Is there a specific battery people are changing the stock one with? I have a 2008 and plan on changing it out. Don't really see thread about it so was wondering if there is a favorite? I heard good things about odyssey.

 

http://www.frsport.com/Odyssey-PC680...y_p_16454.html

I know a few people are running this and I was getting ready to order one soon....

 

Beware!! Many people are recommending Optima Yellow Top and Odyssey and some other fancy expensive ones. Since 2002 I've been fighting batteries, it's my only car complaint. I started with a Yellow Top - died. Went to an Odyssey - died. Just had the second Odyssey DIE. I'm $600 into the battery companies. I just put in a Kirkland from Costco.
These deep-cycle batteries (gel/absorbed glass mat (AGM)) cannot take a deep discharge. I thought that's what the stinking things were for!!! I don't drive my car every day, sometimes it sits for a few. Once one of these batteries gets really discharged (and it doesn't take much), it may get partially sulfated, or one or more of the cells just doesn't come back to life, and may become a drain on the others. I even have the Odyssey charger that is the only type of charger you're supposed to use with Odysseys - the charger has a special cycle that supposedly can break up sulfation crystals if your battery is toasted. Well, doesn't seem to work very well.
The other thing is that I don't think they produce as much current as their regular wet-cell brothers. The Kirkland I have (made by Johnson Controls, same mfr. as Optima) seems to produce at least as much current as any of the batteries I've had.
I'm really thinking the Optima and Odyssey are really a bunch of horse-hooey. The Kirkland has a 3 year full replacement, before they even start to prorate it.

 

^^^. Interesting..... I was thinking of getting the odyssey or this Braille battery....
http://www.braillebattery.com/index....atteries/b2618
Maybe not after this info....

 

BTW lx470man, if you don't have any aftermarket audio equipment, just put in a Kirkland from Costco, or regular DieHard (NOT the platinum), or EverStart from WalMart. They're all made by Johnson Controls or other good battery manufacturer and will be as good as any.

That said, I had a Panasonic/Toyota battery that was factory installed in my '03 4Runner that lasted 9 years and was still going. I just replaced it with a Kirkland/Costco because I didn't think it could possibly keep going much longer and I didn't want to wind up stranded.

 

I've never seen a Braille battery before (is it called that because it leaves you stranded in the dark??? LOL) but it looks good. All I can tell you is my actual experience. I am an electronics engineer and I fell for the hype. If you NEVER let the battery die to the point where you can't start the car, you're good. If you don't drive the car every day, or you go on vacation for a couple weeks and you don't hookup a charge maintainer, you're hosed.

I've spoken to both Optima and especially Odyssey tech support AT LENGTH, and had one of their actual tech experts on the phone for an hour. That's when they tell you the real story. The battery CANNOT be left to discharge to a point below about 10-10.5 volts. THAT's what they consider FULL DISCHARGE - that's a deep cycle. My Odyssey last week went down to 0.4V because I had left an interior map LED light on. The Odyssey charger would not even recognize that I had a battery hooked up to it. Enuf said.

 

^ kinda sucks to hear but glad you shared your experience. Also another good point to add, that these batteries would be a no no with aftermarket amps/subs

 

Get the Lithium Ion batteries. They're 3-5 pounds. I'm STILL running my 3.5 pound home made lithium ion battery. I'm on version 2. My first one was perfectly fine for over 2 years. However, when I had it serviced and detailed, they drained the battery all the way down and killed some of the cells causing it to go out of balance. My new version has a cell balancer on it so all the cells are in balance and I'm contemplating adding an alarm that goes off when voltage is too low. Home made = 200 bucks, buying a lithium pack = $1000 and mine is only 3.5 pounds once again and it works through Chicago winters also.

 

I have an optima yellow top and I have an aftermarket system was all originally in my 07 2IS with no issues for a few years now. Before that my previous car had an optima red top...again no issues.

 

I have an Optima yellow top in every single car I've owned since I was 16 (4 cars), and all of them have out lasted me owning the car. The Yellow top in my IS F is now 3 years old...no problems.

 

^yep makes me wonder what people do with their cars...i never run the stereo with the engine off, even when I dont have aftermarket equipment installed. That might have worked in a 1993 Honda where the stock audio pulled around 10amps but even with a ML amp thats too much draw for me to take the risk of the car not starting and beating on the battery all the time.

 

well, if im going to replace the battery it is going to be with something light weight. I run a 17lb Braille in my "other" car and it works great, even with all the drifting i do.

 

I remember when I had the stock battery and I was washing my car for the first time. I had the radio on...and I think 20 minutes later, the car wouldn't start.

In my Acura TL I had previously, I had a 12" sub and a 1000watt Alpine V12 d-class amp (I'm being specific because some amps claim this is how much it's pulling and it pulls maybe 25% that), and I wouldn't say I had it cranked up, but maybe 30-40%. I could finish drying my whole car and i could still start up the car maybe an hour or so later.

In my IS F now, I have a 10" Alpine sub with 500watt Alpine d-class amp, I've yet to test how much I can get out of it...maybe i'll do it today.

 

omw to tommys house to jump start his car.

 

Fell asleep...never conducted the test...until next time...LOL.