Comparrison between different battery brands

[Dammed 12]

Ok, I have been searching and reading yesterday and today. I went back as far as 2007 but I couldn't find any topics like this one that had any good answers.

My car will have a Iraggi 180A alternator (biggest that fits my car), BIG 3 with 1/0, 1/0 run for positive and negative from the front to the back and I will be using one Hifonics XX Colossus II and one SS REF4.920, giving a output of about 3800W rms. This will be a daily system, but I will be going to DB drags and other social car stereo events so the car will be competing a little bit and demonstrating the car stereo with the engine off, probably charging with a Ctek 25A charger or using a other power supply.

I know Ah is not so important when car is on, but if the car is off then it's nice to have a nice reserve. And all of these battery setups are overkill for my system, but overkill is never bad and I want it to be ready for future upgrades.

I want to know what brands gives most bang for the buck. The usual answer is Deka (9A31), but how does this change if your budget for batteries is around $700 +/-$50?

I have made 7 different battery setups, where I tried to compare Ah, PHCA, CCA, CA, and short circuit current where the info was available. I did not compare ESR since many of the battery manufacturers don't list it. I know it's one of the most important specs in batteries, so I hope you guys have some knowledge about the ESR in the different brands. I have chosen these brands based on the replies in threads like "what battery to buy". But in those threads there was little comparisons between the brands that were suggested.

Setup 1: 1 x Deka 9A78DT in the front and 3 x Deka 9A31 in the back. Total of: 355Ah, 4150A CA and $704.

Setup 2: 1 x XS Power S925 in the front and 2 x XS Power 2700 in the back. Total of: 234Ah, 6000A PHCA and $758.

Setup 3: 1 x Odyssey PC925 in the front and 3 x Odyssey PC1500T in the back. Total of: 214Ah, 5000A PHCA, 3150A CA and $675.

Setup 4: 1 x Kinetik HC800 in the front and 2 x Kinetik HC2400 in the back. Total of 292Ah, 6150A PHCA and $727.

Setup 5: 1 x Powersurge 350 in the front and two Powersurge 1250 in the back. Total of 285Ah, 5750A PHCA and $687.

Setup 6: 3 x Xstatic Batcap 2000, 1 in the front and 2 in the back. Total of 150Ah, 6000A PHCA and $630.

Setup 7: 1 x Shuriken BT35 in the front and 3 x BT100 in the back. Total of 335Ah, 7700A PHCA and $766.

I can't find a PHCA rating for the Deka batteries, but with a wild guess, maybe a total of around 5000-5500A? And the reason for the small battery in the front is that the battery has to have a maximum height of about 7".

Now, what would be the most powerful and best setup for my use and why?

[jonbearsmt 919]

you may be a show type guy.. i donno...

but i get my cells from a local battery reconditoner. (SP i know im drunk)

they have all kinda od cells new and used... and they get alot of sealed cells with HIGH AH for old folk scooters and od and ends.. i got cells that are 95 AH and 1300 cca. for 80 bucks each..and they dont have a fancy name brand sticker on them but they damn sure do the job....... my point is 400~700 bucks for a single cell is crazy..

find a shop like i explained if your intrested in saving money while getting the box done.. and even if your a show guy a cover is easy...

my local show is called sur- power perhaps a its a franchise.

[Dammed 12]

Yeah I thought about that to. But what about the resting voltage, isn't it pretty low on batteries like that? In the setups above, the most expensive battery is the XS Power 2700 at $299, so no $400/700 batteries here.

No I'm not a show guy, but I will try to make the stereo look really good. The batteries will be under the enclosure, I was thinking about making a big plexi window to show them, but if they are ugly then I'll just skip the window.

Hmm, I was expecting more replies then one. Nobody has some advice regarding this?

Edited February 16, 2010 by Dammed

[audiolife 14]

How much can you get Odyssey pc1750's for?

stinger 1700 vs powermaster 2700

Most Prefered Street A battery 650cu in?

Also going off of specs that runs the battery down well past 9v doesnt really say too much about what it can do for audio especially since they are at an unusable/dangerous for amplifier voltage usually in a second or less. Also with what is listed the deka set up should do pretty well parked and handle burps well.

[Dammed 12]

I haven't found the price for the 1750. But the cheapest online price for the 1700 was $200, but why should I go for the 1750? there isn't a big difference between the 1750 and 1500, the short circuit draw is much bigger on the 1750, but is this really a valuable spec for car stereo?

Thx for the links mate, lot of good stuff to read on those forum.

Yeah I was heading towards the Dekas myself, 355Ah reserve is really good. And if I have understood it correctly, the bigger the reserve thus longer can the battery hold a high voltage when the car is off. The question that comes up then, is how high is the Dekas resting voltage and how do they compare to Odyssey / Stinger batteries in burps?

And what about NSB batteries? I haven't found any site that lists pricing for them, only *call for price*.

Edited February 16, 2010 by Dammed

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

I am tuned in, I have 4 batteries (optima) and would like to just have one big one in back to clean things up. Optima never is anyones top pick, but i have good luck with them so far.

XS looks to be very nice and I have heard good things about stinger too. Shipping on batteries screws everything up and it's hard to find good local.

In a post a few weeks XS Power basically said that AH was meaningless to car audio. He said it was max amps we needed to pay attention to , but i have not seen that rating listed on other batteries.

[Dammed 12]

yeah I read that thread as well. I think that Ah has no big meaning in burps except one. When you use more power then your alternator can deliver then your batteries have to stand for the power. So if my assumption is correct, then if you're batteries has a larger Ah rating then they will be able to hold their voltage better then the batteries with a lower Ah rating.

In burps where you consume all of the power that the alternator/alternators can deliver then you will be able to get more power with batteries with a high Ah rating becuase the batteries will be keeping a higher voltage.

So if this is correct, then a low ESR rating is almost as important as a high Ah rating. Cause low ESR rating (among other things) give you a higher resting voltage. But a higher resting voltage means nothing if the battery/batteries loose their power quickly, here comes the AH rating.

Am I getting this whole thing wrong or am I on to something?

Optima seems to give you really little for the money compared to other brands. AH/$ and cranking Amps/$ is really low with Optima batteries.

I'm really thinking about the Dekas, I have to just check someone that has compared them to other brands in burps.

[shizzzon 461]

dekas that i've seen rest at 12.8-12.9v.

kinetik batts i've seen rest at 12.9-13.0v

XS Power batts rest at 13.1-13.2v

[Dammed 12]

My Kinetik HC1800 rests at 13,1V, but ok. What difference will 12,8V be in comparison to a 13,2V when there are other variables like different Ah and CA rating?

Edited February 16, 2010 by Dammed

[Julian 641]

My kinetik rested at 12.8 mostly.

[Dammed 12]

after how long time after you stopped charging?

[Julian 641]

after about ~35 mins then pretty much rested around there.

[audiolife 14]

yeah I read that thread as well. I think that Ah has no big meaning in burps except one. When you use more power then your alternator can deliver then your batteries have to stand for the power. So if my assumption is correct, then if you're batteries has a larger Ah rating then they will be able to hold their voltage better then the batteries with a lower Ah rating.

In burps where you consume all of the power that the alternator/alternators can deliver then you will be able to get more power with batteries with a high Ah rating becuase the batteries will be keeping a higher voltage.

So if this is correct, then a low ESR rating is almost as important as a high Ah rating. Cause low ESR rating (among other things) give you a higher resting voltage. But a higher resting voltage means nothing if the battery/batteries loose their power quickly, here comes the AH rating.

Am I getting this whole thing wrong or am I on to something?

Optima seems to give you really little for the money compared to other brands. AH/$ and cranking Amps/$ is really low with Optima batteries.

I'm really thinking about the Dekas, I have to just check someone that has compared them to other brands in burps.

I always look at it from the standpoint its not where the electrical starts from it is where it ends up being for what I want it to do when I want to do it. I listen to my stereo longer than a few seconds even when I listen to it turned up usually it is at least the length of a whole song and maybe most of a cd. Totally different than listening to a test tone, totally different than constant load test that runs down to 7.2v because the output to music will have many peaks and valleys instead of a straight load. Some people like pressing their luck dropping down to 9.5v on a burp to get every last db on a limited by rule battery system. Might be good IF you have factory support and they are at your contest with spares but would suck otherwise. When shows were bigger you could always count on a few amplifiers emitting the magic smoke. Since you are already beyond a "magic" limit of batteries and you already know your system can draw more than your alt having reserve is a good thing. Most of the choices you listed will work thing is if you plan on parking it for demos.

[Dammed 12]

this is my kinetik hc1800 after about 10 min of resting:

I'll have to check what it reads after 45 min resting in a couple of days.

mm, I found a group buy for the Deka 9a31, it has ended but I'll try and see if it's possible to get 3 of those. Price was only $85 per battery.... Man what a great price.

[viper167 1]

mm, I found a group buy for the Deka 9a31, it has ended but I'll try and see if it's possible to get 3 of those. Price was only $85 per battery.... Man what a great price.

were did you find this at ?

me and one of my buddies are wanting some batts and that would be an awsome price

[Julian 641]

it will slowly coast down unless its a newer battery

[Dammed 12]

it's new batteries, but it looks like it ended 2 weeks ago.

link: Deka 9A31 group buy $85 per - 502StreetScene

edit: Anybody know about active group buys for batteries?

Edited February 17, 2010 by Dammed

[CrazyKenKid 64]

hey man here is what i have to offer!

my last setup was 1-interstate (not sure the specs green top though) 2-batcap 2000's in the rear. the resting voltage was about 13.22~ and they have a super small reserve and are VERY ideal for burps as they are able to dissapate at a high rate. but for daily (anything over 3mins car off) i wouldn't recommended them.

my new setup is 1-interstate (under the hood) and 2-nsb90's in the rear!! DAMN heavy batteries(85lb's i believe), they float at 12.88v and ONLY costed me 260CANADIAN Each, so in the states you can most likey get them for much better of a deal (here are the specs on them)

http://www.battery-usa.com/Catalog/NSB90.pdf

they are darn good batteries with a nice reserve on them and they get the job done! on full tilt car ON i can't get them below 13.3volts, right now i am only pushing 2krms (saz2000) and a h/o (200amp) 1 nsb90 and yes the big 3 is done. my next setup will involve 2-nsb90's and 2-saz2000's! so i can give you a better review when the nicer weather comes out! lol!!

enjoy

[Dammed 12]

Yeah the NSB90's are great batteries, I have to call and check the price with some dealers becuase I haven't found one store that has the price displayed on their web page. That's why they aren't in one setup.

But if the Deka group buy is still possible then I will buy Dekas, $350 + shipping for 3 x 9A31 and one 9A78DT would be awesome.

[scottiej 5]

How much can you get Odyssey pc1750's for?

stinger 1700 vs powermaster 2700

Most Prefered Street A battery 650cu in?

Also going off of specs that runs the battery down well past 9v doesnt really say too much about what it can do for audio especially since they are at an unusable/dangerous for amplifier voltage usually in a second or less. Also with what is listed the deka set up should do pretty well parked and handle burps well.

These links are from old outdated threads, and as a competitor myself, I would not recommend using the PC1750 for SPL purposes. For street A, I would recommend the 2010 XS Power D2700 or NSB75.

Also, the Deka batteries are made fom recycled lead which is great for the environment, and allows them to be produced very inexpensively. The trade off is life expectancy, and retension of performance over time... I would expect about 1 year of good use out of them in a high amperage car audio application, and would certainly not recommend them for competition.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

Hey you mension the nsb75..i was just wondering why? also what are your thoughts on the nsb90? (yes i own a pair but haven't been using them to much due to school and garbage weather lol!

How much can you get Odyssey pc1750's for?

stinger 1700 vs powermaster 2700

Most Prefered Street A battery 650cu in?

Also going off of specs that runs the battery down well past 9v doesnt really say too much about what it can do for audio especially since they are at an unusable/dangerous for amplifier voltage usually in a second or less. Also with what is listed the deka set up should do pretty well parked and handle burps well.

These links are from old outdated threads, and as a competitor myself, I would not recommend using the PC1750 for SPL purposes. For street A, I would recommend the 2010 XS Power D2700 or NSB75.

Also, the Deka batteries are made fom recycled lead which is great for the environment, and allows them to be produced very inexpensively. The trade off is life expectancy, and retension of performance over time... I would expect about 1 year of good use out of them in a high amperage car audio application, and would certainly not recommend them for competition.

[Dammed 12]

thx for the info, my stereo will be used as a daily and not a SPL setup. I will play DB drag a couple of times in a year, but my goal is not to have highest possible DB, but a reliable battery setup that will last at least 3 years.

I found this picture on a thread, any good info here or is it BS?

Edited February 17, 2010 by Dammed

[lostdaytomorrow 0]

Also, the Deka batteries are made fom recycled lead which is great for the environment, and allows them to be produced very inexpensively. The trade off is life expectancy, and retension of performance over time... I would expect about 1 year of good use out of them in a high amperage car audio application, and would certainly not recommend them for competition.

Where was this deka information found? And how would I find what other battery makes use recycled lead, therefore shorter lifespan?