Battery Recommendation

[Lorenzo]

The above post from chipbeck restores my faith in the O.E.M. battery.
I have been watching this with the thought that any day now my original battery will give out. My 06 was built in Dec 05 and is still working fine. first thing monday i will see if my ford dealer might have one with the GT logo on top but im wondering if they actually do, just how long have they had it, mabie it's as old as the one i already have?? How old do you think it would be if they actually have one? :eek

 

[KJRGT]

I've had a very similar experience to Chip with my red top Optima in my 70 Boss 302. Granted, not the electrical requirements as the FGT, but it came back perfect and has been alive for over 2 years.
Sure sounds like these batteries are all over the board in their performance.:eek

 

[JCSB]

Well maybe I'll try them one more time (7th time). If if works out great, if not I'll be an ardent detractor. I hope I'm proven wrong.

John

 

[junior]

My only comment would be that the battery may not have been fresh when received as such I suspect that the one in your GT is a sour unit.

The Optima red tops do not like to be allowed to become discharged nor do they like to be quick charged; if either of these situations occurs IMO the battery in junk however if used properly and as design they last a very long time.

Takes care

Shadowman

How can one tell if the battery is fresh at the time of purchase? (take a voltmeter to the store ?)

 

[OzGT]

My only comment would be that the battery may not have been fresh when received as such I suspect that the one in your GT is a sour unit.

The Optima red tops do not like to be allowed to become discharged nor do they like to be quick charged; if either of these situations occurs IMO the battery in junk however if used properly and as design they last a very long time.

Takes care

Shadowman

How can one tell if the battery is fresh at the time of purchase? (take a voltmeter to the store ?)

I agree with Shadowman. I've been using Optimas for years now, both yellow standard and Red deep cycle versions. Having had 2 cars both with them in the last several years that both have had long time periods of standing either from lack of use or way too much workshop time, I can attest to how many I've had which have fallen over well before their normal lifespan due to remaining completely discharged for too long. So nowadays, even at home, I pay attention to keeping them charged properly. It would be extremely poor form for a store to have a discharged battery in stock for sale, let alone being quite ridiculous actually. As long as the battery is sold in new working condition i.e. able to hold a charge properly, then it is 'fresh'.

 

[tpraceman]

Odyssey batteries are FANTASTIC. We run them in every one of our race cars and have had nothing but flawless performance out of them.

I must agree I have had them in my race cars with 10 year average life.
These guys are regulars at the performance racing industry show and if thye were not as good as their claims these guys would not last 5 minutes in the hard core racing show.

Anyhow I am replacing 1 in my 69 cougar drag car which is 12 years old and yes on a battery tender.

This link tells a few of the reasons why but I recomend you click on the racing battery versions.

My .02 cents

http://www.odysseyfactory.com/batteries.html

 

[junior]

OK, I'll bite. Maybe I missed it in this thread, but their website does not show a model for the GT :confused

'

I must agree I have had them in my race cars with 10 year average life.
These guys are regulars at the performance racing industry show and if thye were not as good as their claims these guys would not last 5 minutes in the hard core racing show.

Anyhow I am replacing 1 in my 69 cougar drag car which is 12 years old and yes on a battery tender.

This link tells a few of the reasons why but I recomend you click on the racing battery versions.

My .02 cents

http://www.odysseyfactory.com/batteries.html

 

[paul b]

Try XVIPERS, they show one on their website,$189

 

[Midnite Blu]

The only Odyssey that fits a FGT.....

OK, I'll bite. Maybe I missed it in this thread, but their website does not show a model for the GT :confused

'

Tony at West Coast Batteries in Corona, Calif. 888-3792555 has been kind enough to send his truck to me to establish the model battery that fits our gals. After checking his product line we found only one model # 25-PC1400..that will fit our case. Earlier on this thread the model #34-PC1500 was said to fit...wrong...........it's too long for our case. The 25-PC1400 has much better specs. than the OEM and fits without removing the front splitter etc.

 

[RedGT]

There is a post on Intestate Batteries website that shows how to properly charge an Optima. As pointed out by several, they don't do well if recharged quickly.

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/4767/pictureuj6.jpg

 

[HeritageBruce]

I've been using an Odyssey 925 for years in a Lotus with no issue. Just be sure not to do a regular battery tender to maintain its charge as 12 to 14 volts is not enough to charge the Odyssey's. What is interesting is that the cigarette lighter charger that comes w/ the GT puts out 15.2V when I measured it w/ a volt meter. Perfect for the Odyssey so I had been using it to maintain the Lotus. BTW I will never buy an Optima as I have had so many failed on me, it isn't even funny. And yes my OEM Optima still works because it has been on the Tender and one time when I took the car to Kendall for service, Kendall told me the car almost didn't turn over after only being there 3 or 4 days. And I have had the same experience at home so I don't dare not to plug the battery in after each trip.
I'm too lazy to look but do our cars have a 3 or 4 year warranty?

 

[junior]

3 year, 36K miles, which ever comes first, just like the station wagon Focus :rofl

 

[junior]

Tony at West Coast Batteries in Corona, Calif. 888-3792555 has been kind enough to send his truck to me to establish the model battery that fits our gals. After checking his product line we found only one model # 25-PC1400..that will fit our case. Earlier on this thread the model #34-PC1500 was said to fit...wrong...........it's too long for our case. The 25-PC1400 has much better specs. than the OEM and fits without removing the front splitter etc.

Thanks, I'll call Tony, hopefully there is a local dealer in Orange County. I'm on my 3rd Optima in less than 2 years, still scratching my head, one flawless Optima in almost 3 years in my ZO6, 3rd one in my F-GT in less than 2 years (excluding the stock) . :confused

 

[t32b]

Re the post asking if anyone has any experience with Braille batteries, I have had one in my Porsche for a few months. It's the (larger) carbon model (recommended by Braille because I have an electron-thirsty convertible top) but it's still only 21 lbs (http://www.braillebattery.com/index.php/batteries/b3121c/) and is hysterically small. It's pretty funny to hold your car battery in the palm of your hand when placing it in the brackets. It has modest power (550 cca if I recall accurately) but between being a frequently driven car, living in moderate weather and willing to trickle charge it if I think I'm going to leave the car sitting for more than a week, it seems to be working just fine. My suspicion (though no way to corroborate) is that their materials and production process would make it likely that they are long lasting so long as they are well maintained. I'm a techie eco weenie, so I just couldn't resist.
They do have a non-carbon Group 34 model with far more cca's. I presume that would fit our GT's?

 

[jrz]

Re the post asking if anyone has any experience with Braille batteries, I have had one in my Porsche for a few months. It's the (larger) carbon model (recommended by Braille because I have an electron-thirsty convertible top) but it's still only 21 lbs (http://www.braillebattery.com/index.php/batteries/b3121c/) and is hysterically small. It's pretty funny to hold your car battery in the palm of your hand when placing it in the brackets. It has modest power (550 cca if I recall accurately) but between being a frequently driven car, living in moderate weather and willing to trickle charge it if I think I'm going to leave the car sitting for more than a week, it seems to be working just fine. My suspicion (though no way to corroborate) is that their materials and production process would make it likely that they are long lasting so long as they are well maintained. I'm a techie eco weenie, so I just couldn't resist.
They do have a non-carbon Group 34 model with far more cca's. I presume that would fit our GT's?

How would the mount be modified for this battery? List price is $249.99

 

[PHIL HAMMOND]

Optima batteries are over priced, over rated junk, but that is just my opinion.

My 2006 Heritage Gt would not hold a charge after only one year, even though I had a battery maintainer on it continually.

After research from consumers reports findings, I went and replaced it with a like size "EVERSTART MAXX" northern model from Walmart, don't laugh, they are great batteries.

Dead Optimas will not take a normal charge, until I learned this trick from the Optima battery's research department. In order to charge a dead Optima battery, you have to hook your charger to a good battery FIRST, then attach jumper cables from the good battery to the dead Optima to fool it into charging !

It did charge again, but I didn't trust it at that point and opted for a decent replacement.

 

[ssgnrdz_28]

Re the post asking if anyone has any experience with Braille batteries, I have had one in my Porsche for a few months. It's the (larger) carbon model (recommended by Braille because I have an electron-thirsty convertible top) but it's still only 21 lbs (http://www.braillebattery.com/index.php/batteries/b3121c/) and is hysterically small. It's pretty funny to hold your car battery in the palm of your hand when placing it in the brackets. It has modest power (550 cca if I recall accurately) but between being a frequently driven car, living in moderate weather and willing to trickle charge it if I think I'm going to leave the car sitting for more than a week, it seems to be working just fine. My suspicion (though no way to corroborate) is that their materials and production process would make it likely that they are long lasting so long as they are well maintained. I'm a techie eco weenie, so I just couldn't resist.
They do have a non-carbon Group 34 model with far more cca's. I presume that would fit our GT's?

OK, I don't own a GT [yet] but do own a Viper and they seem to use the same size battery. I work with Braille on a few projects for IndyCar [No I don't sell them] and here is the information I have from them. Hope it helps. Doug

Lithium delivers a higher, cleaner voltage which improves the performance of every electrical component and has shown to provide: quicker starting, improved management & data logging performance, less horsepower draw from the alternator due to efficient charging (5 times faster than lead), will last 3-5 times longer, more reliable, all on top of the significant weight savings. They also don’t self-discharge, so if the battery is disconnected, they can sit for over a year and still have over 13 volts to start the vehicle.

It is due to these reasons that Braille Lithium is currently being used in every Indycar, every car in the DTM (Audi/BMW/Mercedes) and SuperGT (Nissan/Honda/Lexus/Subaru) series, nearly every car in the American Le Mans series (factory Corvettes, Vipers, Ferrari, Porsche, BMW), Formula 1 and top teams in NASCAR, drag racing, off-road, Rally, along with the Porsche GT3 Cup champions in Germany & Canada and so on.


As for AGM options, we have seen Viper guys (also hundreds of C6 Corvette guys) running our 21 pound B3121 battery. This option saves about 20 pounds and is half the size, but does not give you the electrical performance benefits and long life of lithium. Cost is similar to an Optima. http://www.braillebattery.com/index.php/braille/product_batteries/b3121


Our B6034 would be the same weight/size of OE but more powerful option in a sealed AGM battery.

http://www.braillebattery.com/index.php/braille/product_batteries/b6034


The I34CX would be the lightweight lithium drop-in replacement at only 10.2 pounds and a true carbon fiber case.

http://www.braillebattery.com/index.php/braille/product_batteries/i34cx

The only thing to be pay attention to with the super lightweight models is that they have less capacity than OE, so the car can’t sit as long without a charger. The model below will have the same sitting time (capacity) as the OE battery.


The I34CS is the high output/high capacity model at 17.5 pounds and comes in a true carbon fiber case with 2500 pulse cranking amps.

http://www.braillebattery.com/index.php/braille/product_batteries/i34cs


The I34S is the battery used in the SRT Viper race cars and at 19 pounds, it has 2320 pulse cranking amps and comes in a standard thermal plastic case.

http://www.braillebattery.com/index.php/braille/product_batteries/i34s


Being that the Viper uses a Group 34 model, we have both the Intensity and Carbon Intensity versions. For a couple hundred bucks more, the Carbon fiber model definitely looks more the part than the Intensity models which look like a stock battery but much lighter and more powerful. At least we can say the same technology used in the factory race cars can be in their cars!


We always recommend a 2 amp lithium charger for the lithium batteries and most chargers for lead/AGM batteries are fine for our AGM products.

 

[Xcentric]

Braille Battery is located right here in sunny Sarasota, and, the "Director of Motorsports and OEM" at Braille, Gary Savage, is also a Sarasota Café Racer. If anyone is interested in a lithium application, he is easy to reach on Facebook.