BATTERY! Optima or Diehard?

[DeboLotti 10+ year member]

For my 2 12" L7 ported, im gonna have them on a zx1000.1 (probably more likely) or a zx1500.1. I have an 1800 watt amp wirin kit (pretty sure its 4awg), and Im gonna do the big 3 with 0 awg. In my 2007 pontiac g6 v6 sedan, with stock alt (120 amps is what it said online about it, so i wont change it), do i need to change my OEM battery with a yellowtop or diehard battery? OR can i keep my stock and just put another battery by the amp?if so which battery do you reccomend? Keep in mind im getting 2 headrest screens and a touchscreen pioneer double din, and a neon sign in my trunk with 2 electronic trunk pop actuators, but i never play music without the engine on and running. Any response would be appreciated cuz i been stressin out lookin all over this sight for some answers and really i just see people makin ******** comments to eachother. Thanks!

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[DeboLotti 10+ year member]

Hey thabks keep_hope_alive Ill get on that. Do u have an email I can hit you up with and let you know hw my system is comin along? Lol I doubt thisll be the first time I need help

 

[CRSO 10+ year member]

batteries won't stop your voltage from dropping. adding batteries will increase voltage drop (down to the battery float voltage) since another battery is another load for the alt to charge. voltage drop itself is inherent in EVERY wire that has current. can't avoid it.
you only get 14.4V out of an alternator when it can supply enough current to all of the loads in the car (system, battery charging, car stuff, etc.). once you ask for more than the alternator is providing at that instant, voltage drops. the alt output depends on the engine speed and ability to continue to turn the alt pulley when on a load. the alt is a generator, as you load it up it becomes harder to turn. in general, you get about half the alt output at idle compared to 2500 RPM.

so at idle, with your system cranked and headlights on, you'll get dimming regardless of how many batteries you have. batteries can't help you maintain 14.4V. they can help you maintain 12.5-13V. The drop from 14V to 13V is visible in the headlights.

add a volt meter in the dash somewhere (the cig lighter kind is easy). keep an eye on voltage. note that adding batteries means you have even more to charge. and the weakest battery will drain the new stronger battery, pulling it down.

one good starting battery is enough for most systems. adding batteries adds complexity and cost in wiring and fusing, complexity in mounting/safety, and they take up space.

you should have 1/0 wire between the batteries and fuses on each end of the power wire. upgrading the Big 3 is also recommended.

if it were me, i would get the best up front battery you can afford, and do the big 3. then see where you are at. if you only listen when the car is running, and you have a modest system, that should be plenty.

people that add multiple batteries for "daily drivers" may just have inadequate charging systems and rely on the batteries to power the system and supply instantaneous current. additional batteries are certainly good for peak bass demands (at a lower voltage than the alt). so you get voltage drop which reduces power output, but maybe not as much if you didn't have the extra batteries.

that should confuse you more. cheers.

Excellent!

 

[husker77 10+ year member]

Nice post k.h.a. 10 years ago if you talked about putting in extra batteries you were chastised for the thought, it was just another load like you said.

The other thing I can't really figure out is deep cycle batteries probably are not very good for this application any way. Up to a year ago I was a boat mechanic, anytime someone had starting or charging issues you could almost guarantee they were using a deep cycle(or walmart) battery for their starting battery. They are made to be discharged slowly and then recharged slowly, I wouldn't really think they would like the little "pulls" they would get, then the high recharge rate of a ho alt.

I will say I had a yellow top in my suburban for 2 years, I pulled the battery when I was doing some work and it sat in an unheated garage for over a year. Then I needed a battery for another vehicle, picked it up stuck it in and it started it without a jump or charge. Ran it in there for over a year, then pulled it out and used it in a camper for a while. Finally died when my brother dropped it on something and drove a 1" gash into one of the coils.

 

[disturbed471985 5,000+ posts]

Best budget batt out IMO is Deka. Had zero issues out of my 9a31's for the 2+years I owned them. Look around you can find these used at a very good price I paid 110 shipped for each of mine and got 2 years of usage out of them so they were a great investment. They are in a friends car now and still going strong.

 

[Durango03 10+ year member]

question about the Super Start's. Do you have to go with the AGM? Ive been a little hesitant to drop $1.3k on XS, they claim I need a 1200 ($206) for a starter and 3 x 3100 ($369ea).

This just seems like a better way to go from the information within this thread.

 

[DeboLotti 10+ year member]

I went to autozone and almost bought an optima lol. I'm going to orielly tomorrow to see of they have that HD superstart. If not imgonna try and get the highest ah and cca rating I can afford

 

[DeboLotti 10+ year member]

So if my battery rating is 75 I should try to get the highest cca at that rating, correct?

 

[slim2fattycake 10+ year member]

75 what? and you just need to get the highest aH rating if this is for daily. I don't know why you don't wanna buy snoopdan's deka.

 

[DeboLotti 10+ year member]

Lol I wasn't thinking when I typed that. Its a duralast gold 75-dlg im my car now. And has a reserve capacity of 95... and I'm very insterested in buyin his deka... PM me please lol I still don't know much about this. I just read that its ok if the ccas are a little low as long as the ah is high.. true?