My O'reilly group 34 batteries have done me well.  Even though they're 1000 CA and 800 CCA, they're date stamped '09 which means about 7 years old.  Old enough that I'm betting I'll be looking for replacements soon.....so why not now instead of in a parking lot or when I need to be to work.  And old batteries add more stress to the charging system so as much as I dont care to spend money, it seems like the right move.

So as a 21st century consumer does, I shopped around the internet and found NAPA to have a pretty good deal on a group 27 (the OEM size) which have 1000 CA and 810 CCA.  They even have a small rebate to boot.  I dropped by my local NAPA to pick up a couple but none were in stock so they had to get them sent down from another location.  I paid for them and came back later to pick them up.  The problem is that when I got there the ratings were not the same but showed a low 940 CA and 750 CCA.  I certainly wasnt happy and said whats the deal with the lower amps but strangely no one had a reasonable answer other than "they'll work fine".  Well fine or not, thats not what I paid for.  Long story short, I tried taking home their group 65's but they didnt fit so by now I was just getting agitated.  And after never getting a reasonable answer as to why their batteries are not rated as advertised, I eventually called enough NAPA personal to figure out that NAPA had the ratings changed a couple years ago by Johnson Control (who makes the battery) but have yet to update their website information.  No one though I talked to (even Johnson Controls) could or would tell me why they changed the amp ratings or how the change was made either.....  I dont like sketchy things like that.

So I got a refund and went shopping around again.  This time I found Costco now sells Interstate batteries for incredible deals whereby I can get a group 34 (27's are hard to find these days) with 1000 CA and 810 CCA for like $90!  Sounds like the way to go.....

But then as I'm shopping around some more I find this place who sells Northstar AGM batteries and they have group 34 AGM with crazy high amp ratings of something like 1500 CA and 950 CCA.  Usually that battery costs around $250 - $350 but they'll sell them to me for $200 each.  Hmmm.....  Should I care enough to spend the extra $210 over what the Costco batteries will cost me or should I go for what appears to be enough cranking amps to start all my vehicles at the same time?  Would be nice in the cold though and I understand AGM batteries last longer.

I figured some of you would care and some of you would say "whatever works".  I just needed some opinions.....

Sounds good. I think I'll stick with the 810cca and 140rc with hopes it'll fit in the tray lol

Katoom

Have interstate batteries in mine due to good deal. Been happy so far. 5 months, last three were winter.

After 8 years of service the 850cca the interstate batteries in the truck it was time to replace. due to age I replaced them with the same batteries last year as the truck was starting to turn over slower then normal in the cold, Those batteries went into my dads 3500. they are still working but he doesn't daily drive the truck anymore these days. They are now 10 years old. I think they will finally give up the ghost this coming winter.

Just put a pair of Interstates in mine too. The one in my 300M is over 9 years old and still very strong. Advance Gold ones they replaced only went 2 years with the same maintenance. Of course they won't warranty them because they put out 400A, less than half their rating. Never again...........

Last year I installed a pair of Interstate group 65's from Costco.  Great price and great warranty.

I have never replaced as many batteries as I have Interstates. The old car quests were almost as bad. Everything from passenger cars, to otr trucks and equipment. I wish you all luck with them, really do.

Well here's hoping.....

Interstates and OE batteries are the only batteries I can get to last more than a couple years.

Wife's 05 suburban still has the factory acdelco.

6 year old interstate in her car.

8 year old deep cycle interstate in the 1958 John Deere.

4 year old interstates in the cummins. 

Carquest in the 68 F100 died in less than two years and it only lived outside in the summer. 

Group 27 Deka didn't last two years in my plow truck. Replaced it with one of the old half wore out interstates from the cummins, and works fine after 2 years. 

A Motorcraft from my brothers 07 powerstroke gets rotated through various other "yard art" and still has plenty of power. 

You guys might have sold me on interstates. I totally forgot my 99 has interstates in them and I can't tell you how long they've been in there, but I know it's been a long time. Problem for me is that both trucks need batteries at the same time so we're talkin buku bucks!

 

Is there really a big difference between 810 and 850 CCAs? I might just shell out the extra 40 bucks a battery and go with mega-tron plus at 810 CCAs, what do you guys think?

Just remember gang don't get all wrapped up with brand names. There are only 3 companies that produce batteries. That being said more than likely there are several brands that are just relabelled by that same manufacturer. 

 

18 hours ago, notlimah said:

there really a big difference between 810 and 850 CCAs?

 

Just remember the stock batteries are 750 CCA. Anything above is a bonus. But... It won't do a lick of good if the cables or the starter are up to the task. You can have 2,000 CCA worth of batteries and bad cables, terminals, and weak starter and still have troubles starting. 

Thanks Mike. I put all brand new cables late last year so that shouldn't be an issue. Starters still probabaly oem but haven't had any indications it's on the way out.

I agree with Mike in that its equally important to have everything else up to snuff.....not just batteries.

 

Interstate or whatever brand you opt for, my only avenue for choosing 65's was not so much the added 200 combined CCA but rather the reserve capacity.  The RC is an important role in how much "true" capacity a battery has to offer and how much depletion that battery will undertake during events like repeated grid heater cycles.  Plus I felt there must be a reason the 3rd gens used 65's.

 

Its a well understood issue that if someone lives in a cold climate and uses their truck for repeated quick trips during the day, the grid heaters will make short work of the battery capacity as the grids will perform a pre-heat and running cycle every time you start the truck below 60* ambient.  So allowing the charging system ample time to replenish the battery bank is best to offer the best battery reliability.

Just food for thought.....

In my limited experience, the starter can begin to fail so gradually that you may not realize how slow it cranks until it is replaced, and will then crank unbelievably fast!

2 hours ago, notlimah said:

Thanks Mike. I put all brand new cables late last year so that shouldn't be an issue. Starters still probabaly oem but haven't had any indications it's on the way out.

I would suggest some preventative maintenance on that starter if it is the original starter and you have 100K on the truck.  For the 45 minute job and $30 worth of contacts it is super easy to pull the starter, replace the contacts and be good to go for another 100K...I wish I would have done that before it left me stranded.

I went through 2 sets off contacts and finally wore the brushes out after 15 years and nearly 275k miles. My new NAPA starter spun my truck over super easy to prime a dry fuel system without cracking any lines. I just did a injector cleaning and reinstalled.

3 hours ago, Hawkez said:

I would suggest some preventative maintenance on that starter if it is the original starter and you have 100K on the truck.  For the 45 minute job and $30 worth of contacts it is super easy to pull the starter, replace the contacts and be good to go for another 100K...I wish I would have done that before it left me stranded.

 

Is there a rebuild kit for this? Or do I just get some new contacts from NAPA? Wonder if I would just be better off replacing the starter all together? I'm not sure if it's OEM or not, just assuming, but if it is, it has around 175k worth of starts on it.

 

I'll probably go with the group 65s again and just modify my battery tray to make them fit.

Go over to LarryBs web site he's got full starter rebuild kits. Bearings, brushes, and contacts.

I chose to go for lifetime warrantee on rebuilt starters. I'm on my second free starter now with a total of 4 starters on my old first gen truck. Current free one has been flawless for about 4 years now.

I wish I had known about the rebuild kits when my oe went out. But like @JAG1 I am on my second life time replacement. 

3 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Go over to LarryBs web site he's got full starter rebuild kits. Bearings, brushes, and contacts.

 

How good would this rebuild kit from Genos be?

https://www.genosgarage.com/product/lb-r90ss/engine-rebuild-kits-3