best battery (1 Viewer)

[SeanAndHis80]

As my understanding, most of the automotive use "Starting" batteries, which are designed for delivery large current in a short time. They are good for starting and running engine, but not very good for "deep cycle". That's why your battery dies quickly if you keep forgetting to turn off the overhead in-cabin light. On the other hand, the "Deep cycle" which allows to draw down up to 80% on each discharge can't deliver as much crank amp as the equivalent Starting batteries. That's the reason that it is recommended to use 20% larger capacity if one decide to use Deep Cycle battery also for starting...

IIRC, optima yellow is a deep cycle battery, it will be good as a backup for stereo amp, winch etc. But if you are use it to drive the starter, you might need a larger one (if it exists). So save yourself some money, try the red top (starting battery), or blue top (marine battery - between starting and deep cycle) if you have a large numbers of accessaries. That's said guys here (me included) seem to be happy with the DieHard Platinum. It's a bit pricer but not too much comparing to the Optima blue.

You have the yellow and blue tops confused. The blue top is deep cycle and the yellow is in between. It has plenty of CCA to do the job of starting the vehicle.

 

[wxm]

You have the yellow and blue tops confused. The blue top is deep cycle and the yellow is in between. It has plenty of CCA to do the job of starting the vehicle.

Oops. Thanks for the correction.

 

[TrickyT]

There is no difference in performance between the Optima Blue Top and Optima Yellow Top. The only difference is in options for terminals and, maybe, length of warranty. This has been confirmed in other battery threads and with the Optima tech support people.

 

[k5ryannc]

just got through putting in the sears die hard platinum group 31 battery

i did cut a little out of the bottom right corner off the tray for it to fit

there was some wires routed there so i cut a piece of heater hose to protect it

i cut my factory hold down strap and widened it 5/8 inch with some scap angle i had laying around....i have and know how to use a welder so no biggy on that just time consuming

my factory j bolts worked but i did have to cut about 1/4 inch off the right side to clear the hood

i had to undo the cable hold down support bracket and put a 1 inch spacer and replace the bolt with a longer one to get them to reach

i seperated the starter cable from the group and put it to the big post and put the smaller ones on the post for it all the fit and reach

i'm happy with the install and now my cruiser starts like it should
the old battery was to small anyway

i'll take pics if you like just not allot different than what has been posted

nomally i just read but this is a great mod and i enjoyed the work for the payoff
thanks for the site....it has saved my bacon plenty of times wrenchin on it

 

[Beowulf]

I would appreciate pics of each of the things you had to do to make the group 31 fit and an "after" pic. When you say you had to cut a lit out of the bottom, are you talking about cutting the battery or the tray?

How tight is the hood clearance on the modified J-bolts?

-B-

 

[Sporin]

Thought I'd post this up as I had to replace mine. I don't have a winch or any extra electrical loads, I'm also on a budget so I wanted a good quality "regular" battery. After much research here I decided on the Interstate Megatron.

Interstate's book listed the 34R as the alternate size for our trucks if the 24F or 27F aren't available, so that's what I I would up with.

Megatron MT-34R, 700 CCA, 875 CA, 75 month warranty. Cost was $100.

Fit the box well, I put a piece of 1x6 wood under it to boost it up a bit and get the posts even with the holes the cables come through. New J-bolts and trimmed to fit so it's in there snug.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

I posted this on another thread, but I really think the Sears DieHard Automotive Platinum batteries are the best (made by the parent of Odyssey).

I went to Sears to get one, but they couldn't figure out how to pull my battery cables to reach the battery posts.

I got some tips on here on how to pull the existing battery cables, so I did it myself. However, I changed my mind at the last minute and got the Costco Kirkland 12866 Group 65 for $74.99.

It's has 850 cold cranking amps and Consumer Reports rates it 3rd in its group (1. Sears DieHard Platinum (90 pts), 2. Duralast Gold (80), 3. Kirkland 12866 (78)). It also has a 3 year replacement warranty and a 100-month pro-rata warranty.

I know someone else also got this 12866 and posted pictures. Here are my pictures on the upgraded/larger battery (a Group 65 is larger than the stock Group 35 or the Group 34).

 

[jvazquez53]

I posted this on another thread, but I really think the Sears DieHard Automotive Platinum batteries are the best (made by the parent of Odyssey).

I went to Sears to get one, but they couldn't figure out how to extend my battery cables.

I got some tips on here on how to extend the battery cables, so I extended them myself. However, I changed my mind at the last minute and got the Costco Kirkland 12866 Group 65 for $74.99.

It's has 850 cold cranking amps and Consumer Reports rates it 3rd in its group (1. Sears DieHard Platinum (90 pts), 2. Duralast Gold (80), 3. Kirkland 12866 (78)). It also has a 3 year replacement warranty and a 100-month pro-rata warranty.

I know someone else also got this 12866 and posted pictures. Here are my pictures on the upgraded/larger battery (a Group 65 is larger than the stock Group 35 or the Group 34).

I run one of those in one of my 80s, cheap, good warranty. When the one in my other 80 dies, I'll get another of those.

 

[NLXTACY]

I would appreciate pics of each of the things you had to do to make the group 31 fit and an "after" pic. When you say you had to cut a lit out of the bottom, are you talking about cutting the battery or the tray?

How tight is the hood clearance on the modified J-bolts?

-Mike-

Your name is Mike?

Figured the alter ego wasn't allowed in the forum

 

[jamisobe]

I would appreciate pics of each of the things you had to do to make the group 31 fit and an "after" pic. When you say you had to cut a lit out of the bottom, are you talking about cutting the battery or the tray?

How tight is the hood clearance on the modified J-bolts?

-Mike-

I had to shave a little on the bottom of the battery tray. I cannot remember exactly where, just that it was very little.

I used studs which have no clearance problem.

 

[super90]

You need to do a little trimming in the battery tray, get longer j bolts and make a new hold down:

When I put this battery in there, it looks like the negative terminal hits the hood when it closes. Anyone else have that problem, or is there a fix that I didn't see.

Thanks,

 

[wearsabrowncoat]

When I put this battery in there, it looks like the negative terminal hits the hood when it closes. Anyone else have that problem, or is there a fix that I didn't see.

I didn't have this problem on the driver side. Try moving it more toward the engine.

I did have a similar problem on the passenger side battery. My solution was to notch a hole in the battery tray. Basically the bottom of the battery is square whereas the battery tray was rounded in that corner. I saw another post where a guy had to shave two or three of the plastic ribs on the battery in that one corner. If I had to do it again I would probably shave the battery ribs and leave the tray intact.

 

[super90]

I shaved the ribs so it would fit all the way towards the firewall, as described. Negative terminal sits up pretty tall and the hood slopes down right at the same spot. I guess the worst situation would be that the negative terminal grounds to the hood also. How bad would that be? There is a small cable that grounds that terminal to the fender. Just trying to be careful and not cause a potential problem.

 

[psfpilot]

I would appreciate pics of each of the things you had to do to make the group 31 fit and an "after" pic. When you say you had to cut a lit out of the bottom, are you talking about cutting the battery or the tray?

How tight is the hood clearance on the modified J-bolts?

-B-

It's quite tight.

I trimmed the battery ribs in the left and left rear corners, per this thread. Then I cut a piece of aluminum angle stock and forged some slightly longer J-hooks with threaded 10-24 rod. There is scant space between hood and nuts on the USDS J-hook. I plan to shorten it to either one nut w/blue Loctite or a single Nylock nut, and trim the excess thread as short as possible.

Also, the cables will require some massaging to reach to the posts, as the factory configuration comes up short. There is a zip-tie that needs to be sliced and perhaps some other minor tweaks, but it should be fairly intuitive.

When I put this battery in there, it looks like the negative terminal hits the hood when it closes. Anyone else have that problem, or is there a fix that I didn't see.

Thanks,

Yes, I had to trim the Platinum group 31M in accordance with the thread linked above so it would seat far enough aft to avoid rubbing on the hood.

 

[Filmpros]

I went through several Optima Yellow Tops in less than a few months. Went to a Sears Platinum ... which is really an Odyssey Battery ... and have not had a problem since.

 

[super90]

OK, Platinum battery is trimmed and in place. I found some aluminium angle iron, cut it, dilled, new longer J-hooks. Question is what was used on the end closest to the fender?? There is no room for much of anything? Is there really a J-hook in the pic above (post #131) ? Doesn't look like the end of a J-hook. No room for a wingnut for sure. Maybe a fiberlock nut?

 

[unwiredadventures]

When I put this battery in there, it looks like the negative terminal hits the hood when it closes. Anyone else have that problem, or is there a fix that I didn't see.

It does not hit the hood.

 

[psfpilot]

OK, Platinum battery is trimmed and in place. I found some aluminium angle iron, cut it, dilled, new longer J-hooks. Question is what was used on the end closest to the fender?? There is no room for much of anything? Is there really a J-hook in the pic above (post #131) ? Doesn't look like the end of a J-hook. No room for a wingnut for sure. Maybe a fiberlock nut?

see #134; with one nut and a few exposed threads above it, it no longer rubs.

 

[Appolyon]

Just to clarify

I have a group 31 odyssey (PC1700MJT) and it fit in the stock tray without trimming. I had to make a spacer out of some wood as the odyssey is shorter than the original. I also ended up bending the j hooks slightly about an inch or two from the end to get them to go through the holes on the cross bar. It is a very secure setup.

Okay, I'm slightly confused... Bare with me please... I don't have access to my LC,, or the owners manual for that matter, and I'm making assumptions based on what I have read since I don't remember these things. (They weren't really important until I started on 'MUD!!)

First off, I'm assuming that the stock battery size that is supposed to go into the 1991 FJ80 TLC is a Group 27 from what I've read. When I put my truck into a database search for a compatible battery, It comes up with 34 and 34/78s. If that is the case, I should go with the Odyssey 1500DT / Diehard Platinum P-4 34/78DT, right? (I'm pretty set on Odyssey, and seeing as they make the Platinum, it'll be perfect.)

If the above is the case, why are some of you guys going one step further to the bigger battery? Just more power? How worth it is it to have the bigger batter, in this case the Odyssey 2150 / Diehard Platinum PM-1 Group 31M? I've seen several threads about upping to this battery, but what prompts that? Just increased amounts of power?

I'm looking at doing a Hellroaring dual battery rig with Odyssey / Diehard Platinums, and i'm curious as to what would be the best batteries to attach to that rig. I'm going to be running (at maximum) 6 Lightforce 240's, 2 Hella 550's, a HAM, a CB, and a Warn XD9000. With that I know i'll want a second battery simply as a backup, just in case. So back to my question as to why some of you are bumping up to the 31Ms...

Thanks

Pardon any stupid questions... I'm 7000+ miles from my Land Cruiser and any manuals or documentation.... Anyway, Thanks once again for your help...

 

[Filmpros]

If money is no object...buy an Odyssey.

Odyssey Drycell Batteries

Or if it is .. buy a Sears Platinum ... it is a re-branded Odyssey at a lower price.