New Battery - Recommendations?

E

E85

Member
 Ontario, Canada
I believe my battery is done and was wondering what the forum would recommend.

I believe in the tuner world Optimal is a good battery. But you may only need that battery if you are running a lot of mods that draw more power than the stock car would. For example, having extra amps and speakers.

I assume the stock BMW battery is ok, no? Can you buy any batteries that are better than stock, yet lighter?

For Honda, the Spoon battery seems be one of the best due to its weight reduction. It's also way smaller than the stock one.

Any recommends??
 
Since your in Ontario, here's a good read.
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=555402&highlight=bmw+battery

I think the OP there ended up going with the Canadian Tire Motomaster Eliminator, 1 free replacement up to 9 years.
 
Optima batteries are very good and I use 4 at any one time on my 2 Jeeps, 1 each of yellow and red. They are spiral gel technology and depending upon the colour are ideal for really heavy current draw, deep cycle, long standing periods, etc. They resist heat, vibration and are generally leak proof, all qualities wasted on a normal Z4, but useful if you want to run a mega sound system, store the car for months, or run a winch off it....

In practical terms the BMW battery is a good one, but has only 12 months warranty on it and is expensive. I've just researched and although was not concerned about weight reduction ended up with a Halfords (a UK national parts chain, which you no doubt have similar) heavy duty battery on my X5. Costs 2/3 the price, a larger CCA capacity and a 3 year warranty, all in the same type of constuction and weight. :)

If you want to go lighter then there are some fancy batteries, but expect to pay a real premium. (I can find the makes if you need me to dig the link out?)
 
thx, looks like Crappy Tire may be the place to go for my easiest solution. for the purpose of the battery, my car is stock, so i dont think i need any kind of super high priced battery. i have the 10 speaker Carver system, but that is afterall, OEM

cj, which optima battery do u recommend if i do leave my car sitting for about 4 months a year?? (winter months in canada suck!!) ... do they make one for my car?? I have a 2003 3.0 Z4
 
very human, 9 year replacement came with a $20 cost ... not a biggie, but it wasnt free

still may be worth it, but i wonder how many of us will still be driving our current z4 9 years from now ... its not like i will take the battery out of the car when i sell it just to preserve my battery warranty (ie. to save $20), hahaha :D

but still has a 3 yr replacement warranty, so i will definitely check it out at my next crappy tire visit

u r in toronto? roads are dry, but cold, did u bring out the z4 yet? or do u drive it all yr round?

thx again for the recommendation :thumbsup:
 
If you did go for an Optima you'd want the Red Top. This provides a lot longer charged life (up to a year) and more power to start the car than normal batteries. Translated simply you could leave the Z in the garage over Winter and start it in 6' of snow.

The yellow top is designed for heavy discharge then recharge (cycling) which is what kills most batteries, so winching, powerful steroes or other equipment that takes mor ethan the altenator can put back real time

So by way of info only I run a red top to start a 4ltr. Jeep that has stood for up to 3 months in a cold warehouse and also a yellow top in parallel to keep it winching with a 500amp draw on an 18,000 lb winch

I'd go onto Optima US site for information and local retailers. http://www.optimabatteries.com/optima_products/

Be warned though you will never consider a battery to be just a black brick that starts the car once you get into understanding battery construction, deep cycling, spiral cell technology and a lot more science.... :rofl:
 
Personally, I think those battery warranties are a scam. Sure they'll give you a new battery, but they'll charge you $30 to install it since the warranty doesn't cover labour. Though I guess you could always just replace it yourself.

I've seen a guy actually bring their battery in under warranty, and he was PISSED that Crappy Tire charged him for labour to replace it.

I hate Crappy Tire. I'm not looking forward to having to bring my Zed into them for emissions testing.
 
E85 said:
tried looking online, but i don`t think optima makes a battery for the Z4
Click to expand...

Sure they will. It's just that they don't hold BMW's catalogue numbers by model. You just need the dimensions (approx) and where the +/- terminals are positioned as thay can be handed left or right
 
If you want a fancy light weight battery, try some of these guys.

http://www.brailleauto.com/

http://voltphreaks.com/
 
E85 said:
very human, 9 year replacement came with a $20 cost ... not a biggie, but it wasnt free

still may be worth it, but i wonder how many of us will still be driving our current z4 9 years from now ... its not like i will take the battery out of the car when i sell it just to preserve my battery warranty (ie. to save $20), hahaha :D

but still has a 3 yr replacement warranty, so i will definitely check it out at my next crappy tire visit

u r in toronto? roads are dry, but cold, did u bring out the z4 yet? or do u drive it all yr round?

thx again for the recommendation :thumbsup:
Click to expand...


:lol: That's a good piont about keeping the car for 9 years. Is your Z4 stuck in the garage? How about CAA, I have two other family car that's running CAA batteries, it was $120ish, no membership needed if you buy the battery. It has a 3 year replacement warranty as well (replaced for free).

Both times were fairly good experience, I quoted a friend's membership number, and gave them the make and model over the phone, 30 mins later, the battery truck came, took 5 mins to replace the battery, takes the old battery away, and no membership card was needed.

I just got my Z4 a month ago. I drive it when there's no snow on the ground, it came w/ performance tyres. :driving:
 
takedown8 said:
Personally, I think those battery warranties are a scam. Sure they'll give you a new battery, but they'll charge you $30 to install it since the warranty doesn't cover labour. Though I guess you could always just replace it yourself.

I've seen a guy actually bring their battery in under warranty, and he was PISSED that Crappy Tire charged him for labour to replace it.

I hate Crappy Tire. I'm not looking forward to having to bring my Zed into them for emissions testing.
Click to expand...

Yea, I cant speak highly of Crappy Tire. Did you consider other places to get the emission testing done?

http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/air/driveclean/LDVLocator.php
 
i agree, dont go to CT for e-test if you dont have to ... theyll just find something wrong w your car and try to charge you for it ... i have friends who used to work there and yup, they admitted it, that was their job ... if they dont find anything wrong, they dont make money

takedown8 said:
Personally, I think those battery warranties are a scam. Sure they'll give you a new battery, but they'll charge you $30 to install it since the warranty doesn't cover labour. Though I guess you could always just replace it yourself.

I've seen a guy actually bring their battery in under warranty, and he was PISSED that Crappy Tire charged him for labour to replace it.

I hate Crappy Tire. I'm not looking forward to having to bring my Zed into them for emissions testing.
Click to expand...
 
veryhuman said:
I just got my Z4 a month ago. I drive it when there's no snow on the ground, it came w/ performance tyres. :driving:
Click to expand...

careful out there rite now, fairly light car, lots of torque, slippery cold roads with super cold tires (if they are summer performance tires) ... traction control must kick on all the time
 
Curtis said:
If you want a fancy light weight battery, try some of these guys.

http://www.brailleauto.com/

http://voltphreaks.com/
Click to expand...


curtis, DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 lb battery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup:

is that what u have in your car?? but holy pricey!!! $430 for the 3 lb battery!!!

still expensive, but more reasonable is the 6 lb battery for $220

anyone know how much our stock battery weighs?? i doubt its 50 lbs like on the voltphreaks website, but i`m sure that battery is from a bigger car, not the z4 as i find our battery to be quite small already
 
just called the optima 1-888 # and they do not produce batteries for bmw`s ... non of them

kinda weird ... i thought the workings of a battery weren`t THAT different from one car to another (in the same class) ... like how you can just stick a AAA energizer battery into a camera or an mp3 player or a remote control, etc ... hmmm, obviously there is more technology behind a car battery than i thought
 
E85 said:
Curtis said:
If you want a fancy light weight battery, try some of these guys.

http://www.brailleauto.com/

http://voltphreaks.com/
Click to expand...


curtis, DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 lb battery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup:

is that what u have in your car?? but holy pricey!!! $430 for the 3 lb battery!!!

still expensive, but more reasonable is the 6 lb battery for $220

anyone know how much our stock battery weighs?? i doubt its 50 lbs like on the voltphreaks website, but i`m sure that battery is from a bigger car, not the z4 as i find our battery to be quite small already
Click to expand...

I havn't fitted one yet but the plan for the summer is to save weight by fitting bucket seats and probably the 6lb battery. That way I can fit a smaller battery compartment which gives me more room to fit a Supersprint quad exhaust! I havn't weighed the stock battery but 50lb wouldn't surprise me.
 
E85 said:
curtis, DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 lb battery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup:

is that what u have in your car?? but holy pricey!!! $430 for the 3 lb battery!!!

still expensive, but more reasonable is the 6 lb battery for $220

anyone know how much our stock battery weighs?? i doubt its 50 lbs like on the voltphreaks website, but i`m sure that battery is from a bigger car, not the z4 as i find our battery to be quite small already
Click to expand...

Assuming mine is the stock BMW battery (car is 2003) ... white with red plastic cover over the positive terminal... it's approx. 35lbs.

I also have an Optima Red top battery of similar dimensions that I use on my Honda Prelude but too bad the terminals are reversed from the BMW one... SC34U (part number)... and it's approx. 40.5 lbs.
 
Wow! From 35lbs to 3-6 lbs! That's quite a bit of weight! Haven't done any calculations as to percentage, but with the battery in the boot and being concerned about weight distribution, could this throw things off? Particularly considering that most engine mods will add weight in the front, then add aftermarket exhaust (lighter) and then this battery...should one be concerned about how the car's handling will change? I'm new to the car thing so would love to hear from some you racers.
 
It's won't make a dramatic difference to the average driver to be honest, have you ever felt different handling charactristics when your fuel tanks full or empty? Bmw's claims about 50/50 weight distribution are rediculous anyway. I'm sure I posted my findings somewhere else on the forum when I fitted coilovers and cornerweighted the car. Front to rear on standard suspension was a mile off but side to side was even worse. The advantage of coilover suspension is that you can adjust the cornerweights and balance of the car so if you wish give yourself 50/50 weight distribution you can but this isn't necessarily a desireable asset! More important is side to side balance so that the car will react the same in both left and right corners. Front to rear weight distribution is more of a personal preference. I like a lot of weight over the front therefore I've raked the car slightly so the front is noticeably lower than the rear. Of course all these settings go out the window as soon as you carry a passenger or luggage but it's not often I'm in that situation. The fortunate thing is that under acceleration the weight of the car is thrown rearward putting weight over the driving wheels and under heavy braking the weight is thrown forward over the front wheels which do the vast majority of the braking.
These forces are tremendous compared to the force exerted by the actual weight of the cars components. Have you ever noticed how low the front of a car nosedives during heavy braking or how far the back squats down under hard acceleration? I think it's fair to say that if you had two people sitting on the front of your car (when stationary of course! ) the suspension wouldn't drop as much as when you brake hard. This gives you an idea of the actual weight transferred through the car under different scenarios.
Of course if you have coilovers you can easily compensate for any weight you remove from any area of the car but on standard suspension your kinda stuck with it!
 
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