Recent experience has shown me that batteries can fail without any warning. I want to be ready. I have two vehicles. One has an H6 FLA battery and the other has an H7 AGM battery. Currently, who, in your opinion, makes the "best" battery for the money for each of these vehicles? I live in Arkansas, drive about 10,000 miles a year on each vehicle, keep them in a garage, and charge them regularly. I appreciate your time. knowledge and experience.
Best Battery Brand?
- Thread starter Turbine
- Start date
There is no best battery, similar to asking what is the "best" oil. Everyone has their opinion.
The best battery is the one you can easily obtain for your vehicle with the best price and warranty. Many like WalMart batteries because if you have a warranty issue, they are probably the easiest to get to replace it since they are everywhere and many are open 24/7. I have a Napa battery in my BMW. If my battery fails under warranty in a rural area late at night, it might be hard to find an open Napa to get it replaced.
The best battery is the one you can easily obtain for your vehicle with the best price and warranty. Many like WalMart batteries because if you have a warranty issue, they are probably the easiest to get to replace it since they are everywhere and many are open 24/7. I have a Napa battery in my BMW. If my battery fails under warranty in a rural area late at night, it might be hard to find an open Napa to get it replaced.
The "best" FLA battery is going to be the heaviest one, if a Penn Deka weighs 5Lbs more than the same size Interstate, it is a better battery.
Whatever is made in USA
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2022
- Messages
- 5,529
The problem with asking this question here is everyone is going to answer based on a battery they bought 5 years ago and still works.
For example a lot of the formerly beloved East Penn batteries are now made in Mexico. Are they worse / better - who knows - but there likely different.
I see some of the Clarios batteries (Johnson Controls) at Walmart now come from Spain. Again - any difference?
As for weight - if heavier plates are put together poorly - its still going to fail sooner than a lighter battery with higher quality material and assembly. So while it sounds good - it isn't really a guarantee.
Personally I would buy from wherever you can get the best deal, and wherever is going to be easiest for you to get warranty work if needed.
For example a lot of the formerly beloved East Penn batteries are now made in Mexico. Are they worse / better - who knows - but there likely different.
I see some of the Clarios batteries (Johnson Controls) at Walmart now come from Spain. Again - any difference?
As for weight - if heavier plates are put together poorly - its still going to fail sooner than a lighter battery with higher quality material and assembly. So while it sounds good - it isn't really a guarantee.
Personally I would buy from wherever you can get the best deal, and wherever is going to be easiest for you to get warranty work if needed.
Considering your best for the money criteria, I would agree with the others. But if you just want the best battery, then my vote is with UncleDave. Go with an Odyssey. While the "Buy once, cry once" mantra really isn't correct for a battery, the spirit of it applies. I suspect that Odyssey accounts for
That said, I always go with the best warranty for the price, from a retailer that has plenty of stores, so it will be easy to get a warranty replacement, if needed. Odyssey batteries aren't available as easily as others.
That said, I always go with the best warranty for the price, from a retailer that has plenty of stores, so it will be easy to get a warranty replacement, if needed. Odyssey batteries aren't available as easily as others.
14 years in my truck.
Figure out whats more important cost vs warranty length/number of warranty locations.
Former: I'd walk into walmart pick up the value series.
Later: Costco
Branding = disregard. Sometimes legacy brands carry crappier specs then low tier brands.
Mfg=Depends. East Penn has been the talk of the BITOGers, while Exide has been shunned for leaking terminals. The issue tho is not all regions are served by a specific mfg. Hence why I kept that out.
Former: I'd walk into walmart pick up the value series.
Later: Costco
Branding = disregard. Sometimes legacy brands carry crappier specs then low tier brands.
Mfg=Depends. East Penn has been the talk of the BITOGers, while Exide has been shunned for leaking terminals. The issue tho is not all regions are served by a specific mfg. Hence why I kept that out.
It can vary by region, etc, etc too. A Duralast battery might be Exide in the western US while it's JCI/Clarios in the east and so on.
I've seen that but it seems to only be repeated by 1-2 people. My Exide (Walmart) doesn't leak or have any corrosion/powdery stuff on/around the terminals after many years. I do use terminal grease and those felt pads as well as spray them with an acid cleaner every once in a while.
I have had some bosch batteries leak, and I believe those were rebranded exides. That being said terminals leaking is hard to pin the blame unless a failure analysis is done on the product. The end user can ratchet down on those terminals sometimes and they can cause it, the mfg as well can cause it.
May I recommend buying yourself one of the many inexpensive battery testers that are on the market. There are several of them on the market that can be had in the $50 - $80 price range.
I went with the Solar BA9. It has served me very well. I like it. Foxwell offers a couple inexpensive models, including the NT301, which is also a simple OBD2 scanner. So does Ancel. I recently tried an Ancel BA301. Nice features and very easy to use. I returned mine because it wasn't accurate. But I've seen reviews where others have tested the BA301 against several other devices and found it to be accurate. I may have just got a bad one.
By using a battery tester as part of your regular car maintenance, you can track your battery health, and have an idea well in advance, before a battery totally fails. My battery tester recently saved me from some battery grief. During a cold snap in late December, I decided to charge and test the batteries in my cars. The H8 battery in my E350 tested bad, even after charging. It was still starting and running the car, but I got a replacement. Fortunately, it was still in warranty, so Pep Boys put a new battery in my car. Without the tester, I could easily have been stranded, in miserably cold weather.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2024
Even Consumer Reports that tests batteries does not have a brand that is consisently at the top. It will vary, depending on the size, and type. AGMs tend to test better than flooded, but there are occaisional stand outs in the flooded catagory.
In H6 the top rated battery was the Odyssey AGM. Best price is here: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/au...Jb82KQnJC_P64TAkKf76YG3HpW6ek4LcaApMrEALw_wcB
If you want to save a few bucks, get the interstate AGM H6 from costco for $180 it rated well at number 3
For H7, they have no recommendations, as they did not test that size.
In H6 the top rated battery was the Odyssey AGM. Best price is here: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/au...Jb82KQnJC_P64TAkKf76YG3HpW6ek4LcaApMrEALw_wcB
If you want to save a few bucks, get the interstate AGM H6 from costco for $180 it rated well at number 3
For H7, they have no recommendations, as they did not test that size.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2024
THIS! I got a battery tester 12 years ago, and simply test my battery whenever I change the oil in one of my cars (or truck). As soon as I get a warning it is not holding a charge (even though it starts and runs fine) I replace, to avoid ever being stranded. You can see the CCA drop over time, so you can kinda tell a good year before it will no longer pass on the tester.
Definitely the best "value" and availability
Similar threads
