need new battery - any suggestions

[e30moneypit]

so my battery finally took a dump and went to autozone and got qouted about $130 OTD for their duralast 48-dl battery. Seems like i can do way better for similiar or less cost. Only non stock electical needs are the hids and a true 1000 rms system. I just ordered an upgraded alternator off ebay 135amp? a few days prior when autozone said my stock one was going bad. So below are the autozone battery details. Anything better you can suggest and what #s to look at. 90 325i rear mount battery.

• 700 cold cranking Amps (875 cranking Amps) *** 115 reserve minutes. -> 2 year free replacement

[e30moneypit]

well looks like im going to buy this kinetik battery

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_8531_Kinetik-HC800-KHC800.html

[dwvw]

Kinetiks are good.

[stamar]

that is pimping im considering buying one and my battery is almost brand new. is it euro boxed so it works in the e30 convertible?

[D-rock]

I just bought a new battery from auto zone :( oh well I guess.

[110stx]

I have a motorcraft battery in my 325i (no special power requirements) that has been in the car since I bought it eight years ago.

Damn thing won't die.

[jrobie79]

are vented batteries required for our cars? I just redid my battery tray area, removed some surface rust and por-15'd it with a new coat of red paint, but I dont want to bother with it again

[smooth]

is it euro boxed so it works in the e30 convertible?

what does this mean? I tried googling euro box battery but received no relevant results

[stamar]

meaning, are the top posts receded, so we can close our hood ?

like the battery in your convertible?

[smooth]

I just have a regular autozone battery but the hood still closes perfectly fine.

[dogsbark26]

Hey e30moneypit, please tell us more about that upgraded alternator off ebay. What made you decide on that one? Did you consider any others? How was it to install? Is it performing to your expectations? What problem were you trying to solve with an upgraded alternator?

[e30moneypit]

funny just got home from the junkyard where i pulled 3 sets of complete + cables from e30s.from rear to front all for $12 total!! LOL. Anyways the reason I got the e30 positive wires is to upgrade the wiring. Pos goes from Alt-->starter-->front battery post --> battery cable that runs to rear.Front to rear is fine I guess its a 00?

The stock alt to starter wire is like 8-10 gauge.... way too thin. The starter to batt post is prob close to 2 gauge.So I'm re purposing the the factory batt post -->starter wires I snagged today and using those factory wires to double the batt post-->starter and the Alt-->starter wires.Leaving me with essentially 0 or 00 from alt to battery. Neg grounds I had already upgraded a while back when chasing some ground loops.

Now to answer the original question ... I had a bad alternator issue.My system was probably taxing the 20+ year old stock unit for the last year. Anyways I looked into autozone remans at $90 plus $50 core for stock 90amp vs ebay reman $101 shipped 130amp(no core). All this additional stress on the old battery killed it thus me also getting a superior battery for less $.

How does it all work......... well Ill find out on Saturday when I install everything.Now that I have everything I need to upgrade everything at the same time for less than $240 (reman alt/new battery/upgraded wiring) and will prob take me about 30 mins to do. Hmm maybe I should tackle it now. :)

[einstein57]

The standard duralast red tops work fine in my experience. Usually get 4-5 years with a system. Plus the benefit of being able to trade in the battery if it craps out too soon. I bought an Optima battery online a few years ago and it crapped out after a year and i was SOL. The only other battery i buy is centennial. Their customer service is amazing. No receipt, no problem.

[dogsbark26]

That sounds like exactly what I should do too e30moneypit. I'm preparing to install stereo amplifiers and suspect I'll need more than the stock wires and alt.
Please let me know how you progress. Will you test alt output after installation? What RPM is required for ebay alt to output 130amps?

[stamar]

well as far as warranty, nothing beats costco

3 year replacement 5 year pro rated.

Heres the thing, they dont even test them, they dont keep a paper trail.

Just bring your battery in in 2 years and get a refund. But a new one or dont.

you dont even have to ruin it like you would for sears or oreilly.

They sell optimas too. They dont carry many sizes ( euro post) but they are all cheap too.

Basically the best place to buy a car battery.

As far as quality? The very worst batterys in the world. I had back to back battery death legitimately, after 1 year, and then its replacement I actually put in a different car ( my bmw) and it made it 1 1/2 years.
With barely any abuse even.

However, a costco battery is basically a free battery for life. turn it in and the 3 years starts over, for life.

cant beat that 60$ for a lifetime battery..