Battery Recommendations?

[motoxxx]

Well my truck battery is dead. Anyone know of the best replacement? Should I go with an Optima? Any recommendation? Thx

[Zembonez]

Might wanna do a quickie search. I know we have had numerous threads on this that were quite popular.

[vester]

Well my truck battery is dead. Anyone know of the best replacement? Should I go with an Optima? Any recommendation? Thx

 

Consumer reports recommends the following for temperate climates (assuming you are still in AZ).

 

Everstart Maxx (Walmart brand)

Duralast (Autozone brand)

Kirkland Signature (Costco brand)

Autocraft Titanium (Advance Auto brand)

 

The common theme here is that it does not seem to be worth paying for a name brand. They rated the Optima Red-Top well, but it was not recommended due to price.

[motoxxx]

Well my truck battery is dead. Anyone know of the best replacement? Should I go with an Optima? Any recommendation? Thx

 

Consumer reports recommends the following for temperate climates (assuming you are still in AZ).

 

Everstart Maxx (Walmart brand)

Duralast (Autozone brand)

Kirkland Signature (Costco brand)

Autocraft Titanium (Advance Auto brand)

 

The common theme here is that it does not seem to be worth paying for a name brand. They rated the Optima Red-Top well, but it was not recommended due to price.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I'm still in Arizona. Thank you for the information, I appreciate! I tried doing a search for other threads, but couldn't find any. I just typed in battery or batteries and couldn't find crap. I was thinking of an Optima, but now I will consider these other ones. Thanks

[pm26]

Interestingly enough, my original A/C Delco battery in my truck is still good after four years, which is surprising in Florida humidity and heat, especially for a vehicle that sits a lot in the garage like my truck.

 

However, I am getting nervous and will probably replace the battery preventively with a Walmart Everstart-Maxx. I have had very good luck with Walmart batteries and they have the best prices.

[havok88]

Well my truck battery is dead. Anyone know of the best replacement? Should I go with an Optima? Any recommendation? Thx

 

Consumer reports recommends the following for temperate climates (assuming you are still in AZ).

 

Everstart Maxx (Walmart brand)

Duralast (Autozone brand)

Kirkland Signature (Costco brand)

Autocraft Titanium (Advance Auto brand)

 

The common theme here is that it does not seem to be worth paying for a name brand. They rated the Optima Red-Top well, but it was not recommended due to price.

 

i havent seen the article, but here is a question i have. i have gone out and bought a battery for lets say $80, and it lasted 3 years. someone else i knew went out and bought a battery for say $30 and it only lasted 8 months, but had a 1 year warranty so they keep getting a free one every 8 months roughly. and they thought i was crazy for spending the money, but me personally i dont want to go through the hassle just to save a couple bucks. these arent the exact numbers, but the story is true. is this the same case with the optimas? in other words, maybe the everstart lasts half as long as the optima but only costs a quarter of the price so they say you are getting a better bang for your buck. im just curious if i should spend the money on the optima or go with something else when it comes time to replace mine.

[vester]

i havent seen the article, but here is a question i have. i have gone out and bought a battery for lets say $80, and it lasted 3 years. someone else i knew went out and bought a battery for say $30 and it only lasted 8 months, but had a 1 year warranty so they keep getting a free one every 8 months roughly. and they thought i was crazy for spending the money, but me personally i dont want to go through the hassle just to save a couple bucks. these arent the exact numbers, but the story is true. is this the same case with the optimas? in other words, maybe the everstart lasts half as long as the optima but only costs a quarter of the price so they say you are getting a better bang for your buck. im just curious if i should spend the money on the optima or go with something else when it comes time to replace mine.

 

I agree with you, I don't think it is worth replacing the battery every 8 months. Plus, who enjoys being stranded by a crap-ass battery. Even if your time is only worth $10/hr, it doesn't take long to make up the $50 difference swapping bad batteries.

 

The DieHard and Optima were rated the best for life, but were 3 times the price of the generic batteries. In the past, I have paid extra for the DieHard and not ended up keeping the car long enough to take advantage of the extra life.

 

Now, I always buy the midgrade store brand. I expect them to last about three years. After the warranty is up, if I see any misbehavior from them, I just replace them. If it runs down too quick, slow cranking, losing radio presets overnight when it is really cold, it gets an immediate replacement without testing. For $65 or so for a store brand, it is cheap insurance to always have a battery less than 4 years old in the vehicle.

[hockeypro1411]

So far, I have absolutely no complaints with my Duralast from Autozone. If i remember right, it was about 90 bucks and has a pretty long warranty.

[jvmorgan]

I have had a Red Top Optima for 8 years now and it finally died after this really cold winter here in Kansas I was very pleased with the performance of it and I rolled my Jeep a couple of times with that battery in it (rock crawling) and I would go back to an optima, though now I understand that they are made in Mexico?

[pm26]

So far, I have absolutely no complaints with my Duralast from Autozone. If i remember right, it was about 90 bucks and has a pretty long warranty.

 

From what I have seen, Duralast or Everstart seem to be the same exact battery, but with different labels. They are both made I believe by Johnson Controls. The only difference is that the one from Walmart is about $ 15 cheaper.

[PhilB]

Take a good look at your oem battery. GM changed everything around with the GMT900 trucks. It is now a top post battery and the + cable is preformed to go over the fill holes on the battery. I just got a battery from O'Reillys - an exact oem replacement - but with handles. So just be aware of what the existing battery is like before you purchase a new one.

 

Getting the old battery out was a PITA - firewall, fender, hood, coolant overflow tank, hvac lines.... and no handles. I ended up using a couple of leather dog leashes, slipped them around the battery to fashion a crude handle/cradle and lifted the old on out. Took me a while to get it out. Put the new one in in 15 seconds. Handles are great!

[Zembonez]

Take a good look at your oem battery. GM changed everything around with the GMT900 trucks. It is now a top post battery and the + cable is preformed to go over the fill holes on the battery. I just got a battery from O'Reillys - an exact oem replacement - but with handles. So just be aware of what the existing battery is like before you purchase a new one.

 

Getting the old battery out was a PITA - firewall, fender, hood, coolant overflow tank, hvac lines.... and no handles. I ended up using a couple of leather dog leashes, slipped them around the battery to fashion a crude handle/cradle and lifted the old on out. Took me a while to get it out. Put the new one in in 15 seconds. Handles are great!

Good to know. Mine is approaching three years old, so I'd bet I'm not far from having to replace it.

[Stex]

I have had good luck with the delco 'professionals'. they run about $85 to 95...I change at about 4yrs. The one in my 90 sub is a plain delco and is on four years...knock on wood...If I am going off the beaten path I carry a jumper box no matter how new the battery.

[Grebbler]

I used to always get Die Hard Golds but they have been crap the last ten or so years and not lasting any longer (or less) than a store brand. I switched to Duralast for the warranty.

 

I always get the biggest multi-post model (for easy jump starting) I can fit.

[Prokopchuk_9]

AC delco or yellow top optima FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!