Best/highest quality batery

I was wondering if any certain brand of battery have proven to be more durable than another. ie. DieHard vs. ValueCraft ect. The reason being is I want to replace the battery in my '01 Dodge Ram becaus it will be running both auxilary hyraulics and lights during snow plowing. Any suggestions for the best battery in this situation? Thanks!!

I worked at autozone for alittle while....don't buy valuecraft unless it's for a beater 4 cyl.

Diehard is good, so is Interstate...BUT you want an Optima Yello Top..or even the red top. You probably better off with a "deep-cycle" battery, meaning the battery could be drained...yet it could be recharged from the alternator and not be DEAD like a regular battery.

You might want to look into getting a second battery and install it in the trunk/conveniant area so you can have enough power on reserve..instead of killing the battery..then running off the alternator completely.

Actually wait a minute..i think i just got that wrong, doesnt the alternator run EVERYTHING when the car is running..?

You're right, the car runs on juice from the alternator. The battery is just a storage facility. Usually there are only about 20 amps being used in a typical car while its running and many of today's alternators are capable of supplying 100 or more. I think that Ram truck has a 140 amp alternator. For this reason the deep cycle may not be the best choice. Deep cycle batts don't like it if they're not being deep cycled, and even with heavy draw items like hydraulic pumps, it would only cycle about the top 10% of the battery's capacity with the truck running.

I've had good luck with Optimas (the non-deep cycle), Interstate, and anything made by Exide. They often are sold under the Energizer name, NASCAR brand, or others. Look on the battery's label and somewhere it will say Exide if its their handywork.

Interstate and exide are both good as Curtis said, I'v had hit and miss luck with Optima.

Optima red or yellow top gets my vote....

Wally World..........lifetime Warranty

Wally World..........lifetime Warranty

Um.. no.

After 25 years of working with cars, trucks, boats, construction and farm equipment, the best, longest lasting and most durable batteries are AC-Delco.

Thats right, GM.
They last longest and are less affected by abuse, such as running them flat then recharging them, heat, vibration etc.

And they have a purdy little green dot on them.

After 25 years of working with cars, trucks, boats, construction and farm equipment, the best, longest lasting and most durable batteries are AC-Delco.

You know, I totally forgot about that. The stock battery I had in my 96 Impala went absolutely problem-free for 89,000 miles, and then I swapped it into an 85 El Camino. It got used for another 32,000 miles before I sold that elky. That's 121,000 miles of trouble-free use.

Who makes them for GM?

After 25 years of working with cars, trucks, boats, construction and farm equipment, the best, longest lasting and most durable batteries are AC-Delco.

Thats right, GM.
They last longest and are less affected by abuse, such as running them flat then recharging them, heat, vibration etc.
:iagree: 100% My 1997 Venture still has the original AC-Delco battery in it and it's going on 9 years now without one problem,(knocks on wood while typing this.) I know of other people who are getting over 6 to 7 years and more from their original GM batteries as well. I think some of the worse ones out there are the ones Wal Mart sells. I have purchased 3 over the past 6 years for other vehicles, and every one of them have failed within 1 to 1 1/2 years.

I agree... My 90 buick lesabre had the original ac delco battery in it until it had about 118,000 miles on it. When it died I got a wally world everstart battery for it. I went through 3 of those in a year and a half. Thank god for the lifetime warranty.

most if not all the delco batteries are side post arent they? dont know if that will jive with dodges top post or not...

most if not all the delco batteries are side post arent they? dont know if that will jive with dodges top post or not...
Whenever I owned a vehicle that had top post batteries, I used top post adapters that screwed into the side holes, and used longer battery cables if I needed to. One car I even converted to side post because I had the side post battery, and side post cables that were long enough to fit. It worked out great. I tend to have less corrosion problems with side post terminals as well.

Who makes them for GM?
Actually GM makes their own batteries.
GM has a battery plant in Oshawa Ontario, Canada, which supplies the local GM plants (they make Impalas, among other vehicles) as well as the aftermarket.

AC-Delco also supplies the big Honda plant in Alliston, Ontario.

That plant has awards they give their most valuable suppliers, and a few years ago, Honda gave GM an award for being such a good, reliable, high quality supplier.

NAPA also sells Exxide batteries, and recently came out with the Orbital battery line, which is the same as the Optimas.

My Saturns' AC-Delco quite after 3 years, about 60000km. But nobody's perfect. I'm running an 8 yr old battery that came from my scrapped van. It's a Canadian Tire one. I'm surprised it lasted this long.

I think some of the worse ones out there are the ones Wal Mart sells. I have purchased 3 over the past 6 years for other vehicles, and every one of them have failed within 1 to 1 1/2 years.
Yes, I'm quoting myself here. Funny story to pass along that happened to me this weekend. I just purchased a '95 Buick Roadmaster this past week, and when I was looking at the car, the seller told me the battery was replaced last year, but for some reason the car had trouble starting the previous week without him having to jump start it. I looked under the hood and sure enough it was a Wal Mart battery. When I took possession of the car, the seller told me the car started up every time he tried it in the days before I actually got it. Took it out this weekend to Sam's Club and my wife stayed in the car listening to the radio. I was in the store maybe 30 to 45 minutes and when I came out, the car wouldn't start. I had to call AAA because I left my jump pack in my van. When the tow truck driver opened the hood to jump start it with his jump pack, he exclaimed, " Oh another Neverstart!" We both laughed and he told me that he sees many cars that need a jumpstart that have these Wal Mart batteries in them, a testament to their quality. I guess when the weather gets warmer in the next few days, I'll be pulling the battery out of my pickup and putting that into the Roadmaster. The only problem with that is the battery in my truck is a Wally World special, so I better keep my jump pack in the Buick from now on :lol: I think I will be buying AC Delco batteries from now on.

I bought 2 batteries from COSTCO in the last 4 years. They both worked great and still working.
Their brand is KIRKLAND !
And they were very cheap too (about $35 for a Maxima battery)
They come with 3 years free replacement.

How many battery manufacturers are there out there in this country? I remember talking to a salesman at a garage I worked at about 15 years ago, and he told me there were only 2 or 3 companies that produced batteries. One of them I remember being Exide, can't remember the others. All the batteries sold in this country came from one of those manufacturers and were later labeled after production to whomever was buying them, (i.e. Napa, Pep Boys, Die Hard,other private label etc.) I don't know if his story was true at the time, or still is.