mjrstar Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I am looking to continue making the starlet slightly more legit, and a proper battery mount is on the list, as it's a hatch and the battery isn't under the bonnet I have been looking at dry cell as an option, saves on pissing around with a properly vented box..the car has just the engine to run and the lights/wipers etc.. no massive stereo or anything silly like that. the engine pretty much fires up within about 2-3 seconds of cranking when hot or cold.. http://www.batterydirect.co.nz/vertex_d ... attery.htm these seem to be sharply priced, but i wanted to know if anyone has used one and was it any good etc..I don't want to go down this path if it ends up needing constant jump starting. Also keen on other suggestions. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 looks like what spencer used to use, but i'm sure his were throw away back up batteries from work. we run something similar at the factory enquire as to grabbing a couple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slacker.cam Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I did quite a bit of research into sealed starting batteries about a month ago and these batteries were what I decided was the best bang for buck. I'm not sure how good they are but it's likely that they have just found a Chinese SLA with good CCAs and just stuck their sticker on it. All of the Odyssey, Varley and other name brand batteries are 2-4 times the price. That doesn't really answer your question at all does it... I'm keen to get one of these for my car before Nats so maybe I could try and organise a discount for buying a few of them. I think Zep could be interested too. There was no answer when I called just now so I'll try again a bit later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJZ Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 My old boss uses one in his Targa car, he recommended my mate buy one which ended up dying after maybe a year, probably from not being very well maintained, you really need the correct charger for them (which are around $100ish from the same place). He replaced it with another Vertex battery and it's still going sweet - this is cranking over a 3L V6 with the battery mounted in the boot. They have very small bolts for the terminals though, only 5mm from memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikuni Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Those seem very well priced. Cool that they offer a discount to car clubs also. I can't vouch for the quality of the Vertex batteries but I am using an ex-alarm system dry cell in my track car and it has been really good. I haven't used the car much but I have started it up several times which doing the engine conversion and trying to get it running and I was amazed at the cranking power of such a small battery. I think the CCA (cold cranking amps) rating tells a lot and 300 should be more than enough for your car. My battery is slightly larger than the one pictured though, about 1.5 times that size. Also in that blurb it says you can use any charger, but a low amp one is recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kritta Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 not sure about vertex, but have just learnt a shitload about optima...in a nutshell, beware what you buy these days as manufacturers are going away from lead acid to calcium...or calcium/calcium..or in some newer cases, calcium/silver...all of these batterys require specialised chargers which will constantly monitor the batterys condition, and discharge ad recharge as the battery requires...around 200-250.00 per charger, depending on brand.....also putting modern calcium batterys in old school vehicles, requires an alternator upgrade as the regulator will not provide enough charging current...unfortunately this is way of the future....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 keen to jump on board if someone is looking at a group buy or has some sweet contacts.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eke_zetec_RWD Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 same battery as most electrical shops sell. jaycar ect. jaycar says $95 so trade somewhere will be cheaper. i got one in my lotus. lasted about 4 years before getting lazy at holding charge. il deff buy another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 are the ones from jaycar at that money drycell or a SLA.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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