What's the best replacement battery?

[curtis]

I need a new one, what the best for the Smart?

[24-42]

Originally Posted by curtis

I need a new one, what the best for the Smart?

Do a search on this forum: Optima 34/78.

Donald LaFavor

[VinceLA]

If $ not an issue, I'd go with voltphreaks.com. I have one in my track car and it works wonder. Voltphreaks might plan on releasing a 2lb battery for the smart car.

[SuperGeek]

Wow, over a grand for a battery... nanolithium... isn't that the same tech that's supposedly in the electric car's future?

I think I'll go the Optima route, if it's worth the extra hundred bucks. I can (for most cars) get a deep cycle/combo battery from Autozone for under 80 bucks, but the Optima's got a reputation for great handling of load spikes and such. Do we have any actual Optima owners here? I'm thinking I may as well go with the yellow top, "dual purpose" - starting with deep cycle reserve. Does this battery help at all with the lights dimming on gear changes, etc? (Voltage drops from 14 to 12-13, which is still above the battery storage, so I'm not sure if even the Voltphreaks battery would make a difference in that, would it?)

I think my own stock battery is about 6 months from failure, and rather than drive 300 miles for a warranty replacement, my inclination is to upgrade, which I'm all for anyway.

[Duckhunter]

Optima in mine and voltage on scanguage reads around 14-14.3 volts steady. No dip while shifting, lights do not dim and shifts seem cleaner.

[Godfather]

Durn cheap German/Polish/Spanish/Italian/French/British etc etc batteries......

[SuperGeek]

Originally Posted by Duckhunter

Optima in mine and voltage on scanguage reads around 14-14.3 volts steady. No dip while shifting, lights do not dim and shifts seem cleaner.

Sweet. If that's the case, I'll put that as my number one upgrade. Maybe next month.

Could I get opinions from two other Optima owners? Three's a charm, right?

[chieftmc]

The Optima 34R will be the "exact" replacement as the posts are the same orientation as the original.

[Neonspinnazz]

Maybe a nuclear reactor? - just kidding

What about those nice Interstate Batteries that seem to perform exceptionally?

[SuperGeek]

Originally Posted by Neonspinnazz

Maybe a nuclear reactor? - just kidding

What about those nice Interstate Batteries that seem to perform exceptionally?

I've had at least one of those. They last well enough for a mid range battery. Solid, but I don't know if they're superstars. I'm pretty sure the last one I had died after 4 years from alternator failure leading to deep discharge, so I can't exactly blame the battery.