Which Brand Battery do I buy??

[mrstallion]

The last few days I have noticed that my VY SS 2003 is hard to start and that whilst driving the traction control button has turned off. After doing a search on the forum it seems this indicates that the battery is on the way out and considering it is the original battery I think I have to go and purchase a new one.

Can someone please tell me the best battery brands and type for the Vy ss V8 m6 and where to get them from ?

[Black Diamond]

Cant go past century. Go for the ultra high performance. Usually can pick them up for around $160-$170.

[cornermsport]

Get a AC Delco maintenance free from you local Holden spares.

They are 530 CCA as opposed to the 480 CCA that was factory fitted to the car. They are pretty well priced too

[BLACK 346]

Yeah, I have had a good run with Century as well. I have the 440CCA
Performance Series in the SS, does the job fine. Has a 3 year warranty
too boot. Cost me $140 18 months ago.

[mrstallion]

AC Delco how much is it? I have not heard of this one before. Can you only buy it from Holden?

[R8HSVHRT]

Optima batteys are good but you pay for them RED 880 cranking amps 330.00 starts every time after car sitting around for months

[SLYSV8]

Ive got a Bond ultimate battery. 540CCA. No complaint here.

[planetdavo]

The main thing with batteries is to make sure you have a reasonable safety margin in capacity. As the stock battery fitted is generally a balance between performance vs price, it is wise to buy AT LEAST the minimum CCA rating as fitted new, plus extra if you can afford it.
Some brands are a bit more affordable at the moment. I fitted a 550CCA Exide with 3 year warranty recently for the same price as a 480CCA Century, so 10% extra capacity for free. Both are Aus made.
You can go right up to an Optima for several hundred dollars, but for most people without hardcore electricals, that is a bit overkill.

[mrstallion]

How much are some of these batteries costing?

[planetdavo]

How much are some of these batteries costing?
I get special dealer pricing dropping my work's name (one benefit to my job!), but I'd suggest around the $175 mark would be a realistic retail price (that hasn't been too heavily loaded up anyway) for either the 480 Century or the 550 Exide.
Some outlets are more reasonable than others.

[quiksilv3r]

I got stranded with the Calais when I first got it, early on a SUnday morning. Got RACQ out (being very wary of the dodgy batteries they generally carry). Turns out the battery contracts had changed, and I ended up with a name brand 600cca sealed battery for $170 with a warranty.

Was honestly surprised, and hasn't failed me yet.


Was interesting to see the standard battery (Holden sticker and date of manufacture on the side) was also a 600cca. Did they throw a bigger battery in the Calais from factory?

[planetdavo]

Most battery brands on the shelves are either re-branded Century or Exide units.

[Brandonsdad]

RAA supplied and fitted my last battery for less than Holdens would have supplied and less powerful one. By memory it $112 for a 650?? The name of it escapes me as well. I remember it was more powerful that OEM and quite a good price. I would rather not fit it myself as the last time I did, I overtightened the bolt and broke it. Has a 3 year guarantee as well. It may have been an import, but it did the job.

[WHLS1]

Century, assuming you do not want to go the mega expensive route.

I was discussing batteries recently with my mechanic. He has stocked various brands over the years but got sick of the number of batteries that came back under warranty - a nuisance for the customer but a real hassle for him. He has been stocking Century for a couple of years now and not one warranty return for a failed battery.

[nirvana]

i am looking for a battery at the moment for my car and i have narrowed it down to 4.

Optima D34

Odyssey 1200MJT

Stinger SPV44

Scosche EFX EDC1200

they may be exessive for your needs but i decided to get a good one this time.

[vlcalais8]

Got a Exide 550CCA with 36 month warrenty that has served me very well, cost $75 brand new (on special as the auto shop had a palet of them) but normal price isnt too much dearer

[kingwalker]

Got a Exide 550CCA with 36 month warrenty that has served me very well, cost $75 brand new (on special as the auto shop had a palet of them) but normal price isnt too much dearer **** thats not a bad price, i pay $57.00 and i work for them,we dont make them any more,have gone to a diffrent case now i think they are called a x56 d now , im not being nasty but check out the top of your battery for s burnt in , they do sell seconds to some one but i dont know who, if no s then mate you got a bargin ,kmart sell for about $144,00


AC Delco how much is it? I have not heard of this one before. Can you only buy it from Holden?made at exide in sa same productoin line as ford toyota mitibishi but ac delco do import some i think

[mrstallion]

Today I finally bought my battery. I only has the choice of Exide X56C $168 or Supercharge MS53 $170 (hadn;t heard of this brand) or the goold old Century Ultra High Pefermance 68Vt which I paid $140.

$140 with a trusted brand and 3 yrs warranty could not resist.

Hopefully all goes well, thanks for everyones help.

[JLR]

doh! kmart had 30% off batteries last week. the exide x56c came down to aroung the 118$ mark. typical, i find ou i need a new one as soon as the special ran out.


Got a Exide 550CCA with 36 month warrenty that has served me very well, cost $75 brand new (on special as the auto shop had a palet of them) but normal price isnt too much dearer

geez thats cheap. the best i saw was about double that price!

[lowriding]

i think the repco batteries are the exact same as the decent exide ones but are about $30 less .

[vlcalais8]

**** thats not a bad price, i pay $57.00 and i work for them,we dont make them any more,have gone to a diffrent case now i think they are called a x56 d now , im not being nasty but check out the top of your battery for s burnt in , they do sell seconds to some one but i dont know who, if no s then mate you got a bargin ,kmart sell for about $144,00

made at exide in sa same productoin line as ford toyota mitibishi but ac delco do import some i think

interesting I had a look I couldnt find any S burnt in anywhere, the battery Im talking about has the red top with black casing, also has the see through circle whole which shows either a green colour for charged, black for indicating a recharge and clear to show its cactus. Any where in particular the S might be?


doh! kmart had 30% off batteries last week. the exide x56c came down to aroung the 118$ mark. typical, i find ou i need a new one as soon as the special ran out.



geez thats cheap. the best i saw was about double that price!

lol you should have seen these $75 batteries go like hot cakes , when I bought mine the pallet was virtually full, I went back 2 days later and there was about 5 batteries left on the pallet. I reckon people were buying them just as a spare or replacement even though the battery in thier car was fine

[kingwalker]

hi there if it said 550 he or 550h only the botton of the case is diffrent,x56 c/d is the same above you would see the s its about 2inches in hieght, you got yourself a great deal,

[vlcalais8]

ok awesome I just spotted the X56C on the black sticker on top, no S to be found. If only we could get good deals like this more often. Imagine walking into a speed shop, you see a pallet of blowers half price each.....

[HSV Listy]

My battery just decided to die and I picked up a Exide X56C for $120. 3 year warranty which is a good thing. The battery that just died was 2 years old and just out of warranty. :vpo:

[seank]

century and exide basically control the whole market, so it makes little difference what brand you get, the first letter is the only thing that changes for example R68vt is an century battery for racq, B68vt is bosch ect. Anything over 450cca is sufficient unless you're running amps, spotlights, neons and anything else which draws power. What is more important is that the battery is maintained, never goes dry , and is always clamped and secured properly so the cells do no get damaged, doesn't matter how many CCA's you got, if you drop a cell. Also look for RC or reserve capacity whiich is important as some things draw power while your car is switched off ie amps.

[Desertws6]

Over the past 25 years of owning Autos. I've gone through many batteries and brands. So far to date the best one has been the Maintenance free A/C Delco.

Another one to consider is the Optima Battery.

Before buying a battery, do you have a lot of stereo equipmant in the car? If yes, then go for the Optima.

The trick to buying batteries is look for the longest warranty. Cheap batteries fault internally and leave ya stranded.

Cheers,
Steve

[jonnyd1986]

Over the past 25 years of owning Autos. I've gone through many batteries and brands. So far to date the best one has been the Maintenance free A/C Delco.

Another one to consider is the Optima Battery.

Before buying a battery, do you have a lot of stereo equipmant in the car? If yes, then go for the Optima.

The trick to buying batteries is look for the longest warranty. Cheap batteries fault internally and leave ya stranded.

Cheers,
Steve


Thanks for the info steve. I have a decent amp so i'll probably get a Optima for my VE SS-V.

[alans]

ac delco all the way

[SirNemesis]

Exide orbital blue for me. Works a treat

[Brumby]

I'm a fan of putting the biggest capacity battery you can get, though my choice is always the exide 550cca cost about $160+ but i always wait for Kmart to have there 30% off auto which is often and get them for 120ish. I'm not a fan of the century's as i have often seen new ones die within 3 months yes there under warranty but that don't help you if its 10pm at night in the rain or your running late for work

[HSV Listy]

My battery just decided to die and I picked up a Exide X56C for $120. 3 year warranty which is a good thing. The battery that just died was 2 years old and just out of warranty. :vpo:

These are 550cca. All I did was search the forum, found the battery with the longest warranty and cheapest price. Done. Handy the forum. I dont have a need for any amps etc.

[Desertws6]

I should add, The battery in my Trans Am is original. I took delivery on the 2002 car in Oct. of 2001. It's an AC Delco Maintenace free, I do keep it plugged in to a battery tender. Only for the past 2 years, and never had a problem. It does have a 10 speaker 500watt factory sound system, and security system that is always on.

Want to kill a battery fast?........put it in the oven! I live in the desert, summer hits 42C (107F) daily and winter hits as low as -8C (17F)

Hope this helps!!

Cheers,
Steve :cheers:

[MRLXSS]

Sweet! Just the post i was looking for! Im going to get an Exide X56C Where is the best place to get one of these? Kmart, SuperCheap, Autobahn? Pretty sure the local supercheap (Knox) doesnt Stock Exide... And also the Local Autobahn (Ferntree Gully) Only Has Century. So I am assuming Kmart will have Excide?

[Crusty]

I fitted a Delkor Sealed battery to my VT with big stereo, I have a mate who works for a wholesaler so got good price, never let me down and I flogged it for a good 3 years before selling the car, when Sold I'd only had to charge it once and that was because I'd used the stereo without starting the car - car still started just wanted to charge it properly for piece of mind. I'll definitely get another one.

[HSV Listy]

Sweet! Just the post i was looking for! Im going to get an Exide X56C Where is the best place to get one of these? Kmart, SuperCheap, Autobahn? Pretty sure the local supercheap (Knox) doesnt Stock Exide... And also the Local Autobahn (Ferntree Gully) Only Has Century. So I am assuming Kmart will have Excide?

I bought mine from Exide themselves. Did not shop around as i needed it straight away.

[BlownLS7]

check out the range of Braille Batteries
imported by Mat Maladin Imports Nsw

they are very fine batteries
possibly the best available......

http://www.brailleauto.com/productcart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=74

[vpsenator]

I would by any gel type battery.

[kpop]

if one has a a full stero install, xenons and a ps2, how much cca should the battery be, 550 + ?

[sanko]

Try a Supercharge. 600cca true maintance free calcium sealed - about $170
with three year warranty. Most of the Cabbies in Bundy use them, and are very happy with the performance and life.

[sanko]

Try a Supercharge. 600cca true maintance free calcium sealed - about $170
with three year warranty. Most of the Cabbies in Bundy use them, and are very happy with the performance and life.

[JLR]

i got a few emails back from Autobarn places. They pretty much say that teh CCA doesnt really mean much in AU. Cause we dont get real hard cold, or hot condidtions that the CCA rating is tested on.

One says, even though The 68VT Century battery has a lower CCA that the Exide 56C (can recall the number from memory), that the Centry is a better battery overall.

He stated that the Exide states it MAXIMUM CCA level at its most optium charge and conditions. He states that the CCA wouldnt probably wouldnt even be what is states because it been on the shelves for sometime.

Where as with the Centry batteries, the CCA stated, is the MINIMUM the battery will provide. And overall, its a better build and has better capcity.

Both are pretty much the same price $170 as is the Supercharge brand, which was also recommended.