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after market Batteries

bebersol

Ready to race!
My old Vartha is getting a little weak in the knees and I'm researching replacement batteries,

Here's what I've learned.

2 types of batteries Lead Acid and Lithium
- Lithium are very expensive (like $1,500).
2 types of lead acid, Lead acid bath and AGM(absorbed glass mat)
- Both are basically the same technology
- LAB are cheaper, downside they leak.
- AGM more expensive and the don't leak because there's a lot less liquid in them.

There are lightweight batteries (Braille and DAKA) some people think Braille is made by DAKA but I haven't found any proof of this, and Braille has a number of battery options that DAKA doesn't offer and vice-a-versa.

Optima batteries aren't what they used to be. I had a 7 year old red top that was still strong when I sold the car it was in. Optima got sold a few years ago to Intestate and the quality has suffered with a host of complaints reported with the newer models.

Odyssey makes a good battery, but no direct fit for our R's.

There's a company called XS which make a direct fit AGM for our car but it's heavy, 41lbs. (Varta is 32Lbs I think)

Lead plates in some batteries are lead alloy (cheaper) and pure Pb (more expensive). Lead plates are grids in some batteries (cheaper) and solid (more expensive) in others.

You can get Braille's that weighs in at 18 and 21 lbs. Many people use these for racing, some for daily drivers. But I was thinking , lead is the main contributor to both the capacity of and weight of a battery, so if a battery weighs 1/2 as much it has a lot less lead in it and most likely has 1/2 the capacity ( this is rated in Amp Hrs).
Thoughts?

Has anyone tried the XS 4700? or Odyssey (P1200)?

what's the longevity of the Braille?

any other questions we should be asking?

thanks
 
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Cadubya

Autocross Newbie
Any agm from your local auto parts store. They're all pretty much the same no matter the brand.
 

bebersol

Ready to race!
Braille is listed as a Graphoid Company, a Canadian conglomerate focused on the graphite products (e.g. carbon fiber case for Braille batteries).

Odyssey is an EnerSys company they also manufacture Hawker and Genesis batteries.

Optima was bought by Johnson Controls not Intestate.
 

Cadubya

Autocross Newbie
Braille is listed as a Graphoid Company, a Canadian conglomerate focused on the graphite products (e.g. carbon fiber case for Braille batteries).

Odyssey is an EnerSys company they also manufacture Hawker and Genesis batteries.

Optima was bought by Johnson Controls not Intestate.



You can get Braille at autozone? Choose as you wish. It pretty much just marketing.
 

Natemk6

Passed Driver's Ed
The varta in my 2012 GTI needed a jump this morning so I'm probably just going to get a new battery so I don't have to deal with it again.

I think I'm going to go with the autozone duralast platinum agm. It's currently $1 less than their duralast gold flooded battery.

I have also read that most batteries are made by the same companies like Johnson controls etc so they are all pretty much the same


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

bebersol

Ready to race!
The R requires a Group 47 Battery, the Group 48 doesn't fit. I assuming the GTI was able to fit the Group 48 battery....
 

bebersol

Ready to race!
I ended up buying the Odyssey, slightly smaller than the OEM, about the same weight.

On the first start I realized just how weak the Varta was, It cranked and turned over twice as fast (anecdotal). I've also noticed an apparent slight bump in my mileage, better spark?

I kinda wish I got the the next size down, about a 10 lb savings.
 

TimS

Go Kart Newbie
The R requires a Group 47 Battery, the Group 48 doesn't fit. I assuming the GTI was able to fit the Group 48 battery....

I'm running a Group 48 in my R. I had to leave the little insulation wrap off, but it fits in the battery box just fine.
 

bebersol

Ready to race!
I think the deka you're looking at is superior to the OEM Varta. The varta in my car was rated at 480 CCA and the deka looks like it's at 600 CCA. I was more likely to run my battery down listening to the radio while working on the car. The coolant pump and fans only run for a few minutes after shutoff, and the fuel pump runs for a couple seconds on driver's door open.

I tried to stay away from the Johnson controls batteries too.

Anecdotally the optimas that are pre johnson controls are superior the post johnson controls. I had an old red top that lasted 7 years and was still strong when I sold the car. I've heard of the terminals falling of new optimas.
 

TimS

Go Kart Newbie
Johnson Controls ruined Optima. From what I can tell, East Penn brands are the only ones worth spending the money on - Deka and NAPA's in-house brand.

I'm running the NAPA BAT9848, which looks to be a rebranding of Deka's 9A48.
 

Bozz

Go Kart Champion
Anecdotally the optimas that are pre johnson controls are superior the post johnson controls. I had an old red top that lasted 7 years and was still strong when I sold the car. I've heard of the terminals falling of new optimas.

I had an old school Optima in my Explorer, and like you, I got rid of it. Mine was 9 years old, and I replaced it because I thought I was doing preventative maintenance. Really dumb move.

I could have used my desulphator and who knows how long it would have lasted.

I'm going to get a Deka next time, because I want to support East Penn. Good to know about Napa using those too.
 

ChurchXD

Passed Driver's Ed
I have an optima that I installed 5 months ago red top. I'm happy with it

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iceorbital1

New member
For those with the deka 47 or 48, can you share pics? I'm concern the oem battery is rated 72ah vs 60ah for the deka 47, and i'm concern of the 48 been to large. I have a 2012 golf r.
 
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