My 2000 Disco is asking for a new battery. It seems that I don’t drive it enough, or for long enough distances, to keep the current four year old battery happy, so I’m looking for replacement recommendations.

My daily-drivers have been leased vehicles for the past twenty years, so I’ve not had the opportunity to learn much about battery shopping. Any suggestions of what might be best for the Disco will be appreciated.

 

everyone has there own particular brand like Odyessy, die-hard platinum, some still like the color top battery's, etc.

the big thing is you want as many CCA as possible, at least 850 cca.

 

There's lead-acid and absorbed glass mat. The lead-acid are more cost-effective, the AGM are costlier, but more resistant to vibration and have a lower self-discharge rate, and they tend to last longer, sometimes twice as long (maybe as long as 6-12 years).

Die-hard Platinums were a re-branded Odyssey, which were a great value in a top-of-the-line AGM battery. But they aren't available anymore. Now the best choice would be an Odyssey or one of Enersys's other brands, all of which are pricey.

If you want to spend less, the Costco and Die-Hard Gold lead acid batteries are decent for the price. I'd expect to get 4 years out of them, maybe more.

 

Seems to me that batteries are like motor oils and spark plugs on this forum. A lot of people swear by things exotic. And everyone has an opinion. Seems to me that what's best for you may not be the choice of many others.

I've adopted the keep-it-simple-stupid approach for batteries. When my battery fails, and they all will eventually, I want to be able to get my hands on a replacement quickly and easily. And in my current and foreseeable situations I don't see the need for a pink top, Iliad, purple top, Die Tough or whatever battery.

I know they're not sexy but Walmart EverStart Maxx batteries have a 3-year full replacement, 5-year pro-rated warranty. And there are 24-hour Walmarts relatively nearby in most parts of the country.

The Group 24 is rated with 700 CCA. If you want something higher-rated the Group 34 can be substituted, with 800 CCA. (You'll need to use a spacer under the Group 34 to bring it to the correct height for the DII battery box; a short length of 2x6 lumber works just fine.)

My two cents.

 

I just put in a BOSCH Group 34 920CCA battery from Pepboys a few months back. It has a three year warranty. So far I am very happy with it. I payed $115 for it when I traded in my old battery. Like drowssap said, you definitely want at least 850CCA.
Good luck.

 

As mentioned above, for daily use and mild off-road ventures find a battery with the most CCA and best warranty.

just picked up Auto Zones's Duralast Gold. It came with a 5 year prorated warranty. . It is made by Johnson Controls in Holland MI.

Prior this battery I had an Optima Red Top, only lasted ~three years.

 

Hey Steve

X2 on the Duralast Gold. I bought mine 3 years ago and it's still holding strong with our cold 'Tragic City' temps. Autozone will even change it out for you while you wait.

Chris

 

Personally I don't care about brand that much. Just no WalMart or Optima batteries. Anything else is pretty much made in the same factories (with few exceptions). I'd get the cheapest group 65 AGM you could find and not worry about it past that.

 

I know Optima's get bad mouthed, but I have 2 5year old Optima red tops in my 07 duramax, and they have never missed a beat. Bought a new one for my disco last year and no complaints here at all.

 

Hate to break it to you Joe, but 5 years ago they were still being made well. They've since moved production out of the US and into Mexico where all the other batteries are being made. I hope yours lasts, but statistically speaking they aren't worth the extra cost. I had an Optima Yellow for about 6 months before she sh*t out on me in cold weather.