I was looking around and the weight savings of the Braille batteries on MVP look good but I don't know if they are suited for daily driving? Anyone have experience with them?? Anyone know what size i should get??

I was looking at the B14115 : 11.5 lbs.
904 Pulse Cranking Amps

sc300, basically stock electronics except HIDS.
Any help would be appreciated thanks.

 

Braille batteries are top notch but there are other brands, such as Odyssey that provide a great battery as well. CCA's are important..

 

I have used Optima Yellow top's for years in all my cars and they honestly outlast every other battery I have used and many friends have used. Great cold cranking, as well as a strong deep cycle in comparison to "most" other brands. I live in Arizona and the heat is notorious for sucking the life out of car batteries, yet yellow top grin and bear it... I used to live in Michigan as well, both in West Bloomfield and up near the Mackinac bridge for sledding in the winters and let me tell you the yellow top does amazing in the cold Michigan winters. Instantaneous start on the first turn every time... Great purchase imho... plus extra $70 bucks at AutoZone gets you a 3yr. FULL warranty.

 

I've read a lot of people having issues with optima since they've moved production to mexico. Supposedly the quality has suffered and the batteries are not what they used to be.

Being in Az too, I've known several people who have had red top and yellow top batteries fail quickly. Maybe they are just hit and miss now.

 

I have heard somethings about a few bad batches, however come to find they were all ordered off Amazon.... I got all mine w/ warranty from AutoZone and this is my second one down here in AZ that I have had in my Celica for about a year now and the first one is about 4 years old now in the Envoy Denali. Haven't had any issues yet, but my prior 2 worked great in cold climates I know that for sure, so far here in hell's kitchen no prob either.

 

I've never herd any connection with amazon and certainly the people I've known with failures did not order them. Where did you read they were all from amazon?

 

I have lots of experience with Optima Yellowtops. The failure rate on those things were pretty high at one point, but I'm not sure if things have changed. The redtops were more reliable, but they weren't really any better than you average Duralast Golds.

If your car is stock, just stick to any battery with enough CCA for those cold winters and you should be fine. I've gone through enough batteries to know that unless you live in such extreme climate, most batteries will function the same.

 

Amazon is notorious for providing bad batteries. They either come with cracked tops and broken seals or fail quickly. I haven't read any articles or reviews about them. Folks on my other forum, as well as my friends and people at the local auto meets. Just something I picked up from shootin' the ***** with people
Counting them now 6 people in total, which were in everything from Celica's to Elise's and Rx7's to Supra's... I dunno why, but I'd say its more than a coincidence. Like I said i've own a quite a few in the past years and NEVER had a problem with any of them by the time I sold my cars. As for the Red Top, They are great as well, however I use Yellow Top to support my audio setups.

 

I have the Odtssey in my car, best battery I ever owned will always use them. When you know about this battery you will see. The extra money is worth every penny.

 

Do you have a critical need to save weight? or is it just on principle?

I can't see it being worth the extra $$ unless you REALLY need it. (and not many do)

Otherwise, I recommend Costco batteries. They're high of quality, have a hassle free warranty, and rock bottom pricing.

 

Sears Die Hard Gold FTW. I've had a couple of these in cars I've owned and got 10+ years on both. Absolutely indestructible. I even had my first one tested after being in my '79 Lincoln for 10 years and 150,000 miles and it was making 1150 CCA, rated at 1000. Sold the car, kept the battery.

 

I had a sears wether handler battery once. I buy a lot from sears and never had a problem until the battery wouldn't hold a charge. I woke up to a dead battery one day,I took the battery first to napa and had it tested, they said it was shot and needed replaced. It was only about a year old at the time so I was shocked it was dead already.

I then took the battery to sears they tested and said it just needs a charge. They charged it and I went back and picked it up, it died over night in my car. Took it back again and again they said it just needs a charge. Tried again, that time I left the battery sitting on the floor in my garage and took it back up to sears again. They again said they will charge it and it is a good battery.

They refused to honor any warranty on it, I had my receipt and it was well within the warranty period. I spoke with managers and everyone I could and no dice, it's been sitting in my garage ever since.

 

I heard that if you leave the battery on a concrete surface of some kind like your garage it will kill the battery. I think they have fixed that on newer batteries.

On the other hand, I have an Optima Yellow Top battery and I love it. I installed a 200 AMP alternator and replaced all my negative and positive connections/grounds with 0 AWG stereo wire. My lights don't dim when my subs are hitting hard (3 12in Jl Audio) and the electrical system just seems a lot stronger and more stable.

 

Well i need a new battery anyways and i was looking at the Dralast gold and it runs 94.99 at autozone and wights in at 43 lbs. The braille runs 168.00 and weights in at 15 lbs. Now with our pigs of cars, $70.00 to save 23lbs i think is worth it. Now i do not need the weight savings but why not get it if its there.
I think ive decided to get the braille and answered my own questions by going to their website as it states what they batteries are good for and the 15 supports daily driving.