What battery should I use for my e30

[Fish Milk]

I’d highly recommend Costco for their Interstate batteries if you can. This is the one in my vert. I found out when my alternator went out and killed my battery that they have a full replacement warranty for 42 months. No longer pro-rate it as they did in the past. Basically they have you return it in the refund line for a full refund and then go back to automotive to buy another one.


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Ah man im confused as to what to do lol I can still return the battery I’m getting which is interstate mtp 90-T5 idk if it’s good or not, if it isn’t then I guess I would have a better chance going to Costco and getting the one you have. I’m a bit lost tbh, but the main question is the battery im getting okay for my car? Interstate battery website says it is


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[efficient]

thats a good battery the one you chose.has good cca, better then most.
i remember when i bought my bosch battery i got it for like 90 bucks but the cca is like 750.
you should be fine with your decision, it probably has a good warranty with it.

[dlmrun2002]

I've had real good luck with Walmart Everstart batteries. I think they are made by Johnson controls. Also Deka Batteries are good. Optima sealed batteries used to be good but I heard they were bought out by one of the three majors corps so I don't know how good they are today. Years ago they were very good, sealed and great in the trunk.

dlm ny country

[flyer92]

For your coolant question....I have been using good 'ol Prestone 50/50 in my '92 vert for over 20 years with zero issues and never any rust.

[e30austin]

Bosch, Deka or Interstate batteries are great. Group 48 units work great, for these cars. Anything newer than an E32, I'd say a Group 94 is necessary, due to the amount of electronics those cars have.

BMW blue coolant, only!

[bankrupt]

Walmart sells 3 different sizes that fit long, longer and longest. From 600cca to 900ccas. The space in the bmw rear tray allows for longer or shorter sizes. I got most ccs cause I like in the snow mountains. More amps is a plus. Regarding coolant. It’s all good. Except 50/50 is no good for freezing temps under -25. Must use concentrated.

[digger]

the bmw batteries work quite well, i was thinking of getting a bigger one than stock something like 61217586962

[PDXPeter]

This is the one Im using. Cranks over very nicely.

https://www.batteriesplus.com/battery/car-and-truck/bmw/325i/1991/l6-2.5l-600cca/sli91t6m

If you have the battery up front then you have a height limitation. Make sure its not taller than this battery.

[reelizmpro]

Costco H6/48 is now a different style with a handle and caps for the posts and slightly more expensive $115. Still 730CCA and 910CA which is better than most in that size group and of course they still have the 42 month no questions asked free replacement policy.

Due to 30 years of use, corrosion and wear/tear, belt tension, etc...keep track of the alternator voltages. It should be at least 13.8v with the car at idle. If it's lower than 13.8, then the alternator isn't adequately charging and will slowly degrade the battery over time. If you go weeks at a time between driving your car like I do, the car may not start and you'll start going through batteries as low voltages can damage them. Try your best to keep the battery charged. My vert was going through batteries compared to my other cars. Turns out it was only putting out 13.3v. I put in a higher voltage, voltage regulator to get it to 14.1v which is much better and buys me time before I have to replace the alternator itself.

[jeffnhiscars]

Costco H6/48 is now a different style with a handle and caps for the posts and slightly more expensive $115. Still 730CCA and 910CA which is better than most in that size group and of course they still have the 42 month no questions asked free replacement policy.

Due to 30 years of use, corrosion and wear/tear, belt tension, etc...keep track of the alternator voltages. It should be at least 13.8v with the car at idle. If it's lower than 13.8, then the alternator isn't adequately charging and will slowly degrade the battery over time. If you go weeks at a time between driving your car like I do, the car may not start and you'll start going through batteries as low voltages can damage them. Try your best to keep the battery charged. My vert was going through batteries compared to my other cars. Turns out it was only putting out 13.3v. I put in a higher voltage, voltage regulator to get it to 14.1v which is much better and buys me time before I have to replace the alternator itself.

Costco's inventory must be regional as I haven't seen a group 48 there since I made a warranty claim on the one I had a few years ago and they couldn't replace it

[Andre3127]

Coolant is coolant, and there nothing special about a cast iron block and an aluminum radiator. In my opinion, don't sweat it and just run cheap antifreeze and change it every two-three years (Like you're supposed to).

[nando]

So, rather than creating a new thread - I thought I'd bump this somewhat recent one (only 3 years old! it's basically new!)

My E30's battery is dead - I don't think I have a parasitic current draw with it off (but I will test it). I noticed last time I drove it, it seemed to crank a little slower. Then a week later, it was completely dead - not even the lights turned on with the doors. I jump started it and drove it all day, shut it off and started it up again a couple times, and it seemed fine. 3 hours later, it was dead again. I'm getting 14v at idle so the alternator is still good (I replaced the regulator a while back too).

The thing is my E30 probably spends 6 months a year on the trickle charger. I'm guessing it's not doing the battery any favors, it's probably only 3 years old at this point. The original DieHard battery that was in it when I first got the car lasted for almost 15 (probably should have just refurbished it!).

I'm thinking of switching to an AGM or a deep cycle battery - less weight would be nice but isn't super critical. I have all the factory electronics except for a stereo.

What batteries are people using that store their cars for large parts of the year? I could pull the batter terminal off when it's under a cover, but I like being able to just get in it and drive whenever I feel like it, instead of screwing around disconnecting stuff. I have been driving it weekly when the weather is nice so it hasn't been on the trickle charger in a few months, but a week between drives shouldn't kill the battery with only the OBC/clock drawing power.

I could just get another regular battery, but I think with my use case it'll probably be dead again in a few years. I think this is the 2nd battery I've gone through since I started storing my E30 for half of the year.

[reelizmpro]

Still recommended Costco H6 and they also have an AGM version as well as Walmart. I picked up an Optima Yellowtop for a good price and it's been okay. It has high CCA/CA's but it also weighs a ton. I still keep it on a tender as sometimes I don't drive the car for months.

[nando]

I couldn't find the H6 at Costco - I ended up picking up the yellow top Optima H6 - it was a little expensive, but it was in stock locally, and it's advertised as a deep cycle battery so hopefully it lasts for the price (if I get 6 years out of it, I'll break even).

I jump started the E30 so I could get to the store, then swapped it in the parking lot, lol. Took all of 5 minutes. Man, swapping the battery on new BMWs is sooo much harder - not even the coding, which is easy, but physical access to the battery just sucks. You could do it with just the trunk tool kit on the E30, not so on anything with IBS. It took me about an hour on my E90 and X5, and I'd already done a couple so I knew what to expect.

It's really heavy - definitely heavier than the lead acid battery I had before (same size). But, the extra 10-15lbs really doesn't matter to me at this point, I just don't want to get in the car to find a dead battery.. maybe I won't have to keep it on a trickle charger as often.

Which charger do you use when you have it stored? I have the cheap one Costco sells, it worked fine but I'm sure it was part of why the previous battery didn't last very long.

[jeffnhiscars]

You really don't want to use a deep cycle in a car as they have totally different energy characteristics. Deep cycles are designed for sustained loads and significant discharge as in a boat house battery or rv, while still maintaining a decent life. They are not designed for cranking output like a car battery after which they do virtually nothing as the vehicle will run off the alternator once it's started.

AGM I like cause they are maintenance free "dry cell" so will not run low on electrolyte during storage and IME they tend to be more durable. I have one in my Touareg TDi which sits under the drivers seat and it's somewhat nice to know if I ever flip it on to its roof I won't get an acid shower :(

As for charging, using a trickle is kind of like doing a spread sheet with an abacus. For longer term storage I'd get a higher tech unit such as a Ctek and set it on a timer so it runs say for 12-24hrs every 2 weeks. Note that AGMs have a different charging pattern so you want a charger with an AGM setting.

Letting any battery sit doing nothing for an extended period will kill it.