What battery should I use for my e30

[tomstin]

I agree with a Ctek or one of the other brands of battery maintainers versus trickle chargers. Also, as I understand, the deep cycle batteries are designed for loads then recharge versus sitting for long periods of time.

[jeffnhiscars]

No battery really likes to sit unused and unattended for any period of time so you are partially correct in that deep cycles are designed to run "house lights" as they say and are separate from your starting batteries. Deep cycles are geared towards higher discharge percentages and more charge cycles whereas if you run a car battery stone dead enough times it will give up the ghost entirely. We use deep cycles on the boat and when on shore power it's on a marine charger 24/7

[reelizmpro]

Nando, I use a 3A Deltran Battery Tender which works great on standard and AGM batteries.

Good point. They also have Redtops which I believe are starter batteries. The Yellowtop H6 however, has 928CA/800CCA and 140 Reserve Capacity which is more than typical "starter" AGM's and plenty for an E30.

I pulled this from Optima's site:

"So if a YELLOWTOP can start a vehicle, why should someone even bother buying a REDTOP? Both batteries have three-year free replacement warranties, so there's no difference there, although REDTOPs tend to be priced slightly lower than YELLOWTOPs. REDTOPs can also provide more cranking amps in a given group size, than their YELLOWTOP counterparts. This might be of importance to someone running a high-compression engine, that needs a lot of power to get started. REDTOPs are also slightly lighter amongst like group sizes, for the weight-conscious crowd.

While YELLOWTOPs do sacrifice some cranking power, they do offer more reserve capacity in like group sizes, as well as the ability to be deep-cycled. Which battery is right for you? It depends on your application. REDTOPs will work just fine in the vast majority of applications, but if someone is running significant electrical accessories, including winches, large stereos or a vehicle without a charging system (like a dragster), a YELLOWTOP might be a more appropriate choice."

I scored the Yellowtop for $150 so it was a no brainer for me.

[nando]

$150 is cheap, they're like double that now! But what are you going to do.. the battery it replaced was also $150 and only lasted a few years. :|

[cory58]

Never mind - just realized the OP is years old.

[e30austin]

i hate buying batteries and i hate having a dead battery. if a car sits for more than a day or two, it gets the trickle charger, no questions asked. it's a good way to ensure battery health, particularly on a car that doesn't get driven daily.

[nando]

I have a trickle charger - but after a few years, still dead batteries..

[moatilliatta]

Interesting this thread has 7k views ..

Interstate is great. Surprisingly Duralast gold batteries are quite nice, most all of them have said made in Germany. Im sure a rebranded Deka, but you can warranty out about in every city.

[finnmole]

I was not able to get the correct size battery from Costco, it's a bit too tall to fit in the back tray; the lid didn't really fit nice anymore.
I'm pretty sure there is more selection in the States though...I would just measure and compare the batteries in the store to make sure it fits.

My car sat a lot last winter and so failed to start without re-charging...just took the battery back to Costco and got a new one...can't beat that.

[reelizmpro]

I was not able to get the correct size battery from Costco, it's a bit too tall to fit in the back tray; the lid didn't really fit nice anymore.
I'm pretty sure there is more selection in the States though...I would just measure and compare the batteries in the store to make sure it fits.

My car sat a lot last winter and so failed to start without re-charging...just took the battery back to Costco and got a new one...can't beat that.

They didn't carry the H6(group 48)? It's costco fitment #29 I believe. Costco stock changes all the time. Thankfully, there are 4 of them in a 25 mile radius, so I just called around to find one that had it.

[325e '87]

My 30 sits for a few months a year too and I just keep the brand name “battery tender” on it. The Bosch batt that came with it when I got it is still strong. It is one of the things that worries me though as the years pass. The batt on my e39 went dead as I was bleeding the cooling system after it sat for about a month. Woke me up and now keep power on my cars all the time.

I do sympathize with the thread topic. Heck, my Deere diesel tractor sits for 6 months and I just go out there and crank it up and it’s a 2006 model. How do they do it? JD branded stuff is pricey but it tends to be true to OEM expecatations.

[Cream]

I'll also bump this instead of creating a new thread. I don't know if anyone has tried lithium batteries on the e30 or if it would be worth it. Just saw this video today https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...ENGLISHCHANNEL also the fuse logic seems like any car would benefit from this especially the older cars. Thoughts?

[nando]

Sooo... the optima yellow top lasted all of 6 months. Seems to have an internal short. I can charge it up, but it will drain itself to 0v within a day. ugh.

back to the drawing board? I can try to warranty it, but I'm not sure I want to bother.

Back when you could get a real Sears DieHard battery - that thing lasted me like 10 years, and it wasn't new when I got the car. I ran it flat several times but it always charged back up. I probably should have just tried to recondition it instead of replacing it. I'm now on my 3rd battery in like 6 years. this sucks.

Lithium seems interesting - but without a battery management system, I'd be worried about the potential for a fire. at least my E30 with dead battery can't cause any self-harm. lol

[packratbimmer]

I have used a lot of batteries over the years and Interstate batts. always outlast everything else. I used to buy them used at the junk yard and they would still last up to eight years. My Bosch that I got in my 318ti used seven years ago still works too even in our recent sub-zero weather.

Also, I think I read years ago that trickle charging constantly is not good. My practice - which is a bit random - is to periodically (I try to catch them before they get below 12.25V - never below 12V) charge the batteries in parts cars or cars that are just sitting mostly, with an automatic charger that will cycle on and off as it reaches full charge. I have had a bunch of batteries last way longer than expected, but I do choose good quality at the outset.

[roguetoaster]

Batteries are all over the map in terms of quality, from what I could glean with a bit of digging we get three primary 12V automotive battery manufacturers, and the large brands like Optima have changed ownership/manufacturing locales in the last 5 years.

East Penn
-possibly exclusively US manufactured
Deka
Duracell

Brookfield/Clarios - Acquired Johnson Controls battery lines
-multinational - primarily US/Mexico/India/Spain
Everstart
Interstate*** split in some way with Exide
Duralast
Continental
Varta
Optima

Exide/Battery Systems
-seemingly localized production, but still multinational
Interstate*** split in some way with Clarios
Bosch
UNK other brands - possibly OEM focused

I tried to dig in to who might make OEM batteries, but that quickly went nowhere.

The takeaway seems to be just buy whatever and keep the receipt.