03 Honda CR-V EX battery

[Carlostrece]

Please show me where I talked you out of a WalMart battery...

I posted previously I had no issues with Walmart batteries. In other threads I have stated my last four purchases were Walmart batteries.

You convinced me in posts 19 & 21 that at a Westcoast Walmart, a Walmart Everstart was likely to be made by Clarios. One or more others told me in posts or PMs that East Penn is permanently sealed and therefore better than Clarios (for people who don't add distilled water to their batteries).

I needed to buy a battery today. So I had to make a decision. More relevant good info came in later today from a couple people (including you) but by then I'd already purchased an Oreilly Superstart (East Penn) for $120. I'm happy with my purchase.

 

[Wheel366]

Bigger and more powerful does make me feel better, especially when it saves money.

An economy grade 24F is $50 cheaper and 17-35% more powerful than a premium grade 51R.

The Honda Odyssey battery tray needed to do the upgrade only cost me $30 and that's a one time cost. I'm still $20 ahead on part cost at the time of conversion. At every future battery purchase I'll be $50 ahead. That's being conservative. I might be $70 ahead at each future battery purchase.

This upgrade saves money as well as increases performance. What's not to like?

I don't know what performance you think you are gonna get. If a properly operating 51r starts the car, then a 24F will also start the car. It isn't going to make the car any after and operate better. If you had a lot of add on electronics, I can see having more CCA, RC or Ah. But without all that stuff, well...

So, a 24F economy vs a 51r economy "should" be the same cost but then add in the additional parts, you aren't ahead. You also could have gotten a 35 and not had to replace the tray (doing it the cheap way) but may have required modification to where the hold down locks in.

Be happy with your replacement. You don't need our approval.

 

[Carlostrece]

I don't know what performance you think you are gonna get. If a properly operating 51r starts the car, then a 24F will also start the car. It isn't going to make the car any after and operate better. If you had a lot of add on electronics, I can see having more CCA, RC or Ah. But without all that stuff, well...

So, a 24F economy vs a 51r economy "should" be the same cost but then add in the additional parts, you aren't ahead. You also could have gotten a 35 and not had to replace the tray (doing it the cheap way) but may have required modification to where the hold down locks in.

A 51R economy battery would be too weak sauce in winter.

I don't understand why you want to debate the merits of having a more powerful battery that costs less. You can debate it with others if anyone will engage with you on this topic. I'm not going to spend any more of my time debating it.

 

[Wheel366]

Not trying to debate, but educate. You have convinced yourself that bigger is better. I had a PM that thought the same thing. Bigger, being better made him feel better and more important. I did IT for him and a bigger hard drive was better because it was bigger even though he didn't use a fraction of the space. But he felt like a bigger man. That's totally fine. My 51rs without any additional charging has started my wife's car in the negatives (-1 through -5) for a few days at a time. While I don't live where you live, I live in NJ where we can get extremely cold, not Canada cold, but also extremely hot with days over 100 at a time. Still lasted 5 years.

Dude, economy to economy should cost the same. Plus or premium or whatever you want to call it costs more.

Did I need an Odyssey battery? No! But going by reviews, wanting an AGM, knowing that my cars could sit for days at a time while I am driving a different car, the extreme temp changes, etc... made me feel better. BUT, I didn't do it to get more performance. I wanted a maintenance free battery that could withstand the temp differences, one with a good reputation and one that I know could handle discharges better than a flooded. Did the car start better with the same size battery but 265 more CCA? Yes! But it was being compared to a 5.5 yr old battery. The 500CCA battery started the same way when it was new. If I didn't go with Odyssey, my next choice would have been a Everstart Platinum AND I could have saved money AND it would have most likely been an EP made battery. WIth the 20% off from Napa, the price difference wasn't huge. Maybe $60.

 

[Carlostrece]

@f355spider for all your excellent advice.

If I had a do-over knowing what I know now, I'd have bought a 24F Walmart Everstart Economy battery to get the lowest price of $80 and it would still have been a more powerful upgrade compared to buying a 51R Everstart premium battery for $150.

Since I'm on the Westcoast, it would have been a Walmart Everstart made by Clarios. That would be fine. Clarios makes the Honda OE batteries and they're excellent. I just learned today from a Honda dealership that the Honda OE batteries are made by Clarios.

Honda dealerships charge $12 to $20 more for a Honda OE (Clarios) battery than the cost of a similarly spec'd Walmart Everstart (Clarios because I'm on Westcoast). If I was on the Eastcoast, a Walmart Everstart would be made by East Penn.

However, Honda OE battery has a 5 year warranty (3 years full replacement, followed by 2 years prorated) and my local Honda dealership will install the new battery for free if it's located in an easily accessible place under hood. However, free replacement would not cover upgrading to a 24F battery.

So what's the best way to go depends on what the individual wants, the level of convenience they want, and how fast they need to get their car back on the road.

It's debateable whether Clarios or East Penn is better, and also debatable if it's enough difference to matter when they're different prices. In my local Westcoast area, Walmart Everstart Clarios cost $20-40 less than Oreilly Superstart East Penn when comparing 24F batteries with similar electrical specs.

I thought East Penn is likely the best flooded battery, but that's just my best guess opinion based on info I was told in a PM by a prominent member. IRL Clarios may be just as good. I don't know. Both are excellent and prices range from excellent to OK to high depending on who you buy from. Warranties range from 1-5 years depending on who you buy from.

I bought an Oreilly Superstart 24F for $120. My neighbor is thrilled to have an upgraded battery. So I'm happy too. That said, if I knew more sooner, I'd have saved $40 buying a Walmart Everstart Clarios. I did save $30-40 compared to buying an Everstart 51R.

Could I have done better at saving money? Yes. I could have save another $40 more by buying Everstart from Walmart. But I still saved $20-40 by upgrading, am getting an upgraded result, and my neighbor is thrilled! So mission accomplished.

Thank you @f355spider, @Nukeman7 and others for excellent advice.

 

[f355spider]

I've had two East Penn flooded Group 49/H8 batteries fail in less that two years...I no longer seek them out. I know others have had good luck with them, so I do not bag on the brand. The thing about batteries is they are somewhat flickle product and it is not uncommon to come across the occaisional bad one or two...no reason to think they are all that way...until proven the case repeatedly. I had three Optima red top group 34R leak in a row...each within two or three years...that seems more than a fluke. I found other users in another forum with the same experience.

 

[Carlostrece]

In the past, I had good experiences with Interstate (Johnson at the time), East Penn, and Optima Red Top. I also learned this weekend that Clarios makes the Honda OE batteries, which I know are good.

So in future I won't concern myself with Clarios vs East Penn debates. I will happy to own a Walmart Everstart made by Clarios or East Penn. Whatever my local Walmart sells as Everstart will make me happy in future.

For this time, I'm happy with my Oreilly Superstart (East Penn) that I purchased two days ago.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

A 51R economy battery would be too weak sauce in winter.

I don't understand why you want to debate the merits of having a more powerful battery that costs less. You can debate it with others if anyone will engage with you on this topic. I'm not going to spend any more of my time debating it.

The 51R in my Accord and when it was in my daughters CRV had no issues even in sub zero temps. Maybe a bit slower on crank but then so did the 24F and H6(48) in other vehicles.

Tuned up, normal maintenance throttle body, MAF etc. Fuel with hopefully no water, valves adjusted all play into it. Synthetic oil vs conventional (which you already do) allows for a bit easier crank.

Extension cord with charger makes it so it can be plugged in overnight, all day, whichever without a garage. 1x per month or everyother should cover it. The smart chargers like CTEK and NOCO work well for that.

Unless she gets out on a longer drive, with headlights on, any battery in the Honda will slowly die with short trips.