I don't think I would say "best" but Ive had good luck with Optima red tops. So that's what I voted for.
In my opinion you get what you pay for with batteries. Every seller has at least three or four to pick from. Good, better, best, etc. Depends on how long you intend to keep the car assuming you get one with enough amp capcity for your car.
I am nothing but impressed with xs power batteries. Incredible power, sgm and can mount any way but upside down. Also a much smaller battery will turn over a car with no issues, And they make 16v version as well.
i shocked myself with my own vote. i just had to say optima since the one in my roadmaster wagon was bought around y2k and its still goin strong.... even sometimes sitting 3 or 4 days in temps below 0 degrees it still cranks the car right over.
consumer reports did a battery test several years ago and in the top 3 was a duralast. i have the duralast batteries in all my vehicles, i never had any problems. the racecar has a duralast and i get 5 years out of it then i put it in another car or the trailer.
An optima battery is made by interstate. As far as the best battery I would have to go with would have to be a lithionic battery. They weight the least and they help the alternator put out a consistent 14.5 volts witch makes for a more hotter spark witch will burn fuel more efficient witch will make more HP. Also, they have a never die feature witch will always leave enough juice to start a vehicle even if the battery is completely dead. They aren't very price friendly with prices in the $500 and up range but, you won't have to buy a new battery in 12-15yrs. http://www.lithionicsbattery.com
Optima I believe is made by Johnson Controls, not Interstate. JC also makes the batteries for Walmart. The ones at Walmart have a 4 year full replacement warranty at a good price and they are black. The lenght of the full replacement warranty and the looks to me are the key. The Walmart batteries also accept a topper for the original look. I believe Johnson Controls makes Kirkland brand batteries sold by Costco in your poll. They also may make Diehard brand sold by Sears. JC also makes the Motorcraft brand listed in your poll. So it seems to me that unless you add up all the JC made batteries under various names, the poll is misleading. For cars that are shown with the hood opens Interstate and the Optima brand are too odd ball in the looks category to be used.
Maybe today, JC makes those batteries, but what about 14 years ago when we bought all those batteries? Before they were bought out by JC? Just asking. Even if Johnson Controls made them back then, JC may make the battery, but the specifications are determined by the buyer, ie brand name. JC can make any number of different quality batteries, low to high spec, so the poll is actually not misleading. Each brand has its own spec, and is usually priced accordingly. Brand with the best specs win!
Thanks Jim but I do not think it is misleading as the average Joe purchases there battery by brand name and has no clue of manufacturer. I look at the list and realize that I did miss a brand or two but I think they will be covered in the commentsou:
I had a NAPA 900CCA, 84 month battery on the 76 electra winter beater that fired it up with minimal effort at 15 below zero and hot/humid 95 degree temps of Minneapolis(hard to believe it gets to 95 considering the winter we've had). I had the car for 10 years...battery was replaced when I bought it, it was still running strong when I sold it. Soooooo.....it went two years(?) after the designated 7years it supposed to? Note this though...I'm pretty thorough in my fleet maintenance so I have no failures in 20 below zero weather. That means every summer, as part of my maintenanace, I was testing the electrical system to make sure there was normal charging as well as clean battery terminals and making sure cells were topped off with distilled water. IF there was even a hint of issue with alternator or wiring, I replaced it. So that may have added the additional two years onto the battery.
I've had the most luck with NAPA batteries. edit; NAPA batteries were at one time an Exide product for all but the north east U.S. East Penn made the NAPA batteries for the northeast. East Penn now makes all NAPA batteries for the U.S. I've got NAPA battery in the Roadmaster. It's the best battery it's ever had.
The best battery I ever had was in a car I bought at a swap meet. It had "REMANUFACTURED" hot stamped on the top. I could not kill that thing and wish I knew where to get another. More important than the battery is the charger you use. If you get a de-sulfating charger and put it on for a day every couple of months your battery will last a longtime. I have a BatteryMINDer. I've taken batteries that have laid on concrete for years and brought them back to life! I have 13 cars and a forklift, I just move it from car to car, it's always on something.
NAPA Duralast is now made by Interstate as I recall. They have a very short warranty even on their premium model. When I checked recently it was I think 18 months for a full repalcement where Everstart from Walmart in 48 months. They were about the same price. Here are some comments on Optima: "Optima has long been the default "best" expensive battery for the muscle car and hot rod owners. Unfortunately, since the manufacturing location was moved from the States to Mexico a few years back, there have been a high incident of returns and complaints per several car forums." "Just wanted to let you know that Optima Battery isn't honoring its warranty provisions. Instead of allowing consumers to go to any authorized Optima dealership or distributor for warranty service, as their written warranty maintains - Optima Battery unreasonably insists consumers only get service from the company that sold them their battery. This caveat would be fine - if the warranty was written that way, but it isn't. The problem arises because many consumers buy Optima Batteries online. The sellers can be thousands of miles away. By refusing to honor it's warranty provisions - Optima Battery forces online consumers to spend large sums of money shipping back malfunctioning batteries and obtaining replacements. Optima Battery's warranty service hurdle puts a chilling effect on consumers ability to get warranty service - as it can cost $80.00 or more in shipping costs to get an Optima Battery warranty honored."
Interestingly, I just got an email ad from NAPA. It is now, as you say, an 18 month warranty for the two lower tier batteries. The premium (84 month) battery has a 24 month warranty (still half of Walmart's). And, NAPA also offers Optima batteries
I have always been high on Interstate but when my 65 month battery went bad today in the snow and interstate says that this model now has only a 48 month warranty, and that would apply for mine, I said no thanks. It was 52 months old. I have had my convertible since 1998, only replaced the battery once (Delco)
I'm not sure what the best is, but I've gotten to the point that I hate the auto zone Duralasts. None of the terminals fit properly with any of my top post cars. I've damaged two separate negative cables on two cars trying to get them tight enough. The last round have only lasted about 2.5 years as well.
