Battery suggestions

So, the battery on the E39 M5 went out yesterday. And when one of those dies, you are dead in the water. They are pretty much unjumpable. The battery in the car is a NAPA 75 that's almost exactly 20 months old. Of course, it has an 18-month no-cost replacement warranty. This battery is massive (64 lbs!) and does not see exotic use, just daily driving and an occasional sit for a week. I got a NAPA 75 because it's the only version they offer in this application.

I've had other problems with NAPA batteries in the past, such as one that lasted all of 11 months. My solution then was to go to Optima, but when we started installing them in cars at FM recently we had a massive failure rate. I'd put it north of 75%. Something has changed with them. So, no more Optima.

Any suggestions for a good battery source that's going to last reasonably well? Given the size and shape of the M5 well, two approximately Miata-sized ones in series would fit in the box happily.

I have had good luck with hawker odyessy.. just keep them away from engine and exhaust heat

Keith Tanner wrote: Any suggestions for a good battery source that's going to last reasonably well? Given the size and shape of the M5 well, two approximately Miata-sized ones in series would fit in the box happily.

Sad to hear that about Optimas -- what do you guys put in V8 Miatas now?

What's the OEM battery on the M5 like? After dealing with the two-in-parallel batteries in my truck I'm not really a fan of that model, because you wind up buying two batteries and throwing them both away when the shortest-lived one fails.

I'd also at least try to find out how much the basic OEM battery would go for. At least with bikes, the OEM BMW batteries seem to be surprisingly affordable.

I've had bad luck with Optima Red Tops as well, I've been using the Kirkland (Costco brand) batteries but recently had to return the one in my daily because it developed a bad cell, I had for it just short of 3 years.

The price has gone up quite a bit in that time but Costco has a good return policy and gave me a new one straight up. The ones in my other car and my friend's cars seem to be holding up fine.

Part of the problem with an OEM battery is that there isn't a BMW dealer within a couple of hundred miles. I might see if I can pick one up on my next trip to Denver, but given the weather that might be a few weeks.

We're actually putting stock Corvette batteries in the V8 Miatas right now - actually, I think they might be the high-end NAPA version for that car. We're also testing an Odyssey - we've have good luck with the little PC680s in other applications.

The Optimas have been so bad that we're actually starting to carry spare batteries on any trip that involves an Optima-juiced car. We're going to LA for a magazine test in a few weeks and there will be an extra battery in the truck just in case. The one in my MG is leaking, of all things. Lifespan has been very, very short on them. They're yellow tops, by the way.

I thought having two batteries would give you a better failure mode - if one goes down, you just take it out of the system and you can get home with the remaining one. Does one failure damage the second?

ACDelco and Interstate batteries here. No battery here will last long. Winters can see -20( in my lifetime I've seen -38 before windchill), summers 110, and 40* swings in a day are not uncommon.

Duralast batteries used to be really durable/dependable, but they have started to go the way of the DieHard (read: crap)

Here's an older list from one of the BMW forums. Any favorites in the list other than the Odyssey? Looking at various pictures of various installs, I'm starting to suspect there are only one or two wet-cell manufacturers out there that are just rebranding the same battery for different resellers.

Apparently, the BMW OE batteries are Vartas and very well regarded. But BMW replacement batteries from the dealer are rebranded Exide.

BMW replacement: $225+ (through stealer). My indy is selling me one for $205 and they can be found under $200 w/BMW car club discount. Many stealers will charge well above $250 so beware. 850CCA 15-9/16" x 6-15/16" x 7-1/2" 62 lbs.fficeffice" />

Interstate H9-110VW (MTP-H9): $205. Same dimensions as BMW replacement. Just spoke to Interstate today and this battery has just recently become available for public sale (no more VW issues) but most shops and even distributors don't know that. Interstate's customer service had to call my local distributor to advise them of this. 850CCA 15-9/16" x 6-15/16" x 7-1/2" 63.9 lbs.

Batteries Plus Werker 95R-LI: $179. This battery has the same dimensions as the replacement. 850CCA 15-9/16" x 6-15/16" x 7-1/2" 64.5 lbs.

Interstate MTP-93: $125-$150. This battery is slightly smaller than the replacement; about 1" shorter length wise and .50" shorter in height. Requires that improvised spacers are used to ensure exact fit. 850CCA 14-3/8" x 6-7/8" x 7-1/5" 45.7 lbs.

Optima 34R: $135-150. This battery is about 5.5" shorter length wise and about .25" higher. Requires that improvised spacers are used to ensure exact fit. 800CCA 10" x 6-7/8" x 7-13/16" ? lbs.

Odyssey 1700: $296. This battery is about 2.5" shorter length wise and .50" shorter width wise but is same height as replacement. Requires that improvised spacers are used to ensure exact fit. 875CCA 13" x 6-1/2" x 7-1/2" 60.9 lbs.

Duralast 49-DL: $85-97. 850 CCA approx dimensions: 13-7/8" x ? x 7" 46 lbs.

Duralast 95R-DLG: $??? According to the web site this is not available, but it was at some time. Might still be available in stores. 850CCA 15-9/16" x 6-15/16" x 7-1/2" 63.9 lbs.

Exide Premium 49-60: $90 This battery is about 1.5" shorter than the replacement. Requires that improvised spacers are used to ensure exact fit. 850CCA 14" x 6-7/8" x 7-7/16" ? lbs.

Sears Die Hard 49: $130. This battery is slightly smaller than the replacement; 1.25" shorter length wise and .50" shorter in height. Requires that improvised spacers are used to ensure exact fit. 805CCA 14-5/16" x 6/7/8" x 6-7/8" 52 lbs.

Ah, found a chart. Apparently, NAPA batteries ARE Exide. So I'm basically rocking the BMW USA dealer replacement already - for $230 a pop. Interesting.

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-discussion/118816-summary-battery-replacement-options-5.html#post1585802

Anyone with insider knowledge that can confirm/deny?

Keith, you are correct that there are only 2 (maybe three?) manufacturers of wet batteries. Johnson Controls is the largest and supplies about 80-90% of the replacement OEM batteries out there. All of your asian imports use them, supplied through Interstate. I know they are also the manufactuer for Duralast and many other common brands.

Keith Tanner wrote: Ah, found a chart. Apparently, NAPA batteries ARE Exide. So I'm basically rocking the BMW USA dealer replacement already - for $230 a pop. Interesting. http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-discussion/118816-summary-battery-replacement-options-5.html#post1585802 Anyone with insider knowledge that can confirm/deny?

Correct, Napa batteries are rebranded Exide.

Thanks. Looks like I might just see what happens with the replacement for this one. It'll take a couple of weeks to get one in, I've put the battery on the charger to top it up and see if this restores it at all. According to the NAPA hand-held load tester it's completely happy, but the behavior sure says weak battery to me, including late night alarm falsing when the car gets cold, just like the last tired battery...

I have 4 Optima batteries. The oldest is 15 years old and the newest is 6 months old. I haven't had one fail yet. Just another reference point...

Older Optimas seem to be pretty solid. It's the current supply that are problematic. After the experiences via the FM cars, they're not an option for me.

I just got a Sears Diehard Gold for my Tahoe. They go on sale often and are a sealed AGM battery. I think I paid around $160 for a Group 48 battery with around 780cca. I think it is made by Deka or Odyssey.

Keith Tanner wrote: Older Optimas seem to be pretty solid. It's the current supply that are problematic. After the experiences via the FM cars, they're not an option for me.

I have seen the same here.

FYI,

I've had great results with various Ballistic batteries. Their 16 cell weighs less than 4 lbs and has 500CCA.

I use the 12 cell model in the Sylva J15.

Ballistic batteries will only lose 10% of their charge over a year of static use so they are ideal for vehicles that aren't driven every day. This feature also makes them an ideal spare.

Chet

Strange on the NAPA battery when I just saw my NAPA gets their batteries from East Penn, AKA Deka, via the invoice I saw with my own eyes.

Optima's suck since the manufacturing went to Messico senor.....

Ranger50 wrote: Strange on the NAPA battery when I just saw my NAPA gets their batteries from East Penn, AKA Deka, via the invoice I saw with my own eyes. Optima's suck since the manufacturing went to Messico senor.....

IIRC, deka/Exide are from the same manufactuer.

Keith Tanner wrote: I thought having two batteries would give you a better failure mode - if one goes down, you just take it out of the system and you can get home with the remaining one. Does one failure damage the second?

I'm a long way from an expert on this, but my impression is that If one fails and won't hold a charge, then the other winds up trying to charge it, and I think that damages it. All the recommendations for dual-battery trucks that I've read say to always replace the batteries in pairs, because otherwise the remaining older battery will kill the brand-new one.

On my truck, I don't get any failure protection because a Duramax diesel needs more current to start than a single battery can supply. :)

I've only frozen a few batteries, but the Delco is the only one that worked afterwards.

Bobzilla wrote:

Ranger50 wrote: Strange on the NAPA battery when I just saw my NAPA gets their batteries from East Penn, AKA Deka, via the invoice I saw with my own eyes. Optima's suck since the manufacturing went to Messico senor.....

IIRC, deka/Exide are from the same manufactuer.

Since when?

sounds almost like a monopoly that Exide supplies all the batteries

napa batteries WERE exide. they switched about three years ago, but some old rare exide part numbers took awhile to get flushed through the system. all napa batteries are NOW EastPenn Deka.

mad_machine wrote: sounds almost like a monopoly that Exide supplies all the batteries

There are three, Deka, Exide, and Johnson Controls. There used to be 5, but they sold out to the others.