battery time - recommendations please

i need to buy a new battery for my charger. i know this topic has been covered many times, but is there anything new out there ?
it has a group 27 in there now, with an 850cca rating.
engine is 446cuin with 11.5 compression, 18 degree initial timing, and using a mini starter.
i would like to keep the battery up front, and as previous battery's have pitted up the front rail below the battery box, i have decided to lower the battery by repairing the rail and incorporating a battery box there, instead of having a separate [stock style] box above it.
any suggestions on a smaller, lighter battery that would work for my needs ?
running a 78 amp alternator [square back] with the electronic [70 up] style voltage regulator, and an amp gauge bypass from the alternator output stud to the battery stud on the starter relay, complete with fuseable link, with a volt gauge monitoring the charging system.
no extra electrical devices, such as ignition boxes or fuel pump, using a perfect condition factory 54 year old wiring harness.
however, i may convert to LED bulbs in all positions except headlights.
i also know battery's are expensive and you get what you pay for.
however, i don't want to have to buy one every two or three years.
i am also aware a new charger may be required, depending on what is selected.
thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

Heard Everstart Maxx from Walmart is the same as Duralast Gold. That may be what I go for next time.

Buddy of mine has a Braille battery - quite small, seems good at a few years old, it spins his MP crate 360 just fine.
IIRC, several guys here run Oddysey batteries inside their gutted OEM cases.

For what it's worth. A Johnson Controls engineer once posted that all of the different brand batteries they manufacture use the exact same components. The only difference is the number of plates. The more plates the better the battery. He said buy the heaviest one. When asked which one that would be he said John Deere.

i like to use a RV marine battery for my street toys, same thing on my race cars. Group 27 or group 24, Eveready brands from Costco or Walmart the last ten years
I tried two different XS along with their charger,, JUNK

That is interesting because Johnson(now Clarios) only makes a couple of part numbers for Deere and only on the west side of the Mississippi.

OEM batteries seem to last the longest and are the most expensive. Since most brands come from the same manufacturer, I buy "gold" rated batteries locally. This makes it easier to claim any prorating and exchange because everyone sells defective product. And it goes bad on Sunday afternoon regardless of age. I need to change batteries typically every 6 years on DD. I remove batteries on toys and mowers for winter then put them on tenders.

I've had a good luck with Wal Mart as anything. My daily Magnum which is used very little and sits sometimes for months in the summer. Going on 8 years. Same with my Cummins that is only used for towing the racecar April to October, 3 years and going well. To be honest if you don't let them go dead most are pretty good. That is the key. I have a slew of old batteries in about everything except my racecar. Various brands over 6 years old that all do alot of setting as well.
Doug

Today's group 34s are nearly the same dimensions as the old group 24s. They are smaller than your group 27. You can look up the dimensions to see it the 34 would be small enough for you. It is a relatively common battery so it shouldn't be difficult to find.

There has been some good information already posted. The cca is the important number to watch. You have an 850 which is a fairly powerful car battery and there are group 34s with that same capacity. But, with capacity comes weight in most cases. So, the most powerful batteries will also be the heaviest until you get into some expensive, specialty batteries.

With batteries like these typically running north of $150 now, we buy them from the late model wrecking yards or better yet, the self serve yards. Most batteries are $30 to $40 there. And you can usually find them that are less than a year old. I have salvage yard batteries in all my cars, truck, tractors, and my Cuda. We get excellent life out of them. Great bang for the buck. The one in the Cuda has been in there for 4 years now.

I've been using (3 seasons) Snyder motorsports batteries with out any issues, and recently installed a Dynabatt in a customer car but no real use as of yet. Compact size (7" L X 3" W X 7" H) at 13 lbs... right around $200. I use a standard batter charger (set on a low amperage) to do between round maintenance.

Walmart Last one I changed out on my Hemi was 11 years old and still started the car fine but I wanted to be safe.


https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStar...27-12-Volt-810-CCA/28275658?from=/search

Great idea I never thought about that! Thanks brother!

And those Deere ones have the plates Epoxied to the bottom, or at least always used to.

I'll see if I can find that. I don't remember if he was referring to a specific group type. Also not real recent so who knows what models may have been discontinued since then. I just threw it out there as possibly useful information.

Have always used Odyssey 12 volt batteries and had great luck with them. Couldn't get the PC1200 back during covid and bought a XS power D1200.

3 years on it with no problems.

I used Mopar Performance batteries for years as my dad was a mechanic. Once he retired, I bought a yellow top optima battery. It's been issue free for close to 10 years now. My other car I had to replace the battery in 2 years ago and I went with an Interstate AGM battery as it was a little bit cheaper option. So far it's been issue free as well.

the battery i have now is a group 27, 850cca, and the date is 4/2011
if i charge it before i take the car out, it works ok, but parking it overnight with the negative cable disconnected, it discharges to anywhere between 11.9 and 12.1 volts.
good tips on going to a group 34 battery and checking out a junkyard. thanks !
my one buddy has a nephew that works at a scrap yard, and they get batteries in all the time.
i'll have him keep his eye out for one..........

I have had great success with red top Optimas'. not cheap but typically I get 10 years or more from.
One point about the Optimas' is they are sensitive to brand of external chargers, if it gets run down.
I use an Optima charger and have had no issues, bringing the Optimas' back up to full voltage....

Just my $0.02..

I’m an Optima person. Our 12 year old blue top and the 9 year red top in my daily driven 96 Jeep are our 2 oldest ones. Not bad for the extreme heat of the desert SW. race car red top is 3 years old. Will buy a pair of the new yellow top H7s for the 17 Ram when needed.

I have read that Optima has changed hands (maybe more than once) and that their quality has slipped significantly.

www.diymobileaudio.com/threads/optima-batteries-decrease-in-quality.457537/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/optima-batteries-who-makes-them.190550/


This guy likes his Optima, but the comments are less positive:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EjkzZd1_5M

What are Mopart member's experiences with the Optima's the last few years?

I like East Penn batteries.

https://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/applications/automotive/

I like the yellow top optima. I work for a battery distributor and we sell lots of optimas and see very little trouble. I also like the optima brand charger, I have the small 4.0 amp charger from them and it is great.

I used duralast gold for years and years in everything, before tha Dekka since a local place had them. Before that I ran interstate. Only bad battery I’ve personally had was an Excide. My buddy ran a parts place and I had him listen to it boil one day and he said these are junk and come back all the time I’ll get you another.

Currently running a duralast agm in the daily for the first time. Been over two years. The gold regular ones last exactly five years for me, almost to the month every time.

The 440 car had a junk resto battery in it when I bought it. Got a group 34 Odyssey and it’s flat out impressed me. Been about 2.5 years so far. I just unhook the cable for winter is all. Thing spins over better with some generic rebuilt highland park hummingbird with the weak spring than my last 383 with a mini starter and an optima.

you guys got me thinking about using a group 34, so while i'm not allowed to play in the garage with the new knee i got for Christmas [december 11th, actually] until i finish physical therapy [i start that next tuesday] i'll start battery shopping after resting up from the a$$ kickin' those therapy guys give me.
they worked me over pretty good when i got my new hip last year, so i know what to expect from them !

I've owned a few Interstate batteries, and they always seem to last well.

I agree with Walmart too; never had an issue with them, and they are relatively affordable. Although, prices have seemed to creep up a little in recent years.

The sleeper in the group that I don't hear often mentioned, Rural King Classic. They are often half-price compared to other manufactures. I have three in different cars/trucks right now. The oldest is around 4 years; never given me an issue. I've talked to a few different people, and most have told me that newer batteries will last 5-7 years max now due to all of the good stuff being taken out of them due to EPA regs. So, if no batteries really stand out any longer due to restrictions, do I pay $120 or $60 for a battery that lasts 5-7 years? We'll see if these things make it the full 5-7. Even at 4, I'd be money ahead.

Yup, the tractor-and-feed places apparently didn't get the memo the auto parts stores got about jacking up battery prices.
FWIW, about 15 years ago I had 2 new WalMart (Everstart ?) batteries that were junk: one wouldn't take a charge, and the other one leaked.
The 3rd one was fine, but because the guy in the auto service section told me "no more warranty replacement", I haven't bought one from them since.
I've had good experiences with pretty much every other brand; most go 10 years or longer, and I've replaced a couple at 11 years just from paranoia.

Respectfully, all things considered for what you're doing there isn't going to be any appreciable bag-for-the-buck in a fancy battery. There is plenty of low-hanging fruit in many other areas for relative respectable car performance. If it were me, being I aim to support the financial gains of their family, I'd buy that warrantied walmar...battery and exchange it every 3 years until you bleed them dry.

Can't do that 1 exchange is all you can get not that you'll need it because their batteries last over 10 years.

Oh, if only that were always true. But sadly, it's not always true. We can debate how often that it is true, but I won't start that debate.

That's fair Dave I will change my reply to I've had 5 and they've all lasted over 10 years. This one's from June of 2013

I see a fair amount of batteries that last 8-10 years. It is almost always in something that isn't used often but maintained properly. It most always something simple like an old car or truck or an old tractor. Something that has 0 draw when the key is off and is maintained better than the usual daily driver.

We had a customer come in the other day with 2 group 31 batteries that were 10 years old. He had 1800CCA worth of batteries for a 200HP mechanical injected diesel in a basic truck. Those batteries probably would have failed a test at their rated CCA years ago, but since that engine didn't need anywhere near 1800CCA it just kept going.

Your valve covers look GREAT!

Is that powder coat or paint? I am getting ready to do mine AGAIN. The paint is peeling from the edges and I was considering powder coating this time.

My friend who is a battery salesman told me to buy the heaviest battery in the group size required ,its easy to check weight online in the battery specs.

Dave that's still the paint that they came with.