Anyone With An Optima D27F In VE/WM?

[Wonky]

The battery in the Senator is on its last legs, so much so that when Jez came around to do the relearn on the TPMS system after my rim swap yesterday, he wasn't game to start anything else involving flashing anything because just repumping up the four tyres from half full or more had totally killed the battery. It had already been on charge 12+ hours overnight after having been driven almost 100km yesterday.

Knowing VEs had a habit of running batteries flat in short time I decided to get another Optima Yellow Top. I SMSd the man at Optima I'd bought the D34 in the ute from and he said a number of taxi drivers with WMs have been using the D27F and suggested one of those. Quite similar in price but almost 200 CCA higher. A little bigger physically but apparently still fits, so I have booked in tomorrow to have it fitted for me. Unfortunately not at the same place as he's overseas at the moment, so somewhere closer to home who weren't sure a D27F would fit in a VE. I'm working on the assumption that VE and WM battery holders are the same and the place I'm going to know the guy who told me about the D27F supplies them so they were happy to take his word.

I'd never heard of the D27F before - has anyone here put one in a VE/WM? It looks at least like the terminals are on the right way around. :)

[Wonky]

Update: just had the D27F fitted by the guys at HS Auto Elec in Ringwood. They had to make a minor alteration to a bracket but apart from that it was apparently straight forward.

Compared to the D34 many people have used in VEs it's a better option I believe. Similar price but CCA of 830 amps compared to 750 for the D34 (I was thinking 650 in my first post ) and MCA of 1025 amps compared to 870.

Most importantly I believe the terminals are not back to front as on the D34.

All up $329 inc free fitting. The guys at HS were great - very friendly and smiles all round. They also sell them on eBay but I didn't go through eBay.

[white lie]

Good stuff Wonks
I didn't see your OP but I thought the D35 was actually the better fit for Commodores, even though the D34 seems to be more common. The terminals are around the other way

[Red CV8 R]

I run the D35, terminals are correct for a V series Holden. It works really well.

[Wonky]

True but it's only 620 amps CCA for almost the same money. :)

[mechatron]

Not having a go but I don't know why people choose the Optima batteries over something like the Deka Intimidator 9A34R. You can generally get them for under $300 and they have 775CCA. That's what I have in my SS ( well 2 Dekas actually) and they're brilliant

[Red CV8 R]

I paid $270 for my D35, I thought that was decent.

[Micks]

That's good you got it all sorted & a huge one @ that. Good thing though as the Senators are built on Calais Lux level & have heaps of elec loads above the ordinary VE cars too!
Just on Batt. life in the VE's we've had ours since new & coming up five years now, what life should we expect? ours is a Calais V Sportswagon.

[white lie]

Around about 5 years I reckon Micks lol

[Micks]

Around about 5 years I reckon Micks lol

So up for one soon then :doh:

[BLACK 346]

My 2010 Calais V is on it's OEM battery and still going strong. Gets a once a month CTEK charge FWIW. Is now on CTEK for 7 weeks whilst I am away for work, so will be interesting to see now long it lasts when I get back.

[Wonky]

I believe Mike had had several batteries in the Senator since he got it late 2008 and the one I just replaced was the first one which would last longer than 5 days without being used. Now we've moved the Senator will occasionally go that long without being started, plus I've had an alarm added which in the ute seemed to add a bit of a drain on the battery. It's not all that easy for me to hook a charger up so I wanted a battery which gave me the greatest safety margin.

The Yellow Tops can also handle being totally flattened and recharged without suffering like standard batteries.

[markone2]

She who must be obeyed at ALL times had me replace the original Holden battery in her VE Calais V 3 months ago...build date of car 2007
Not a bad run imho. given AC and lights are both set on auto


.

[whitels1ss]

She who must be obeyed at ALL times

.

:lmao: I can't really imagine you obeying her at all times Mark.

You know all the tricks for getting around everything.:hide:

[XUV]

So up for one soon then :doh:
Yep, you better start a 'Recommend me a battery thread' :wave:

[Micks]

Yep, you better start a 'Recommend me a battery thread' :wave:

Why do that when I can just Hijack Gazzas one! :nutkick::lol:

[Wonky]

:lmao: [emoji106]

[XUV]

Why do that when I can just Hijack Gazzas one! :nutkick::lol:
but then you'd be off topic and get a stern :nono: pm from the mods :wave:

[Micks]

but then you'd be off topic and get a stern :nono: pm from the mods :wave:


So what's new :lmao:

[Wonky]

Update: As I said above Mike apparently went through a number of batteries in both the Senator after he got it new in late 2008 and also the R8 Sportwagon he got not long after before finding one which would last longer than 5 days without the car being used.

The Senator had already proved it could now go 5 days with the D27F but today was the first time it had been used for a week, so given my previous experiences with it and the ute I was half expecting it to not turn over, especially after I realised my wife had left it unlocked (in the garage) since Sunday when she'd got something out from it. Apparently locking them puts them in "sleep" mode with negligible drain on the battery.

It fired up without the slightest hint of hesitation!! :goodjob:

[white lie]

Amazing how much the newer models drain the battery with it just sitting there. I used to leave mine for 3-4 weeks and wouldn't even dream of the battery being flat in that time lol

[CLUBRED]

My original OEM battery was almost the shape of a football when I took it out. Once we realised this we handled it like a hand grenade, haha.

[HOLDAN]

Hi Wonky

What modification to the bracket was required?

Regards, Dan

[Wonky]

Hi Dan. To be honest I don't really know as given my disabiities I just sat in the car while they did it. It was obviously a simple one as they came and asked me if it was OK to modify it and when I said "sure" one of the guys took it over to their workbench and came back with it pretty soon after. The whole fitment process probably took 10 min max including pulling out the boot liner and whatever else they had to do in order to complete the job.

[HOLDAN]

Hi Dan. To be honest I don't really know as given my disabiities I just sat in the car while they did it. It was obviously a simple one as they came and asked me if it was OK to modify it and when I said "sure" one of the guys took it over to their workbench and came back with it pretty soon after. The whole fitment process probably took 10 min max including pulling out the boot liner and whatever else they had to do in order to complete the job.

OK Thanks Wonky. Sounds like it was a fairly simple mod then

[Dickie Knee]

The Battery in the Grange is on the way out. So I had a bit of a ring around this morning in Brisbane and I have been quoted anywhere up to $440 for a D27F.

Is there any Brisbane recommendations with sharper pricing ?? I was quoted cheaper with shipping from Townsville than I can get installed in Brisbane.

I did see the D27F is a replacement for an N70ZL. So I think the MOD will be to flatten the base of the tray.

[Wonky]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/321807103994 $357 with free post.

I'm now super impressed with mine!! Had a fall last week and ended up with 7 stitches in my head and a 2 day stay in hospital with a slight bleed on the brain (I do have one!! :lol:). It was recommended I shouldn't drive for a few days so in the end it was just a few hours short of a full week between starts, plus my wife had grabbed my disabled parking sticker out at some stage while the car was in the garage and when I unlocked the car I could tell she hadn't locked it again, which apparently is needed to prevent more drain on the battery. It still fired up immediately with absolutely no hesitation! :goodjob:

I believe whatever mod they did to mine was to the clamping mechanism as whatever they did they took the part over to the workbench, did something pretty quickly, put the bit back in the car and fitted the battery.

[Dickie Knee]

Ebay again $330 with free post

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OPTIMA-YELLOW-TOP-D27F-BATTERY-12-VOLT-AGM-830CCA-DEEP-CYCLE-SUIT-N70ZZL-/281199787445?hash=item4178d03db5:g:PCUAAOSwiLdV8ii T

[Dickie Knee]

Well a D27F is now installed in the Grange. The D27F is taller than the old DIN Battery it replaces. The MOD for the install is to bend both ends of the top bracket / clamp to accommodate the taller battery. I ended up getting the battery from Battery Central as he listed the battery for $317 on gumtree and was willing to "have a crack" at the install.
Thanks Wonky for starting this thread. It has been good for those of us who like to over engineer things with 830CCA in a Grange