Battery Question: Optima D34 or D35 for VYSS

[FrangaFry]

Howdy folks, have been lurking for a while but not posting..

But I do have a question about which battery to get for my beloved Wags ..... i've been using cheaper/lesser batteries for the past few years and keep regretting my choices .....

My wags is obviously not getting driven much recently and the battery in it has crapped out (again....... ). She's had her fair share of time off the road in the last 6/12 months due a few 'issues' (putting it into a gutter @ 90kmh sideways in the rain didn't help that......) so she has had a few months here and there sitting (all good now) ..... so after a number of trickle charges she finally crapped out. I do have a fair bit of electrical jiggery hanging off the O'l girl (the killers are my Viper Alarm/GPS tracker and BlackVue) that suck the life out of her after a fairly short time .....

So, enough of the cheaper variety batteries, it's time for an Optima Yellow.

My question to the ever knowledgeable is, D34 or D35?

I've seen a few threads here and there on fitment, but I'm not overly concerned about that as the overwhelming comments I have seen are 'should fit fine'...

I note Repco have the D34 on special at moment (about $310 ) but I can also get a D35 delivered for about $340 (I do note that the D34 has a higher CC ...... this is by the by though I think as 650cc is more that plenty).

Soooooo, comments/thoughts from those who know far more than me would be most appreciated.

I hope your all keeping well and some what sane in this very freaky and troubled world that we are living in...........

All the best folks,

Cheers,

Franga

[FrangaFry]

ooops, for those that don't know, my beloved Wags is a 2004 VYII SS Wagon .....

[Red CV8 R]

I have a CV8-R Monaro Series III (VYII) had 3 D35 Optima Yellow Top as my car sits for long periods of time, doing very few KMs. Standard batteries kept failing. I just use a battery tender and get 4-5 years easy out of the yellow tops.

[white lie]

Aren't the terminals the wrong way around on the normal 34's? You want the R model if they make them in yellow?

I had a D35 yellow top and went with a 34R red top (reversed terminals) when it eventually gave up the ghost. Would have lasted close to 10 years, with plenty of time sitting in the garage. Don't make them like that anymore though!
The red tops are 800cca but not deep cycle which is fine if it's on a trickle charger.

[FrangaFry]

I have a CV8-R Monaro Series III (VYII) had 3 D35 Optima Yellow Top as my car sits for long periods of time, doing very few KMs. Standard batteries kept failing. I just use a battery tender and get 4-5 years easy out of the yellow tops.

Thanks man, that's all the incentive I needed......

Just noticed SuperCheap have them for $350 with 10% discount for click and collect ..... Boom ..... order placed!!!

[Smitty]

.....................
The red tops are 800cca but not deep cycle which is fine if it's on a trickle charger.

which is exactly why I have one on the VK Clubbie race car ...

[whitels1ss]

I have one on the VK Clubbie race car ...

VK Clubbie????

[Smitty]

VK Clubbie????

yeah .... I run it in club level amateur motorsport (not National, even though it is built to)

[Wonky]

FWIW I had a D34 in my MY9.5 VE SSV ute - took about 2 minutes from memory to modify the holder so the reversed terminals didn't cause a problem. When the original battery died in the MY09 Senator I again wanted a Yellow Top due to the drain caused by the same stuff transferred from the ute - dashcam, aftermarket alarm and GPS tracker plus amp. The guys who was then running Optima in Lilydale suggested a D27F Yellow Top which is what most taxis were now using in VE/VFs. Even bigger than the D34 CCA and CA wise and fits in the same boot space as it. Did require a 30 sec mod to the bracket for a reason I can't now remember.

Due to normally VE battery drain issues, especially with the extra stuff, the D34 in the ute used to just manage to crank the car after 4 days and the D27F in the Senator would manage about 5 days. When the D27F died about 3 months out of its 3 year warranty my auto elec (a mate) suggested a Supercharge MF55H battery. Love it!!!! Admittedly he gave me mate's rates but it cost me almost spot on half what another D27F would have and has a 40 month warranty as compared to Optima's 36 months. Even better it will now (just) start the Senator after 7 days!

The only slight disadvantage is it's not a deep cycle so won't handle being totally flattened as well as the Optimas. That's why now the Senator isn't being used it's permanently on my Ctek MXS5 charger.

[amckiwi]

My 09 VE likely needs a new battery, its only lasted 12 years what's the warranty on them?
Currently the car lives on a ctek umbilical cord but away from the charger it can be a bit slow to crank.
I have a cam and higher compression so will need a good battery going forwards.
I just ordered the battery tester wonky recommends so I will post up the results when it comes in.
I have reached out to a couple of battery places to see what they recommend and will also post up those results
So far the recommendation has been
I have two recommendations, each with their own benifits;
Varta E39 - German made AGM battery which has high cranking power but more importantly high amp hour which will allow it to sit for longer periods without flattening and also crank for long periods of time without going flat; which with the cam will be likely required.
Yuasa DIN65LHX - Aussie made high cranking battery designed specifically for the V8 Clubsport and Caprices that required a huge amount of power. This battery will be a lot more cost effective and be a huge step up from standard.

[Wonky]

I had a D34 in my VE SSV ute and then a D27F is my current E1 Senator. Like you I have stuff which tends to draw current eg. aftermarket alarm, GPS tracker, dashcam, aftermarket amp etc.. Admittedly some should draw zero power when the car is off eg dashcam, amp but something certainly does! I now suspect it's actually my scangauge as I have noticed very occasionally when I go into the garage at night it will come alive on the dash for about 10 secs then go off. Bottom line is with the D34 in the ute the max I could leave the car and be confident it would start was 4 days. With the D27F in the E1 Senator it went to 5 days.

When the D27F died just out of warranty my auto elec suggested a Supercharge MF55H battery. Almost half the price of the Optimas (mate's rates $195 fitted Dec 2018), longer warranty than the Optimas at 40 months and best of all I can now leave it 7 days and be confident it will start! Only potential downside is it is not a deep cycle so won't cope with being flattened as well as the Yellow Tops. If ever I know it's going to be a while before starting I just put my Ctek charger on.

[Micks]

I had a D34 in my VE SSV ute and then a D27F is my current E1 Senator. Like you I have stuff which tends to draw current eg. aftermarket alarm, GPS tracker, dashcam, aftermarket amp etc.. Admittedly some should draw zero power when the car is off eg dashcam, amp but something certainly does! I now suspect it's actually my scangauge as I have noticed very occasionally when I go into the garage at night it will come alive on the dash for about 10 secs then go off. Bottom line is with the D34 in the ute the max I could leave the car and be confident it would start was 4 days. With the D27F in the E1 Senator it went to 5 days.

When the D27F died just out of warranty my auto elec suggested a Supercharge MF55H battery. Almost half the price of the Optimas (mate's rates $195 fitted Dec 2018), longer warranty than the Optimas at 40 months and best of all I can now leave it 7 days and be confident it will start! Only potential downside is it is not a deep cycle so won't cope with being flattened as well as the Yellow Tops. If ever I know it's going to be a while before starting I just put my Ctek charger on.

In both my VF2's one I use twice a week the other once a month the ute is 5-1/2 yrs old now & only once has flattened the battery, the Calais V 4yrs never had a flat & both still running their oem batts.

[mummbles]

Kiwi, I put a varta E39 into my VE SS in 2010 and it was still powering on perfectly in 2017 when I traded for the VF.
Couldn't fault it at all.
Car wasn't driven regularly and didn't require being on a charger between starts.