VE battery upgrade options..

[Mr_SS-V]

hey guys ive done a few searchs in regards to upgraded battery options for my ssv but with no definate answers... wondering what people recommend for these cars bearing in mind a have a full audio set-up... prices, options, and places around metro sydney woud be great... thanx guys and girls..

[vyc4b]

Do yourself a favour mate and buy an Optima battery.
'Red or Yellow Top' are the go, dry cell {mount upside down if you like and extra safe} and fully rechargeable.....
Don't quote me but i think the 'Red Top' are designed for Audio use.
Cheers.
google

[Paul K]

If it will fit get a "CAT" battery, that is manufactured by the earth moving company
"Caterpillar" they have a few car size ones and they are light years ahead of anything else.
They are not expensive and will last 5 years + and are high on CCA capacity.
cheers Paul.

[Mr_SS-V]

ive heard of these optima batteries how much do they retail for.. or anyone can do cost/trade prices.. as im kinda treading the day the car wont start... sonny noticed the other they my battery was on the way out... going on 2 yrs strong lol... havent had a chance to go see him..

the CAT battery sounds good also might check out the site... just a quick question.... what size do i look for... cant be bothered going out to the car,,, too cold :)

[Paul K]

Just measure your battery and especially how high it can be,
then give the spare parts people a ring and see if they can help.
Their batteries use to be made specially for them in New Zealand.
I have installed dozens of them and have had one last 6 years in an
old HJ V8.
They were the same price as standard Heavy Duty batteries that are
all the same despite different brands.
Just think about the abuse a heavy earth moving vehicle suffers.
Cold starts at 0'C,heavy vibration, battery left without use for weeks
due to heavy weather conditions, multiple two way radio coms,
preheaters for the diesel to start.
The list goes on and on for the kind of treatment they are built to take.
cheers Paul

[vyc4b]

I think Optima's are around the $450 mark {reliability}, they last as long as 4 Battery's though.......atleast.

[Paul K]

Try the Cat site http://www.cat.com/parts/batteries
that is usa yet they probably have the same range here.
cheers Paul

[debencha]

Just measure your battery and especially how high it can be,
then give the spare parts people a ring and see if they can help.
Their batteries use to be made specially for them in New Zealand.
I have installed dozens of them and have had one last 6 years in an
old HJ V8.
They were the same price as standard Heavy Duty batteries that are
all the same despite different brands.
Just think about the abuse a heavy earth moving vehicle suffers.
Cold starts at 0'C,heavy vibration, battery left without use for weeks
due to heavy weather conditions, multiple two way radio coms,
preheaters for the diesel to start.
The list goes on and on for the kind of treatment they are built to take.
cheers Paul
and they are made in china.weve stopped using them at work. a n200 is 470 from cat a exide is 220 from local shop

[nirvana]

optima yellow top powers all my audio gear no prob from memory i think they are around $500

[Paul K]

and they are made in china.weve stopped using them at work. a n200 is 470 from cat a exide is 220 from local shop

That is a surprise, when did they become so expensive?

cheers Paul

I rang a cat retailer and they quoted $146 plus gst for a 12volt 52 amp hour 600cca
battery the main issue is working out the size. They use to come with a 5 year warranty
The dealer I rang is at 03-9566-0666 and is in Clayton North.
The main cat number is 03-9953-9333.
cheers Paul

[Wonky]

hey guys ive done a few searchs in regards to upgraded battery options for my ssv but with no definate answers... wondering what people recommend for these cars bearing in mind a have a full audio set-up... prices, options, and places around metro sydney woud be great... thanx guys and girls..

I believe given their location in the boot on sedans (and cabin in utes) you must get a battery that is totally safe i.e. won't explode if sparks occur near it, which rules out many normal choices.

[debencha]

That is a surprise, when did they become so expensive?

cheers Paul

I rang a cat retailer and they quoted $146 plus gst for a 12volt 52 amp hour 600cca
battery the main issue is working out the size. They use to come with a 5 year warranty
The dealer I rang is at 03-9566-0666 and is in Clayton North.
The main cat number is 03-9953-9333.
cheers Paul

n 200 (200 amp hour 1500cca) is the size commonly used in earthmoving gear.also you will find the waranty is prorata.cat have cheapend a lot of stuff off over the last few years
i suspect the ve battery may be a gel type as in our ute it lives in the cab.

[Paul K]

Sorry I don't know the specs of a VE battery just that the battery size
should easily start a V8.
They can come as maintenance free versions, also the US cat
site has info on auto vehicles listed and that might be a good lead.
As long as your battery is not being charged discharged a lot it should not be gassing.
You might find the Pontiac battery specs in the USA site: http://www.cat.com/parts/batteries
I would email the USA site and ask their opinion.

It all depends on how much effort you want to put into sourcing it.

cheers Paul.

[bad88u]

man these batterys are expensive. and dont last that long. i have a vy 03 and the battery is still from factory.

[Mr_SS-V]

yeh well not saying its dead yet lol but sonny believes its on the way out and the last thing i need is to get stuck somewhere... lol.. even at a stop at lights i can see my head light start to dim with the bass..

[EXCESSV]

Optima Yellow Top D34 all the way
its what i put in my car running this plus few other goodies:
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/Deano_22/EXCESSV/stereo/IMG_1952.jpg

on this thread someone put a site for the Optima Yellow top...
http://performanceshop.com.au/product/Optima+D34+Yellow+Top/1074?utm_source=getprice&utm_medium=cpc

$350 plus postage..its a great price!

[duke5700]

I have an Optima RedTop. Gauranteed to have the grunt to start my car after 12 months without charging. SO far I have left it a month at the most and it started like its life depended on it.

[Mozz]

Just found a link for the Optima D34 for $316 plus postage on sale at the moment July 1 2009.

http://www.batteriesdirect.com.au/shop/store.php?crn=310&rn=479&action=show_detail

[DukeZ]

optima ftw would never go anything else after i got my optima ;ast year

[6.2L.Club]

If it will fit get a "CAT" battery, that is manufactured by the earth moving company
"Caterpillar" they have a few car size ones and they are light years ahead of anything else.
They are not expensive and will last 5 years + and are high on CCA capacity.
cheers Paul.

They fail just as much as any other battery on the market and are far from 'light years ahead of anything else'. Theyre just a heavy duty constructed lead acid battery :confused:
When you replace them by the pallet load in a large fleet of earth moving equipment they're just "another battery"

Optima yellow tops are the battery of choice for longevity, high CCA, deep cycle audio and V8 cranking. Lead acid batteries should definatly not be used in an enclosed space of the VE. The standard battery is a calcium battery which is charged at a higher rate of charge (up to 15V) than a lead acid battery (13.8V typically). Higher voltage charging will usually maen you can "boil" the battery causing flammable gas to expel from the lead acid battery.

Dry cell or Gell cell battery's have been used with great success (mainly optima), spend a little more and get more out of the life of your battery, go the optima yellow top.

And yes.......l am putting 2 yellow tops in my VE ute

[spinr33]

If you are into alot of stero stuff specifically alot of audio brands offer their own brand of batteries soundstream,stinger etc they make alot of sealed gel batteries ive seen some around 750cca possibly fit, but obviously optima and also pulse are the more apparent choice of because of price.
If u have alot of audio gear, guys i know with large setups run another battery just for amps etc with just a battery charger to charge that battery just a large dry cell doesnt seem to worry the battery being discharged and charged over and over, and then u atleast know your car will start and your audio gear will have its own power source.
regards Rory (Autobarn Ballarat)

[HEXEM]

Some members may already know this. Just thought I'd post this information for all those wanting to change their batteries for a larger, higher capacity one.

I recently had my local holden service centre change out my 'standard' issue AC DELCO 450CCA battery for a heaver duty one. The one I put in was a 600CCA Holden battery as opposed to the AC DELCO brand. I was told by my holden dealer that this battery is standard on the VE range (WM? something) Statesman, VE calais and used in VE fleet cars.

You may be thinking why did I get holden to do the change over?. What I didn't know was that if you upgrade (bigger) the battery above the standard fitment in your VE you also need to upgrade the software for charge rate to allow for the increase in capacity. I was told if you don't the charger calibration will not be right and the battery may fail in time.

Cheers

Phil

[MNR-0]

I like the odysseys

[GM-225]

buying a decent battery has been on my mind lately... got a 3 year old century 58vt which are a 450cca battery and its seems to be on its last legs. heard lots of good stories about the optima d34 yellow tops.. they are a 750cca battery but no one has been able to tell me what sort of life span they have had out of one.. might have to just bite the bullet and buy one..

[OPTIMUS]

D34 requires a bit of bending with the cable terminals as the battery posts are around the wrong way if you want something to fit perfectly get the D35 slightly smaller and less powerful but plenty for daily use. Shop around prices vary hugely on these i picked mine up at Battery King here in perth for $350

[EXCESSV]

D34 requires a bit of bending with the cable terminals as the battery posts are around the wrong way if you want something to fit perfectly get the D35 slightly smaller and less powerful but plenty for daily use. Shop around prices vary hugely on these i picked mine up at Battery King here in perth for $350ah nothing a hammer and some brute force cant fix with the D34 :lol:

but yes in my VE it wasnt as easy as swapping them.