My 04 Sport (V8) was hit and totaled by insurance and I just replaced it with a 14 TEP. Before I hand the vehicle to the insurance company I'm pulling everything off the 04 that I don't want to give them. One of the things I'm not sure about swapping out is the battery. The 14 came with a Duralast Gold (24F-DLG), which looks new(ish), but I can't tell as the entire engine bay has been cleaned and looks almost factory new and the battery appears pretty new. I replaced the battery in my 04 a little more than a year ago with an Interstate Mega-Tron Plus (MTP-24F). Since I have an opportunity now to switch them out I'm wondering if there's a way to compare two batteries with regard to the remaining life expectancy? By spec the Interstate's a little better, but age and condition need to be factored in the decision since both are used. Is there a way to determine the anticipated remaining life of a battery? A First world problem for sure, but these are the things that keep me up at night.
Battery Question
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97BlackAckCL
Elite Member
Do it
ChrisJHarney
New member
An easy (but not necessarily quick) way to see if there's any difference is to install one that has been fully charged by a battery minder or similiar, and then let it sit over night, or two days if possible, then take a voltage reading with a quality multi-meter. Pick whichever one has least voltage drop over similar time span. Note that variations in temperature while conducting the experiment may skew the results slightly, so write down temps that the experiment was conducted in so you can adjust accordingly.
If this is your daily driver, you can do this experiment in another vehicle. Most modern stock vehicles have between 20-50mA load on a battery at all times when the vehicle is off.
Also, you could just hook a load (12V light perhaps?) to the battery without it being in the vehicle and do this experiment much quicker.
If this is your daily driver, you can do this experiment in another vehicle. Most modern stock vehicles have between 20-50mA load on a battery at all times when the vehicle is off.
Also, you could just hook a load (12V light perhaps?) to the battery without it being in the vehicle and do this experiment much quicker.
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CharlesNellis
New member
Go with the one you have a warranty for. P.s. my last duralast gold only lasted 1.5 years. Went to costco to get an interstate and the battery shells have the same exact markings on them. Most likely all batteries are made by the same people.
Bumbo
New member
Unless you are doing something out of the ordinary with your battery, going by the date on the battery is generally good enough. Depending on the grade, 3-5 years and you start to approach the end of its service life.
Alternately, you can take it to a service center and have them load test the battery.
Alternately, you can take it to a service center and have them load test the battery.
nevada
Senior Member
a used interstate is better than a new duralast...
This is the type of info I was looking for.....thanks!
Yes, and no. If I start parting out the car, they will not pay me what they quoted me.
I wondered about this, but they are not created equal. A number of years ago I got caught up in the Sears Diehard scam, where they were selling recycled batteries as new. Every battery I bought would last 1/2 the time they warranty'd it for and they would give a prorated discount toward your new one. It made it much cheaper to replace in kind and thus keeping you in their loop. I finally bit the bullet and went Interstate and never looked back.
drewsro
New member
I work around cars for a living and am pretty familiar with replacing batteries in a lot of different vehicles. We use Duralast (among other brands) and have had good luck with them. I don't deal with Interstate often but most of the Interstates I have run across are usually junk and need to be replaced. It could also be that those batteries have been in the cars for a long time and just finally died out though.
Sorry, that doesn't help much lol
Sorry, that doesn't help much lol
Bumbo
New member
Some of the information in this thread is a little funny...
Age of the battery matters... I sure as hell would not take a used Interstate over a new Duralast.
Duralast is just an AutoZone private label. More often than not, its made by Johnson Controls, who is the same company that OEMs for many, including Walmart EverStart Maxx (yellow) and that is a fantastic battery.
AutoZone has also been known to buy from East Penn and Exide for their Duralast line.
Johnson Controls makes a 3 year and 5 year warranty version of that battery. The 5 year warranty is about as good as it gets for a regular car battery.
Costco who sells interstate went to the cheaper 3 year warranty battery and is no longer as good as the older 5 year variant which they used to have.
The grade of the battery matters, and is directly tied to it's expected service life and overall quality. How you treat the battery also has a massive impact in how long it lasts. If you are constantly running it flat, then don't expect it to last.
In the world of batteries... you get what you pay for. No secret sauce here.
Age of the battery matters... I sure as hell would not take a used Interstate over a new Duralast.
Duralast is just an AutoZone private label. More often than not, its made by Johnson Controls, who is the same company that OEMs for many, including Walmart EverStart Maxx (yellow) and that is a fantastic battery.
AutoZone has also been known to buy from East Penn and Exide for their Duralast line.
Johnson Controls makes a 3 year and 5 year warranty version of that battery. The 5 year warranty is about as good as it gets for a regular car battery.
Costco who sells interstate went to the cheaper 3 year warranty battery and is no longer as good as the older 5 year variant which they used to have.
The grade of the battery matters, and is directly tied to it's expected service life and overall quality. How you treat the battery also has a massive impact in how long it lasts. If you are constantly running it flat, then don't expect it to last.
In the world of batteries... you get what you pay for. No secret sauce here.
I was hit from behind on the highway and the damage is all to the back of the truck. The old battery appears to be working fine and I don't believe there's any damage to it but it's a good point, thanks.
They have already inspected the truck to determine both it's value and the cost to repair which is how they came up with how much they will give me for it. How much they will penalize me for it being gone is a good question which I'll ask before I turn it in.
Great information thanks. I bought the interstate battery new at Firestone and am pretty sure it had a 5 year warranty. To date it's been used to start the car and has never been drained flat.
Appreciate your views. May not help, but doesn't hurt.