams Club and it never failed to crank when I needed it to for 4 years. It outlasted the vehicle.

 

[IMPD31323]

Whatever came stock in my 2005 Toyota 4runner. It's the original battery and is still going as strong as the day I bought my truck. I purchased it with 20k miles. It now has 170k. It has never fail other than the two or three times I left the head lights on thinking they were off. The day it does decide to go **** up I will be tracking down the OEM battery to replace it!

 

[Principal Skinr]

There may be only a few manufacturers, but that doesn't mean they are the same, at all. Different brands can set different specs. Probably the best I've had were Sears Die Hard Gold batteries. I'm not sure they even make that line anymore. I've had some really good AC Delco batteries that were OEM in my Chevy trucks. They were all good. I've just had to replace whatever the top of the line Wal Mart battery is after 1 year. They took care of it easily and free, but it only lasted a year. I also have had good luck with Duralast until recently. My Jeep's Duralast (gold? Whatever it was, it was their top battery) lasted two years and had to be replaced. Yes, for free, but it still should have lasted longer. It didn't see much in the way of extremes, either. It was garaged much of the time and I never ran my winch under load on it. I've run the winch a few times with the replacement, and it has done fine so far. We'll see.

If the Duralast makes it to the end of its warranty, I'll go with an Optima. It will be expensive, but I'll have quite a bit more confidence in it, especially for winching. Who makes Optima? Maybe they make their own?

 

[dyerwatcher]

I run Costco batteries. I will not say they're the best-but their warrantee is

 

[Caleb]

interstate battery

 

[countrylivn01]

Optima yellow top

 

[cmr13]

Brand does not matter, there are only 4 main manufacturers of batteries anyway...

Internal design (flooded vs AGM) actual manufacturer, power ratings, and warranty are what you really need to pay attention to.

+1 to this guy.

I've also recently found out that most vehicle batteries are only made by 3 companies, one being Johnson Controls (which makes Interstate). Do these 'brand' batteries have certain 'specs' to them or do these companies have different 'levels' of battery?

Where I used to work we dealt with 3 of the 4 main battery makers. Exide, Deka, and Crown. From our experience as far as quality control and durability, Exide was at the bottom (worst) then Crown and Deka are very close or could be considered equal.

Optima red top. Friggin awesome and worth the extra money it will cost.

Optimas are very good batteries as well.

Odyssey AGM in my Diesel motor home. More expensive, but last 8-12 years. Never had a failure to start. Duralast in the cars and lawn tractors.

If you want the best, Odyssey batteries are what you want. Tri-County uses/used them in their ambulances.