Hi all,

So i have to buy a new battery since my OEM one won't hold a charge that long anymore.

I don't have any serious sound equipment, just an aftermarket stereo, front/rear speakers, and an alarm.

I was thinking about going with one of those lightweight racing batteries to reduce weight. Anyone have any experience with them? Am I better off going with just another OEM battery?

I leave my car sitting for a couple weeks at a time, and i've had to jump the car once since i'm guessing the alarm drained the battery.

Stay OEM or go for the lightweight?

Thanks!

 

Do you need a lightweight battery? If not just get a stock size DieHard. It doesn't sound like you really race your car on the track, so it would be a complete waste of money to buy a lightweight battery that you'll never use for its intended purpose. You'll never notice the weight savings in a mostly stock car.

 

Surprisingly, those lightweight batteries are not all that light. The weight/AmpHour ratio is worse than that of lead acid batteries.

For example, an Optima Yellow Top is about 41Ah @ 26 lbs, or a ratio of 1.58.
An equivalent Hawker (same capacity and bigger) is about 40Ah @ 38 lbs, or 1.05.
The Hawker 680 that fits our cars has a reserve capacity of 16Ah @ 15.4lbs or 1.03.

The higher the ratio the better capacity for the weight.

What you get is you trade reserve capacity for weight savings. Perhaps to save some coin, someone will look into fitting a lead-acid motorcycle battery in our car. The Hawker *is* a motorcycle battery with automotive lugs installed on it.

This isn't meant to say the Hawker is a bad battery, it's just to point out there is a trade-off when using this battery.