It's regional and you have to go to your local store and check usually you can tell based on case design but the Serial Number prefix tells all.
Car battery
- Thread starter newninja
- Start date
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2025
Unfortunately the Wieze was not tested in Group 48/H6 size. Top rated was the Odyssey and Optima yellow top H6. Surprising the X2 Power did poorly in H6.
One thing I am noticing is the Clarios AGMs whether sold by Interstate, AC Delco, Walmart or other labels...their rankings are all over the place...from top rated to mediocre. One big problem that confuses the testing is Clarios AGMs come from factories all over the world now. And CR is not listing the country of origin...so could be China, Mexico, Korea, Germany, or USA. Same issue with Walmart AGMs...on the east coast they are East Penn, on the west coast they are AGM. We really don't know what CR is testing.
Whether I am at Costco or Walmart I can see AGMs from multiple countries on the rack...sometimes two different countries in the same size. And it can be different each time I look. Some might be German on one visit, and Mexico and China the next. Lately mostly Korea.
No, I'm well aware of that and have spoken of it before. But when people here might say "I've never had an issue with by Brand X battery, it lasted Y years, ergo it's safe/good" it omits a lot of important context.
Like I said, replacement batteries are commodities, and like I posted evidence of before, for a large brand/distributor like Interstate, their labels aren't even applied at the factory, but at the local distributor level, to pallets of whatever anonymous units were dropped off from the supplier.
I appreciate what CR does, in testing what they buy to reach their conclusions, but every time I return to consult their findings on something (local library has a sub), it seems the modern version of the magazine contains a lot less information than it used to, like the dot charts, and more general summaries. And one disadvantage they're always had is the lag between when they buy/test and publish, which often lead to their conclusions containing models that have been discontinued.
I haven't cruised the racks lately, but nothing would surprise me, including the return of the Saudi batteries.
CR "rebooted" itself 10? years ago. IIRC, don't hold me to it, it was bought by a company versus being a non-profit previously---pretty much changing everything.
i haven't subscribed to CR for a long time, so I don't have all the details....but you can find more info via search engines.
CR is probably better than nothing----but today's CR probably isn't the same as CR from 30 years ago
It's too bad. Hard to compete when so much information is "free," like on YT, even if one has to sift through the detritus to find the credible reviews that aren't basically a regurgitation of the specs, or the press release.
If the vehicle in question is in good shape with no known electrical issues, it's simply a matter of personal choice and price/value. My Town & Country has a 6-year-old Autocraft Gold (Johnson Controls) from Advance Auto; my 2008 Charger has a 9-year-old AC Delco AGM battery I got from Amazon; my Caravan and '86 Daytona each have 4-year-old Exides from Rural King ($49.99 at the time). All batteries were the best price I could find when I needed them. I've had no issues with any of them, even in the Texas heat.
You're not splitting the atom here. Buy whatever you're comfortable with and don't overthink it.
You're not splitting the atom here. Buy whatever you're comfortable with and don't overthink it.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2025
The issue with buying AC Delco AGM batteries online is the warranty coverage if you need to make a claim. If you try with AC Delco, they will tell you to work with the retailer...the problem with WalMart and Amazon is they don't stock these at a retail location, and will tell you to take it up with AC Delco....a circular problem. If you read online reviews people talk about the frustration.
I would pay extra for the Walmart AGM.
I will say the AC Delco is good quality, it is a Clarios so same as the Warmart version. I have a German made AC Delco (Clarios) in Group 49/H8 and is now 6.5 years old. No issues. Most of these are now made in Korea, or any number of other factories Clarios runs in China, Mexico, Korea, Germany or USA...its kinda a roll of the dice what you get or find on the shelf.
Are they still Clarios, I thought a few years ago Delco started sourcing most of their batteries from Hankook-AtlasBX
Walmart, hands down. No pro rating. If it goes bad within the warranty time frame and fails test, you get a new one. No questions asked. Keep you're receipt in glovebox. The Walmart I use doesn't even test them. They have no service garage. Just bring it to the CS counter, and they give you a ticket to go get a new one.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2025
Unsure, the most recent reviews I see just say "its made in Korea" or "made in Germany". I believe still supplied by Clarios, as those are the same countries they produce in, as well as Mexico and China.
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The only place I see Delco batteries is at Menards anymore sold alongside the FVP which I'm pretty sure are supplied by Hankook-AtlasBX and a value tier AtlasBX battery that's billed as such, I presume they all come from the same vendor with different labels on them.
It really doesn't matter anymore. The way they are manufacturing FLA batteries, ( if that's what you want ). they seal them up pretty good so you can't add distilled water to them. Use to be able to pop the 2 caps off, and fill them. They re-designed the cases where there are no more caps to pop off. That's why they die within 4 years. You can't maintain them anymore and they dry out. Planned absolescense.
Going on 7 yrs on my FLA in my Toyota. Forgot the name, just pop the caps 1X a year, top it off, and that's it. Cells test fine. Don't see any visible sulfation in between the plates. Guess I just got lucky on this particular one....But you are right, they changed. Ran a backhoe for years on my old job. It was a Case. I always checked the oil / coolant / belt / battery/ etc. Use to put TAP water in the battery. Lasted 12 years !!!!! The machine was scrapped with the original battery in it. So, there is a difference between commercial and non-commercial batteries. The machine was a 12 volt system, so no difference there. I killed it like 5X leaving lights on overnight.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2025
In the past two or three years I am learning that sulfation of the lead plates over time is real. You can mitigate and reverse the process with a good battery tender with a desulfation process in the charge and float stages. I am having great success using the Battery Minder 2012 and 128CEC2 models. Both have brought back batteries that were 4+ years old and declining in CCA when connected up each evening. Took several weeks though, as it is a gentle process and not overnight.
