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Battery Replacement-How often & which one?

Capri to ST

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#1
I've read about all sorts of problems happening with our cars when the battery starts getting weak, so I thought I would replace it sooner rather than later. Some of the reported problems didn't initially appear to be caused by a weak battery, so it makes sense to me to just replace it, hopefully before those kinds of issues start to happen. I don't drive my car everyday, but I give it a good long run at least a couple times a week, so I'm assuming my battery stays pretty charged up.

For how often, I'm thinking every four years, my car is three and a half year old now.

As for which one, I'm leaning towards the Interstate MTP-96R, I've had good luck with Interstate batteries in the past. The model I referenced is the best one they have in our battery group size, 96R, they don't make an AGM battery for our car.
https://www.interstatebatteries.com/products/mtp-96r?search=true
It's tempting to think about an AGM battery, and I think Odyssey makes one for our car. They are known to be good batteries, but I've heard that they can be a little bit finicky about charging.
I'm just curious about what other people have done about the interval and the brand. I probably will limit myself to the stock size, I don't want to modify the battery tray.
 


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TyphoonFiST

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#2
There is supposedly a 96r AGM coming out from a vendor soon....there was a post about it awhile back. A 48 AGM SERIES fits like a bug snuggled up in a rug with a slight battery tray mod. I have done it & there is a thread on it also.

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Intuit

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#3
My announcement back in January last year...
https://www.fiestastforum.com/threads/battery-maintenance.17180/post-311284
...of a dying battery was apparently premature. I was off the motorcycle for several weeks, getting parts and trying to figure out some running issues. During that time the FiST was driven daily. The battery's magic eye went back to a full blown green. Couldn't get that to happen, yanking the battery out and overcharging it. (trying to decalcify the plates)
 


Intuit

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#4
There is supposedly a 96r AGM coming out from a vendor soon....there was a post about it awhile back. A 48 AGM SERIES fits like a bug snuggled up in a rug with a slight battery tray mod. I have done it & there is a thread on it also.

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https://www.fiestastforum.com/threads/a-group-48-battery-oh-yes-it-can-be-done.20186/
https://www.fiestastforum.com/threads/group-47-agm-battery-conversion.10763/
 


M-Sport fan

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#5
Sadly, last I checked, EnerSys/Odyssey is still at least a couple of months away from actually having their 96R-600 AGM released for retail sale. [mad] [:(]
 


TDavis

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#8
I stick with Motorcraft batteries. I may be bias working at Ford but they have one of the best/if not the best warranty out there. I had a Motorcraft battery in my Pontiac that lasted 7.5 years before it took a poo. It started quick everytime until its death.
 


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Odyssey has the 96r-600 on their website. it's a performance series. I just saw it... have to go online store tab, but it is there.
 


TyphoonFiST

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#10
Autocraft/ Advanced sells a 96r AGM also now. Another member found that out a couple weeks back.FYI...

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#11
Stock battery made it 5 years almost exactly. Probably could have lasted longer, but I lost faith in its cold cranking ability. I replaced it with Walmart's "finest" Everstart Plus at just under $100 plus tax. Works just fine and starts the car just as well as the stock battery.

Project Farm on YouTube did some torture testing on various batteries and Everstart did well. Check him out and consider his results vs what is actually made for our car. I personally don't see the need for some fancy battery.

Good luck
 


Ford ST

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#12
I watch every video he makes, I have ran several EverStart batteries. I have never made it more than three years with one without failure. I keep my cars for a lifetime so spending the money on a battery that is going to last several more years is definitely worth it. AMG batteries are superior. A EverStart left my wife stranded even though it had perfect voltage, because it had a broken connection inside. Of course I solved her problem.


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#13
I watch every video he makes, I have ran several EverStart batteries. I have never made it more than three years with one without failure. I keep my cars for a lifetime so spending the money on a battery that is going to last several more years is definitely worth it. AMG batteries are superior. A EverStart left my wife stranded even though it had perfect voltage, because it had a broken connection inside. Of course I solved her problem.


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You make a valid point. I can't speak for long term durability on Everstart and your negative experience with them is troubling.
 


M-Sport fan

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Odyssey has the 96r-600 on their website. it's a performance series. I just saw it... have to go online store tab, but it is there.
They told me it would be at least May before it is available to their distributors, glad to hear that was moved up(??).
 


OP
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Capri to ST

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Thread Starter #15
After looking at the comments on this thread and some others, here are the top three batteries I am considering, priced low to high.

If I decide to get a conventional non AGM battery, I have had good luck in the past with Interstate batteries. This is their best battery in our size, they don't make an AGM battery in the group 96r size-
https://www.interstatebatteries.com/products/mtp-96r/2016-ford-fiesta-l416l-standard?search=true

Second is the AGM battery that Advance Auto has started carrying-
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...ery-group-size-96r-590-cca-96r-agm/12102917-P

Third is the new Odyssey AGM battery that @ShawFiST mentioned above-
https://shop.odysseybattery.com/p/96r-600?pp=12

Note that as the site says, this appears to be one category down from their top category of battery-
"The ODYSSEY Performance series batteries provide all the reliability of the ODYSSEY Extreme Series batteries but without the high cold cranking amps (CCA) or reserve capacity (RC) that many people may not require."

Looking at the specs, The Odyssey battery has a bit more cold cranking amps and reserve capacity compared to the AutoCraft, but it weighs 9 more pounds, which is a lot.
I'm pretty familiar with Interstate batteries, so I'd be interested to know if anyone had any experiences, good or bad, with AutoCraft or Odyssey batteries.
 


Last edited:
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#16
After looking at the comments on this thread and some others, here are the top three batteries I am considering, priced low to high.

If I decide to get a conventional non AGM battery, I have had good luck in the past with Interstate batteries. This is their best battery in our size, they don't make an AGM battery in the group 96r size-
https://www.interstatebatteries.com/products/mtp-96r/2016-ford-fiesta-l416l-standard?search=true

Second is the AGM battery that Advance Auto has started carrying-
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...ery-group-size-96r-590-cca-96r-agm/12102917-P

Third is the new Odyssey AGM battery that @ShawFiST mentioned above-
https://shop.odysseybattery.com/p/96r-600?pp=12

Note that as the site says, this appears to be one category down from their top category of battery-
The ODYSSEY Performance series batteries provide all the reliability of the ODYSSEY Extreme Series batteries but without the high cold cranking amps (CCA) or reserve capacity (RC) that many people may not require.

Looking at the specs, The Odyssey battery has a bit more cold cranking amps and reserve capacity compared to the AutoCraft, but it weighs 9 more pounds, which is a lot.
I'm pretty familiar with Interstate batteries, so I'd be interested to know if anyone had any experiences, good or bad, with AutoCraft or Odyssey batteries.
Yeah if you want those sweet sweet CCA, you gotta pack some lead! Mo' lead, mo' powa! That's the harsh reality of lead batteries.
 


OP
Capri to ST

Capri to ST

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Thread Starter #17
Yeah if you want those sweet sweet CCA, you gotta pack some lead! Mo' lead, mo' powa! That's the harsh reality of lead batteries.
The thing is, the Odyssey battery only has 600 CCA as compared to 590 for the AutoCraft, that seems like a small extra amount for the nine extra pounds. This would make me lean towards the AutoCraft if I want an AGM battery.
 




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