Battery and Housing Upgrade

[tmcintosh3]

Hi ALL,

I am planning to upgrade by battery, as the current one is on its way out and I will be running a light bar and reverse pods. Is there any reason why this setup wouldn't work in a 2003 V8 Sport?



Would I need anything else?

They also offer the dual (back to back OR side by side) battery housing, but I think for what I am running, two batteries is a bit overkill.

Thanks for your help!

 

[riceandpho]

a group 31m will be better choice and fit stock location just fine. the m in the 31 means marine, but it has extra studs so u can connect more stuff to it without using up the battery terminal. join the groupbuy in the classified.

 

[CXS]

Optima isn't what it used to be, nobody I know would recommend them these days. Buyer beware.

 

[dkyleb]

Don't bother with that ridiculous battery holder. I've got a group 31 AGM in mine (80lbs) and it's just fine with the original J hook setup.

 

[tmcintosh3]

Optima isn't what it used to be, nobody I know would recommend them these days. Buyer beware.

@CXS What would you recommend?

 

[dkyleb]

@CXS What would you recommend?

Diehard Platinum is pretty popular. I've heard nothing but good things. Same with all your other pro battery brands like Odyssey, Northstar, etc. Optima is NOT a good choice anymore.

 

[CXS]

@CXS What would you recommend?

I use NAPA brands myself, run into an issue and there's one nearby. For your needs I don't think there's any reason for anything else.

 

[having fun]

Diehard Platinum is pretty popular. I've heard nothing but good things. Same with all your other pro battery brands like Odyssey, Northstar, etc. Optima is NOT a good choice anymore.

They have been problems with this battery. First one had crack lines from the post mounts and they replaced mine. The replacement battery just wouldn't hold a charge anymore after 16 mo. Went to get that one exchanged and they couldn't due to they are discontinuing them.
I was pissed at that point with Sears. Really liked that battery.

 

[dkyleb]

They have been problems with this battery. First one had crack lines from the post mounts and they replaced mine. The replacement battery just wouldn't hold a charge anymore after 16 mo. Went to get that one exchanged and they couldn't due to they are discontinuing them.
I was pissed at that point with Sears. Really liked that battery.

Ouch, that fricken sucks!

I grabbed a Northstar rebrand with a 3 year, no questions warranty. I'll be exchanging it at the end of the 3 years! Haha.

 

[svana]

CXS is working on outdated info. Unfortunately the DHP's are discontinued. You may find one here or there but Sears will no longer replace them (give you a regular DH instead. This is direct from a friend of mine who has one) and even if you found them, they've gotten so high in price their value is severely diminished. I just went through the battery search myself last month. As much as I didn't want to go with a pair of Optimas, I ended up picking out a red top (34r) and a yellow top (34) at Advance Auto price matched from Amazon for about $140 each. I bought them knowing there's a chance I'll get a dud, but I've at least got 3 years and a backup battery in my vehicle to find out...

 

[Powder_Hound]

FWIW...I have had issues with Sears Diehard batteries. Short life, exessive water depletion, and lost CCA within 1 month of purchase. Sears did warrany all 3 issues, but I can't risk losing power boon-docking, in the mountains in winter with my fam, or for any other reason. I'm now running Interstate Batteries in my wife's MDX, my 04 T4r, and a pair of 6 volts in series for my PUP! I've had 0 issues what so ever. Interstate does make a Marine battery which will allow more deep cycling of the battery which isuseful for lights, winches and other accessories that can drain batteries.

 

[CXS]

CXS is working on outdated info.

What are you referring to?

 

[svana]

What are you referring to?

Sears isn't selling the DHP's anymore.

 

[CXS]

Right but I never mentioned DHP.

 

[svana]

Right but I never mentioned DHP.

You're right, sorry. It was dkyleb's post, misread your name in his quote. Also reread my stuff, kinda sounded like a jerk, didn't mean to at all there.

 

[4RunAmok]

Short of paying top dollar for a real Odyssey battery (former makers of the Die Hard Platinum series for Sears), there are not many options out there.

DEKA makes great batteries, a good second runner up to Odyssey. DEKA makes Sears GOLD line of AGM batteries, but I don't know if you can get them in a group 31 from Sears. DEKA has a couple Group 31 options under their own label, one that is mostly a deep cycle battery with a very nice reserve time (amount of time you can get power out of the battery), and one that is a "dual purpose" (run time and cranking amps) like the Odyssey but it takes a hit in the reserve time for those extra cranking amps. Truth be told, the deep cycle has more than enough cranking amps to start our 4Runners and still has that awesome reserve time.

Myself, and for our mission critical jobs at work, we use Odyssey batteries almost exclusively. But they're not cheap. A Group 31 is going to cost you around $350.00. On the upside to that, my last Odyssey G31 is still going in the 4runner I sold, over 8 years now.

If you need a Group 31 cage, Pelfreybilt makes a great one; http://www.pelfreybilt.com/#!2005battery-cage/c50f