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Old 11-16-2004, 09:49 PM   #1
bluboy103
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Member#: 63011
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Portland, OR
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WR Blue Pearl

Default OEM Battery Life

I've had my WRX for a little over three years. About a week ago it started to
have a little difficulty cranking over in the morning. Today I had some work
done on the car, and they had to jump start it when they were done. Come
to find out, most of the water in the battery was gone. The guys at the shop
told me that Subarus have cheap OEM batteries, and that driving short trips
also depletes the water from the battery. I do mostly short distances (less
than 10 miles). Are either one of these statements true?
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Old 11-16-2004, 10:00 PM   #2
Edvig
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I'm really dissapointed in my OE Subaru battery that came with my WRX. It was tough to start the car during the coldest days last winter. On the other hand, my 2000 Volvo S40 started up right away last winter. For this year, just swapped my OE battery with an Optima Red Top. When I took the OE battery out last week, the water levels still looked good.
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Old 11-16-2004, 10:15 PM   #3
Mulder
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The OE battery has marginal capacity to begin with, about 325CCA. They don't do too well in very cold climates and failures have not been uncommon. I too replaced mine with an Optima, well before it actually crapped out, because I was not happy with its cranking performance in the winter.
It's possible that mostly short-trip driving could result in more water loss due to the fact that the battery would be charging more heavily. However it's also a possibility that your alternator is overcharging, which would also cause water loss. It would be a good idea to check this before replacing the battery, to be sure that a replacement won't be damaged. You can check it by connecting a voltmeter across the battery, while the engine is running you should see approximately 13.5-14.5V. If you see 15V or higher with the engine warmed up, the alternator may be overcharging.
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Old 11-16-2004, 10:59 PM   #4
AzSandSlinger
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I replaced my OEM battery after about 2 years of use.. didn't absolutley NEED to, but I couldn't pass a deal up... replaced with an Optima Yellow-top... couldn't be happier...

-Shane
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Old 11-16-2004, 11:50 PM   #5
rallyblues
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I had my 99 rs oem battery for 5 years before it started slowly dying.
That's 5 years in winter and 2 complete discharges.
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Old 11-29-2004, 12:10 PM   #6
Subahaulic
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3 yrs for mine --now have Optima redtop for coming winter.
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Old 11-29-2004, 01:42 PM   #7
gjhsu
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My original battery lasted 8000 miles. I replaced it with a Sears special (Diehard, I think it's sold as...), and it's been 24,000 problem free miles.
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Old 11-29-2004, 03:03 PM   #8
Psydotek
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2 years, 48k miles, rare sub-freezing weather (so cali), worked fine so far.

You guys ever think of replenishing the water in the batter when it gets low? Just unscrew the cap and bring it back up to the line with distilled water. Simple battery maintenance.

[i'm thinking of going with a braille lightweight battery next year]
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Old 11-29-2004, 04:07 PM   #9
Rapid_Roo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Psydotek

[i'm thinking of going with a braille lightweight battery next year]
you had better get that HO alternator first.
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Old 11-29-2004, 04:16 PM   #10
Psydotek
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rapid_Roo
you had better get that HO alternator first.
Alright, alright. I'll add it to my future upgrade list (same list that includes the quick steering rack, struts+springs, and RA gears).
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Old 12-02-2004, 11:52 PM   #11
FuzzyNips
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2.5 years and 40k on mine and I switched to the Optima Red Top before temperatures got too cold. The difference is amazing, I no longer fear morning start-ups or getting stuck in the school parking lot 30 min. from home every day after class.
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Old 12-06-2004, 03:42 AM   #12
STi-MAN
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where can u get a HO alternator? cuz im having problems with my light weight battery rite now.
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Old 07-20-2005, 05:04 PM   #13
Surf WRaX
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I realize this is an old thread, but I dug it up on a search and thanks for the info. My OEM battery just went bad on my MY02 WRX and I was looking for some info that would support my theory the battery just sucks. Off to get a new one, perhaps these Optima Red Tops that are suggested.

Thanks
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Old 07-20-2005, 05:23 PM   #14
Psydotek
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You could try this one:

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc680mjt.htm

It's gotten some pretty rave reviews for it's reliability (even in extreme weather temperatures) and it's about 25lbs lighter than the OEM battery.
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Old 07-20-2005, 05:49 PM   #15
Uncle Scotty
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Braille's have been reported, here, failing and having poor life and performance.

I've never heard of an Odyssey battery having issues that weren't due to accident/abuse/stupidity of the owner....Mine will have been in daily service for 3 years as of SEP05....NO issues.
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Old 07-27-2005, 06:12 PM   #16
Surf WRaX
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Got the Optima Red Top Group 35 from remybatteries.com, the exact one I got is here:
http://www.remybattery.com/350/shope...at=166&L2=&L3=

$88 + shipping (which was $26 to CA) but still better then anything else I could find locally or online. The battery went in super easy and appears to be nicely engineered all around. Scoobymods.com has a nice writeup on how to install if you are wondering.

It's covered a lot in other threads, but as a reminder do not get the 35/75 battery by Optima that is carried at Sears or Costco because of fit problems. The one I linked above goes in and you are done in 10 minutes.

Thanks for the help.
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