[SILVY968]

Larry,

Is it the 34R?

What about it being close to the hood? and jimr said "I had to make a custom bracket to hold it down and also had to extend the negative cable slightly. "

Is this a drop in or do I need to make cable length adjustments and custom battery mounts?

Is your red top another model #?

If so, what is the number and do you have to spec reversed terminals or is that identified by the part number?

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[rustech]

I don't recall if it's the 34R or the 35R, but on mine, I had to flatten the mounting bracket, curl the lip of the edge that sits on the battery, and lengthen the mounting hole for it to hold. I also had to untangle and straighten the negative cable for it to reach...so yes, it's not a perfect drop in solution.



I think it only saved 6lbs over my Die Hard, but it does have great cranking amps.

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[Beachboy]

I have the diehard, drop in perfect fit. There is a very large variation in quality of batteries. They all work fine when new, it's the long haul where they show their weaknesses, as stated above the cold temps really test them. Because the interiors are not visible you would have to tear them apart to check them out. I have seen two tests where this was done and it backs up my experience. That plus Consumer reports tests.

In general the el-cheapos from Autozone etc. are el-cheapos in substance, avoid.

The Diehards get consistently high marks, I have not seen Optimas tested.

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[Larry Currie]

The cable was tight, but it reached. Otherwise it was a drop in. I don't remember the number.

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[rustech]

Ok, so it looks as if the 35R and the 34R will work in our cars.



The specs:



35R

Former Model No.: NA

Volts: 12

Amp Hours: 4

CCA @ 0deg F: 720

CA @ 32deg F: 910

J240 Life Cycle: 10-12,000

Deep Cycles: ~50

Reserve Minutes: 90

Lbs: 33.1

L: 9"

W: 6.7"

H: 7.8"





34R

Former Model No.: 800S

Volts: 12

Amp Hours: 50

CCA @ 0deg F: 800

CA @ 32deg F: 980

J240 Life Cycle: 10-12,000

Deep Cycles: ~50

Reserve Minutes: 104

Lbs: 38.8

L: 10"

W: 6.8"

H: 7.8"





There really is no way either of these can be installed with their width of 6.7"-6.8" without any modification to the mounting fasteners (or other creative means), when properly and securely installed. The side of the battery is even ramped which makes fastening a bit more challenging. It's not difficult, but takes some extra work.

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[bob blackwell]

Just went out and checked the number on my Optima battery and it is SC35A which was a direct drop in fit with the retainer for the bottom side of the battery a good fit as well. The negative cable had to be straightened out in order to fit but that was not difficult and it works fine. Installed it prior to the marathon drive back to Washington DC last spring and it has worked great ever since, I also installed a new starter and alternator at the same time. (Did not want any electrical problems on that long trip!) Good luck, Bob Blackwell.

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[rustech]

Mine too is SC35A w/ reversed terminals. Feel free to supply a photo of both sides of your battery for I can see the installation means (and I will do the same). I'm not the first to have to "be creative" to install this battery. But apparently there is some discrepancy. Did you install yours yourself?

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[Beachboy]

My latest issue of Consumer Reports came today and refutes my previuos post. For group 35 batteries the top three rated are Napa Legend, Everstart Wal-Mart(!!),Autocraft (Advance Auto) with DieHard and Interstate low on the list which tested Longevity,Reserve capacity,Cold Cranking Amps.

The Autozone Duralast, Diehard weather handler, and Interstate megatron were all rated as fair (not acceptable) in the life test for size 35 batteries.

Interesting though the Duralast for size 65 batteries is one of the top rated models and the Walmart batteries are rated at the top of the charts accross the board of battery sizes with the Diehards at the bottom accross the board and the Diehards are always more $.

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[Brian]

my old die hard battery was dying hard, so i replaced it this weekend with an optima model 35 with red top.

the +/- terminals were backwards, so i had to do some creative wiring.

the positive (forward) terminal is just a touch high. i have a heavy rubber boot over the terminal, plus i installed a heavy rubber self-adhesive building tape on the underside of the hood just for peace of mind. i greased it up and checked for a transfer of grease from the boot to the tape. there's just a touch.

the battery and terminals fit, but without the boot and rubber tape, i would not recommend this for anyone else.

i do have a trickle charger mounted in the car (which i probably don't need anymore with this new battery). if i remove it and it's little bracket, that will give me back 1/8" or so. i'm also going to check out to see if they have a slighly different battery terminal that might shift the wiring aft an inch or so.



anyone who's looking at doing this themselves, a couple thoughts from a real novice...

first, make sure you push the battery as far back as possible toward the windshield.

second, you'll have to make/modify the battery hold down bracket. the current one is a tad short to grab the lip on the battery. i made one out of wood and it's working very well.

third, if you switch the locations where the positive and negative cables come through the firewall on the front side of the battery box, you'll gain a couple inches on the negative cable and lose some of the extra inches on the positive cable. both will help a ton.



i'll post again when i get the new terminal. this battery is so much better than my old one, i can't believe it. once i clean out my starter, i think the car will start like new.

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[Beachboy]

Don't stop using the charger if your car sits around for a week between usages. Keeping it charged will help live long and propser. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[rustech]

second, you'll have to make/modify the battery hold down bracket. the current one is a tad short to grab the lip on the battery.

Thank you.



Side note: are you sure you would just like to get the Optima with reversed terminals? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Brian]

i wish i had bought the reversed terminal battery. i grabbed it at sears right at closing time. the wife made me go baby clothes shopping for hours with her. i didn't mind too much, since we got to take the 968.

however, with the time crunch, i didn't notice if they had the reverse terminal batteries in stock. i just grabbed one and ran. to be honest, not only would it be better to get the reverse one to avoid re-routing the wires, but it would also be safer since there's a tad more 'headroom' on the windshield side under the hood than on the front side under the hood. who really cares if the negative terminal should happen to touch the hood. but if the positive side should touch the hood, god help us.

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[Brian]

an update for anyone like me who makes mountains of mole hills.

i went to the local auto parts store last night and bought a $2 battery terminal for my positive post. it looks like a very heavy metal strap that goes around the battery post with it's own post that you can hook the positive cables up to. i put it on in about five minutes and the clearance is fine now.

i still wouldn't use this (optima) battery in any configuration w/o a heavy rubber boot over the positive post.

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[odb812]

I just emailed optima and they said that they don't make a 35r, but rather the regular 35 model is reversed. Can anyone out there with a 35 battery verify this? By the way, thanks for the info on the 34 and the 35 Rustech.

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[bob blackwell]

Todd, I have the Optima SC35A and it fits with no problem. Not too high and the cables bolted right on ater stretching the ground cable out a bit. The battery hold down clamp fits as well. As a precaution I glued two pieces of floor mat to the hood above each terminal in the off chance that the battery ever came loose and I hit a bump causing the positive terminal to contact the hood, but I really think that is far fetched and not really necessary. Good luck, Bob Blackwell.

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[porsche]

Hey 968ers,



I've done the home work for putting an Optima battery in a 968.



A direct "bolt in" Optima battery is the "SC35A"



Available from:



batteriesareus.com



It has the correct "reverse" posts and uses the factory hold-downs.



Here are some pictures of the battery installed:



   



   



Porsche

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[odb812]

I just finished my homework on the Optima battery and here is what I found. The 'A' at the end of SC35A is important, this is the alternate(reversed terminal) version, like the 'R' at the end of the SC34R. Why the use an A in one application and an R in the other, I don't know, but keep your eyes out, the ones I found at AutoZone are the standard SC35.



Second, Optima does not endorse this 8 min charge and 8 min rest method of charging their batteries. They say they don't know how the rumor started, but their batteries can be charged just like any battery so long as you don't charge it at more than 15V.



Lastly, the bracket just barely reaches the bottom lip of the battery which doesn't easy my nerves about it at all, so I would reccomend straightening the bottom portion of the bracket and extending the hole.

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[BigL2U]

Well gents the Sears DieHard International I bought in February '05 (see fisrt post in this thread) has finally died. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/mad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> My car hasn't been started since January and when I tried to charge the battery the charger reported a shorted cell. So I was going to order the Optima Red Top mentioned here but first I was taking the Die Hard back to Sears, because it came with a 100 month warranty (36 months full replacement).



We'll after waiting at the counter for 15 minutes, with no one in sight, a sales rep shows up. He apologized for the wait and began to work with me. The original battery cost $99 and the remaining prorated value was $82.. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> Sears now charges $129 for the battery. Since I was so cordial with him, after waiting, and the battery was only a few months past the full replacement time. The sales guy said he'd sale me a new Die Hard Int for $29. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/ohmy.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



I have a brand new battery with 100 month warranty... From a longevity standpoint the Die Hard is not the best. But the warranty has definitely made up for its short comings. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/tongue.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[bob blackwell]

Good job! you just can't beat Sears and their warranty program. Good luck, Bob Blackwell.

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[wingers]

[quote name='bob blackwell' post='55672' date='Jul 1 2008, 12:54 PM']Good job! you just can't beat Sears and their warranty program. Good luck, Bob Blackwell.[/quote]

Was the battery terminal disconected while the car was laid up.

The imoboliser alarm has a contant drain on the battery as does a failing altenator diode.

Worth a check maybe.

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