GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I'm thinking about replacing my battery. It's only about 2 years old but I'm having some issues with my remote start unit and I just want a more reliable power.Does anybody know where you can get a good deal on an Optima Battery? Also, should I get a RedTop or a YellowTop? I see that some people have used both.

Try Sams club, if you have them there... Unless you are going for something REALLy special, a red/yellow top isn't really needed... I would go for the red top for your purpose though, the yellow is a "deep cycle" battery and usually used in car audio where you'll be sitting for long peroids of time with the system on and the motor off... ]But in all honesty, there really isn't a need to spend the money on it, unless you want the looks.....your best bet would to be to find a battery that is the same size, but of higher CCA (cold cranking amps) I think the stock viobe is a paultry 320cca IIRC.... save yourself 100$ and just get a "normal" batt...

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »Try Sams club, if you have them there... Unless you are going for something REALLy special, a red/yellow top isn't really needed... I would go for the red top for your purpose though, the yellow is a "deep cycle" battery and usually used in car audio where you'll be sitting for long peroids of time with the system on and the motor off... ]But in all honesty, there really isn't a need to spend the money on it, unless you want the looks.....your best bet would to be to find a battery that is the same size, but of higher CCA (cold cranking amps) I think the stock viobe is a paultry 320cca IIRC.... save yourself 100$ and just get a "normal" batt... I'd have to disagree. I bought my Redtop when I had my Vibe GT over 3 yrs ago. The 330 cca OEM battery would not crank in the cold cold mornings, thus making me late to work and almost getting fired. so, I swapped it out with a red top and aside from forgetting and leaving lights on or something, it has NEVER failed me, even in the LGT! If you have audio equipment, I'd highly recommend the Red vs the yellow. I'll probably end up taking it with me into the new car once I get that.... late next year.try Costco or a Sam's Club for the best pricing.

Ya, I replaced the OEM one with a EverMaxx Wal-Mart one 2 years ago but I think it is slowly loosing some of it's 'oomph' so I want to do things right this time.What is our model/group #? Is it 35?

The red top is more for starting and the Yellow top(deep cycle) is more for if you have a large audio system or play music a lot with the engine off. I'd recommend the Red Top as well.

I've had a red top in my GMC for 3 years. It starts like a summer day even at -40° F. I highly recommend them. I bought mine on Ebay. It cost me less than the same size regular battery.

i got mine at "Batteries Plus"The is one right by the Cirucuit City, Menards, GoodYear off of the BeltLine Hwy and Mineral Point Rd.

Ya, that's like walking distance from where I live. They were a bit more expensive there so I may get mine online.Is our car Group 35? I've seen some Optima batteries stating Group 35, and then some that state 75/35. What to get?

i was wondering whether or not if should maybe sometime replace my battery..since im already using lots of electronics...scanner,electric amplified airhorn, lightbar, grille lights....maybe a remote start and other showoff lighting and electric stuff in the future.....so far ive only had trouble starting once..my dad twice..because hes used to turning the ignition for a split second and the vehicle strarting right away..the vibe it takes a lil longer it seems?

I just replaced my battery 2 weeks ago with an optima red top.The 35 group is what you need.I paid $129.No slow cranks in the morning any more.

Did you get yours online? If so, where'd you get it?

I got mine here,but holy **** the price went up.At the time,they were the cheapest shipped to Canada.I only paid $129 now they are $149 http://www.batteriesareus.com/...id=61

I recenlty had to replace my battery. I asked about an Optima, so my trusted mechanic looked it up, and advised against it. He said the best one for the Vibe was the Delco 35-60, 560CCA/700CA, 60 month warranty. So, that's what I got and it works great. Of course I don't have cold weather concerns, but seems to me it would be more than adequate.

You want the Group 35!the other one the poles are reversed and our cables are not long enough.

My original 330 CCA was 5 years old so I thought it was time to replace it before it showed up dead some morning. I did some internet research and found that there are only about 3 battery manufacturers in the U.S., and at least one has a manufacturing plant in Mexico. At COSTCO I got a Kirkland 100 month warranty (3 yrs 100%) with something like 650 CCA. It was $54.49 plus $5 core deposit that I got back when I returned the old battery. For 99 cents at Sears I got a pair of those felt pads that supposedly reduce corrosion.Another $95 plus tax for a Yellow Top didn't float my boat. However I don't have any unusual power drain stuff on my Vibe.Kirkland is made by Johnson Controls, the same company that makes Optima, Diehard and True Start (Toyota) batteries plus many others. [See auto batteries.com] Exide is another battery manufacturer.

Quote, originally posted by waveresponder »i was wondering whether or not if should maybe sometime replace my battery..since im already using lots of electronics...scanner,electric amplified airhorn, lightbar, grille lights....maybe a remote start and other showoff lighting and electric stuff in the future.....so far ive only had trouble starting once..my dad twice..because hes used to turning the ignition for a split second and the vehicle strarting right away..the vibe it takes a lil longer it seems?You only need a "good" battery, if you plan on running all that electrical stuff, while parked, otherwise, the car is powered from the alternator when running...

I did a yellow top with plans to run dual yellow tops under the hood. I do alot of file transfers between my carpc and home pc so sometimes my car will be in the accy position for 2-3 hours.Aron

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »You only need a "good" battery, if you plan on running all that electrical stuff, while parked, otherwise, the car is powered from the alternator when running... semi on topic, when i am at idle i notice they headlamps dim a bit when the bass hits. should i get a different battery(still stock i think, bought used ~1.5 years ago) or should i put in a 2nd alternator like i've been thinking of? has anybody tried this?

Quote, originally posted by tribalman »semi on topic, when i am at idle i notice they headlamps dim a bit when the bass hits. should i get a different battery(still stock i think, bought used ~1.5 years ago) or should i put in a 2nd alternator like i've been thinking of? has anybody tried this?you may want to try a Cap first. This should give more consistant power and prevent your headlights from dimming. May also try a ground wire upgrade.

Quote, originally posted by zionzr2 »you may want to try a Cap first. This should give more consistant power and prevent your headlights from dimming. May also try a ground wire upgrade. I don't want to sound confrontational or anything, but the whole "cap" thing is something i've recently (being a former audio installer and everything) found out that adding caps to a already weak charging system is mostly myth.... A cap WILL stop your dimming problem, but it's really just covering up the fact that the charging system is not up to par with everything on the system. Installing a "big 3" mod and possibly a bigger alt. is the "proper" way to go about things... The biggest problem with caps, is that there current storage capability is very limited, so much so that they will drain almost instantly and still leave your carging system with both the load of charging the CAP and the BATTERY, which in turn makes the alt. work HARDER... I say all of this, because I thought the very same thing untill I was tought differently.... I followed the "add a cap" for YEARs not knowing different... Something I HAVE learned is about a company called BATCAP(.net) They have various batt/cap combined products that are designed around NiCaD technoligy, where nicads are (at least some) designed to give up current FASTER than your avarage battery, and combined with a cap, they can REALLY beef up a system. Yes, it's still a battery and YES it's still a cap, that is true, but they are BOTH designed to work as a unit, not a "bandaid" Something to look at... The model 400 batcap will fit in your palm, weighs about 6lbs and will start your car easily...

$129 at costco and it has a 5 year warrenty. 3yr @ 100% value, 2yr @ prorate. I have the red top, in my mini, ghia, s10 and vibe. Excellent battery well worth the $$.

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »I don't want to sound confrontational or anything, but the whole "cap" thing is something i've recently (being a former audio installer and everything) found out that adding caps to a already weak charging system is mostly myth.... A cap WILL stop your dimming problem, but it's really just covering up the fact that the charging system is not up to par with everything on the system. Installing a "big 3" mod and possibly a bigger alt. is the "proper" way to go about things... The biggest problem with caps, is that there current storage capability is very limited, so much so that they will drain almost instantly and still leave your carging system with both the load of charging the CAP and the BATTERY, which in turn makes the alt. work HARDER... I say all of this, because I thought the very same thing untill I was tought differently.... I followed the "add a cap" for YEARs not knowing different... Something I HAVE learned is about a company called BATCAP(.net) They have various batt/cap combined products that are designed around NiCaD technoligy, where nicads are (at least some) designed to give up current FASTER than your avarage battery, and combined with a cap, they can REALLY beef up a system. Yes, it's still a battery and YES it's still a cap, that is true, but they are BOTH designed to work as a unit, not a "bandaid" Something to look at... The model 400 batcap will fit in your palm, weighs about 6lbs and will start your car easily... No offence taken here. I am not an expert by any means I was simply passing on what audio folks I hung around with might suggest. My info being second hand, will definatly yield to those more knoweldgeable and experienced than I.But I think we are starting to get off topic of orginal post so if this discusion needs to continue please do so in a new thread.Peace!

thanks sublimewind, i'll have to check out the BATCAP(.net) thing. and yes, a cap or second battery is just a bandaid. i work with a lot of people going to auto mechanic's school and they all say the same thing. i was thinking to take a 2nd alt. and hook it up with a cap only to the sub/amp. the reason for the cap is to help regulate the voltage to the amp, so i don't fry it.as for the stock battery, it was 7*F when i left work a few days ago, no problem starting with stock battery....yet.

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »I don't want to sound confrontational or anything, but the whole "cap" thing is something i've recently (being a former audio installer and everything) found out that adding caps to a already weak charging system is mostly myth.... A cap WILL stop your dimming problem, but it's really just covering up the fact that the charging system is not up to par with everything on the system. Installing a "big 3" mod and possibly a bigger alt. is the "proper" way to go about things... The biggest problem with caps, is that there current storage capability is very limited, so much so that they will drain almost instantly and still leave your carging system with both the load of charging the CAP and the BATTERY, which in turn makes the alt. work HARDER... I say all of this, because I thought the very same thing untill I was tought differently.... I followed the "add a cap" for YEARs not knowing different... Something I HAVE learned is about a company called BATCAP(.net) They have various batt/cap combined products that are designed around NiCaD technoligy, where nicads are (at least some) designed to give up current FASTER than your avarage battery, and combined with a cap, they can REALLY beef up a system. Yes, it's still a battery and YES it's still a cap, that is true, but they are BOTH designed to work as a unit, not a "bandaid" Something to look at... The model 400 batcap will fit in your palm, weighs about 6lbs and will start your car easily... I never heard of people adding caps to do this but I entirely agree with this. Where caps come in useful is to provide a boost in current during starting a motor for example where more current is needed and the cap has been precharged by the currentt supply before start. In the steady state it does not really achieve anything. Only thing it may help do (depending on the size of the cap) is to filter out any residual ripple or noise on the line but that's a different matter entirely. In the steady state any current it will supply will have to be provided to it by the alternator.

I concur the cap theory, I'll touch on this since noone else has yet. A second alt would deffiently solve your problem, but the downfall would be $$$$. Fitting a second alt to something like a Tahoe or the like isnt a big deal because everyone does it so the hadr work is done. Adding a second alt to the vibe would require alot of trial and error in bracket making. the pully of the second alt would have to sit directly in line with the pullys that are already there as well as be out of the way of everything (hoses, wireing, ect.). I dont think there is enough room to easily fit the second alt in there. Another route if that is what you are interested in would be a high output alt. but once again that is a $$$$ process, If i recall correctly mine was about $750 for 225 amp from hi output alternators. Another alt direction that people go is having the factory alt rewound to a higher amp, this is also a bandaid fix and will shorten the life of your alt.High output also offers smaller pullys to increase the voltage at idle by spinning the alt quicker Im not sure how well it works or if it is avaliable for the vibe but here is a linkhttp://www.highoutputalternator.com/otherpart.htmAll in all $ for $ I would go with Subliminals advice start with the big three and see where you are after that, that upgrade has been known to do magical things.Aron

Audio, I would like to know what would cause a re-wound alt to fail quicker? To much load in the regulator?

A buddy of mine runs an Alt rebuilding biz, told me that there is a greater chance in having dead spots after getting rewound. You could also start to have heat issues (more power=more heat), and the altenators cooling cantalways keep up with it. Also most improvements in a rewound alt is seen in the upper RPMs, as where all high output alts show improvements at all RPMs including idle. Granted they could have started doing things differently in reguards to rewinding because to be honest the last time I looked into a rewound alt was 6-7 years ago when I was doing DB drags. The regulator and stator failing would depend on the manufactures quality level, Im sure the regulator could fail, but I dont think the failure rate would be any greater then any stock or aftermarket alt.Aron

Cool, thank you for the info, I've been looking for alts for my Subie and was wondering about the downfalls... !!

I second the BatCap. I purchased one probably 5 years ago when I had the system in my Blazer. Got it off ebay. I was skeptical, but it really seemed to help out. Also switched to a yellow top later. I was running 3 amps with 2-10's, 2-12's and 3 sets of components on the factory alternator and battery with that batcap. Worked pretty well.I definitely recommend the Yellow Top. I had that thing in the Blazer and I couldn't get it to go dead if I tried! Someone had told me he had one in his hot rod for 15 years. I don't know if they have even made them that long, but I know they last.

ok so what are the model numbers for our vibes?red top #?yellow top #? sorry...I tried to read everything..but im getting tired...lol

Quote, originally posted by waveresponder »ok so what are the model numbers for our vibes?red top #?yellow top #? sorry...I tried to read everything..but im getting tired...lolAs far as I remember,it's the 35 group for the red tops,with the reversed posts.EDIT 4 Parts Found Part # Description 35 (9020-164) RedTop®; Battery; Group 35; Cold Crank Amps 720; Crank Amps 910; Reserve Capacity 90; Ampere Hour 44; Top Terminal; L-9 5/16 in.; W-6 13/16 in.; H-7 5/8 in.; BOXED; 35 (8020-164) RedTop®; Battery; Group 35; Cold Crank Amps 720; Crank Amps 910; Reserve Capacity 90; Ampere Hour 44; Top Terminal; L-9 5/16 in.; W-6 13/16 in.; H-7 5/8 in.; UNBOXED; D35 (9040-218) YellowTop®; Deep Cycle Battery; Grp. D35; Cold Crank Amps 650; Crank Amps 810; Reserve Capacity 98; Amp Hour 48; Top Terminal; L-9 5/16 in.; W-6 13/16 in.; H-7 5/8 in.; BOXED; D35 (8040-218) YellowTop®; Deep Cycle Battery; Grp. D35; Cold Crank Amps 650; Crank Amps 810; Reserve Capacity 98; Amp Hour 48; Top Terminal; L-9 5/16 in.; W-6 13/16 in.; H-7 5/8 in.; UNBOXED;

Quote, originally posted by waveresponder »ok so what are the model numbers for our vibes?red top #?yellow top #? sorry...I tried to read everything..but im getting tired...lolIf you are going to pay what you are going to pay for a "Red Top" Spend the money on a Sears Diehard Platinum.... Top ranked by consumer reports, even over the Red Top... (priced lately at ~180$)

Eh.....Diehard are good but they're not completely sealed or anything like that. They're both good as a standard battery but the Optimas are sealed and look purty

sexy red FTW.

Trying to go with the yellowtop anyone have the correct part number?im guessing 51R because of this thread....http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=9508

Dude,I got those part numbers off Optima's website They are right now.

Quote, originally posted by Petrucci914 »Eh.....Diehard are good but they're not completely sealed or anything like that. They're both good as a standard battery but the Optimas are sealed and look purty Hay man, if "fashion over function" works for you, it works for me to...

sooooD35 (9040-218) Boxed is what i should get if i want a yellowtop...thanks!

sooooD35 (9040-218) is what i should get if i want a yellowtop...whats the differance between box and unboxed...?is it boxed looks like a regular battery..and unboxed looks like their pictures..or is it the other way?...thanks!

Just make sure you get the tray with your battery,you'll need it.http://www.batteriesareus.com/...d=165

Quote, originally posted by kevera »Just make sure you get the tray with your battery,you'll need it.http://www.batteriesareus.com/...d=165Uh, yes........a BIG necessity. Don't hook it up like me and then realize that.