Duralast

[pre98zetec 10+ year member]

he probably bought a used one which are 35 now, use to be 25.

 

[smoka 10+ year member]

Interstates are some of the better aftermarket batts. Much better than duralast etc.

 

[goodguy8705 10+ year member]

Okay, so I think I've narrowed it down to the Deka Intimidator and the Interstate Mega-Tron.

So... which do I go with?

 

[atlbraves]

deka

 

[goodguy8705 10+ year member]

That's the way I was leaning, I just wanted to see if anyone could give me a reason to go for Interstate.

So, where is the cheapest place to get the Deka?

 

[swat2380 10+ year member]

According to last years ConsumerReports the Interstate's are about junk and the Duralast was an excellent battery. I know these change from year to year but just a thought. Actually they were praising a NAPA GOLD in almost every category.

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

I plan on upgrading to a 200 amp alternator, and everyone keeps telling me to upgrade my battery as well but my budget doesn't really allow for one.
I can get a Duralast GOLD for just over $100 and was wondering if Duralast makes decent enough batteries.

The system will be about 1200-1500 rms.

You can get a better battery for just a little more. Buy the Deka Intimidator.

Yea im running a duralast gold at the moment as well until I get my yellow top in the next week or two. I got nothing special hooked up at the moment, a simple crunch 2 channel bridged to a single 12. Its not a bad battery, just a flooded cell.

That is all you need to know about that!

I will never buy a Duralast again. What a pos. For anothe $30 you can get a Deka intimidator.

Truth!

Duralast are decent batteries, but overpriced IMO. If you want to do some research, they are made by Johnson Controls.

Did you know the Optima is a subsidiary of JC?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if your alternator can supply more than enough amperage, isn't the battery less important? I was under the impression the battery backed up the alternator if it couldn't provide the current.

Yes and no. If you are building a competition vehicle that will play test tones, you can get away with 100% alt power, as long as the alt can make enough amperage.

If you are going to be playing music however, even the biggest alt would have trouble keeping up with the dynamic load that music produces. Since there is no way to make your alt predict bass notes, it can only react to the notes. The problem is, by the time the alt sees the additional load, the note has already played and it is too late to push more power. This is where good batteries come in to play.

Standard flooded batteries are slow to respond to the dynamic music just as your alt is. Also, flooded batteries are made to supply power for up to 30 continuous seconds to start an engine. They are not designed for repetitive short bursts that music requires.

Newer AGM batteries are designed exactly for this style of load. They are quick on their feet, like a cap, and have much more capacity in the same size as a flooded cell. They are a win-win. The only downside is the up front cost to buy one. Look around and deals can be had. You just have to do some homework to find a good deal.

According to last years ConsumerReports the Interstate's are about junk and the Duralast was an excellent battery. I know these change from year to year but just a thought. Actually they were praising a NAPA GOLD in almost every category.

Since when was ConsumerReports regarded as a car audio aficionado organization? They are talking about starting cars. They have no clue or concern about car audio.

 

[pre98zetec 10+ year member]

i beleive interstate was bought out quite some time ago, and their quality has went to shit.

 

[stl_style 10+ year member]

I'm currently running a duralast gold 1000 crank, and my stock bat 800 crank. I understand cold crank amps have little to do with car audio, just wanted to give a relative size of the bats. I'm running 1 T20001BD and a cadence 600.4 and a stock 160amp alt. My voltage drops to resting bat voltage during bass hits, but it works on full tilt with minimal light dim. What I have noticed: if there is a long bass note 30 secs or longer, my set will not play as loud. You can distinguish when the drop in power actually occurs. I will be upgrading to a HO Alt and G31 AGM bats, soon!

 

[smoka 10+ year member]

Some of you guys know what you are talking about but most have no clue!

Johnson Controls has around 80% market share of after market batteries. They make Interstate, Duralast, generic Walmart, even Energizer car batteries all in the same factory.

In one plant they make over 20 brands! There is really not much difference between types of batteries, but there are several main factors that go into how a batt performs. There is the shape of the plates, the plate count, and the thickness of the plates. They generally sell the batts based on the amount of lead used. Then the buyer puts their name on it and charges whatever they want.

Like Loopkiller mentioned, there are car starting batteries, and there are car audio batteries. One goes under your hood and one goes in your trunk.

If you want something for under your hood, Duralast is good, but I think Interstate or a red top would be slightly better. If you want something for your trunk, then look into the deep cycle batts such as Deka.

I don't know too much about deep cycle batts in relation to car audio, but in my opinion I would not choose Deka for a deep cycle. They are made my East Penn. You can see their plant on Modern Marvels 'Lead'. If you watch that you'll see their quality looks like crap.

 

[badvlvo 10+ year member]

smoka is right, it's a good starting battery but not a good audio battery.

Look at http://mechman.com/store/index.php/cPath/1

I have an XS Power in my Volvo. It's only running about 650rms total, it's a small system, but works great and it's about 15lbs lighter than the original battery. I am installing a pair of the D3400 in my Cummins Dodge to support my needs.