Hi listers
Being the token EV owner on the list, I figure I should weigh in here. A
lot of electric vehicles use
Optima yellow-tops (dual purpose starting/deep cycle), and they are excellent.
The red-tops (for non-
electric vehicles) have the same sealed spiral-wound Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM)
design but they are a
little lighter. The Group 34 is the one you want: 50 amp-hours/39 lbs for the
red-top and 55 amp-
hours/44 lbs for the yellow-top. Another good AGM is the 34XCD from Exide,
rated at 50 amp-hours/
41 lbs.
A Group 27 flooded lead-acid is cheaper and has more capacity than a Group
34 AGM, but it is bigger
and heavier. The AGM's seem to work just fine and they do not leak. You can
even mount them on
their side.
Regarding cold temperature resistance, all lead-acids (including AGMs) will
freeze at 32 degrees F if
fully discharged. But charge 'em up, and the freezing point drops to -92 F.
-Nick Wolf
once and future '62 TR4
(currently Triumphless, but my mom has an Optima red-top in her gas-powered TR7)
'70 BMW 2002 with a red-top
'73 electric Karmann Ghia with 16 Trojans
'95 Honda del Sol with whatever Honda put in there... maybe I'd know if I ever
opened the hood
> Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 20:48:22 -0500
> From: Doug Mathews <mathews@uga.edu>
> Subject: Re: Optima battery
>
> Steve,
>
> Batteries are generally categorized by group#. See the url below
> for the BCI (Battery Council International) . I just replaced the
> battery in 63TR3B and it took a group 27. The TR4 workshop
> manual calls for one with a 51amp/hr rating.
> http://www.rtpnet.org/~teaa/bcigroup.html
>
> I've always remarked that the batteries in the 3&4 were almost as big
> as the engine and I wondered what was powering what!
>
> Doug
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