Battery recommendation 2013 Honda Pilot

[Islandvic]

My wife's 2013 Honda Pilot will probably need a battery replacement soon.

We live in South Texas, so it rarely freezes and it's always hot. For example, when northern States complain of heat waves in summer, that is a typical day for us.

The OEM Honda battery is a 550cca group 24 battery.

We are the original owners of the Pilot and plan to keep it another 3-5 years. It has 50k on the odo. Besides an Anker dual port fast usb charger, there are no other electronic accessories. The vehicle is driven everyday.

I am looking for a battery has more cca's than stock and has good reliability.

Will a group 35 battery fit?

What are your opinions on Optima Redtop batteries?

What about AGM battery offerings from Advanced Autoparts and Walmart?

In the past, I generally buy Walmart MaxxStart batteries with 3yr full replacement warranty. Who makes those now and are they still a good battery?

Are AGM batteries all made the same, or are some brands better than others?

In my application, will an AGM battery potentially last longer than a conventional battery (is the increase $$ of AGM have a correlating gain in performance/reliability) ?

Thank you for your thoughts and opinions on the matter!

 

[skyactiv]

Typically, a higher amp flooded battery doesn't last as long as a lower amp battery. The reason auto makers use a lower CCA battery vs what you'd typically buy in the aftermarket is to lessen warranty claims.

 

[Trav]

Go to your local Sears Auto Center before they put plywood up on the windows and buy a Die Hard Gold EP 24F or EP 35F both will fit they claim but I would measure first. Do not buy the JC 24F or JC 35F battery they are Johnson Controls junk. You will get full warranty life out of it, I never had one fail.
The EP are East Penn which also make NAPA (up here anyway) and Deka, great batteries.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by Islandvic
Besides an Anker dual port fast usb charger, there are no other electronic accessories. The vehicle is driven everyday.

I am looking for a battery has more cca's than stock and has good reliability.


Why? If your batteries are boiling away early, more CCA won't help. Since you have no special electronics on a low mileage vehicle.... why more CCA?

Generally I differentiate quality from indifferent batteries by reserve capacity, not CCA.

 

[NormanBuntz]

When my last battery turned 5 years old, I found that a Honda dealer had a new battery special that was only $12 more than the best deal I could find among my local auto stores. And I didn't have to install it. I didn't want an Evermaxx; had two bad ones in the past. Battery replacement is probably not worth overthinking, even though hot weather kills batteries faster than cold weather does.

 

[92saturnsl2]

You have a group 24 battery and you want to change..? Why? That is one of the most common, inexpensive, easy to find automotive battery in existence.

Don't just look at CCA / CA for determining the "best" battery. I would be more concerned about the RC (reserve capacity) rating, which the group 24 is usually one of the better ones due to its larger size, though it is only middle of the road when it comes to CCA.

Remember, a higher CCA rating usually requires more surface area of the lead plates/grid. The way that's done is to make the lead thin and porous, so more is in contact with the electrolyte. If battery A has 800CCA and battery B has 600CCA and they're the same format, which is the better battery? Unless you NEED the extra max output, battery B wins and lasts longer because it has thicker, more substantial plates. This is all a generality of course, and much depends on the battery price point and quality.

Group 24 is a great size and good balance between CCA and RC. I see the only way you're going to improve on it is a size 27, but I doubt it will fit. Other sizes may steer you more toward max CCA or to reserve capacity, but unless the battery is physically larger (few are larger than a 24) it's going to involve a compromise. The 24 and 65 sizes are my favorite.

Just get a good quality battery and call it a day. Johnson Controls have always been good for me, as have East Penn/Deka. I've had a couple Exide batteries die before I felt they should have, even though I took care of them and never ran them down all the way. Can't go wrong with a AGM battery, Sam's club sells some made by East Penn that are reportedly great quality. I doubt you will get any substantial capacity/CCA increase with an AGM (from what I gather, they may be a little lower in that regard), but they do last longer.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Originally Posted by Islandvic
In the past, I generally buy Walmart MaxxStart batteries with 3yr full replacement warranty. Who makes those now and are they still a good battery?


The ones at Walmart near me are made by Johnson Controls. I've owned a few Maxxstarts and all have been great batteries. There's one in my Odyssey that's 6-7 years old and still doing fine. I had one last over 10 years on a Pontiac Bonneville I used to own, but that one lived a very easy life from being mounted under the rear seat

.

 

[bbhero]

Originally Posted by HangFire
Originally Posted by Islandvic
Besides an Anker dual port fast usb charger, there are no other electronic accessories. The vehicle is driven everyday.

I am looking for a battery has more cca's than stock and has good reliability.


Why? If your batteries are boiling away early, more CCA won't help. Since you have no special electronics on a low mileage vehicle.... why more CCA?

Generally I differentiate quality from indifferent batteries by reserve capacity, not CCA.



You are obviously correct about reserve capacity being more important... However most of the time RC and CCA are in fact correlated. Higher reserve capacity = higher CCAs.

Case in point.. group 24f for my lady's Camry... These are JC batteries below

High CCA 710 battery has 120 min RC battery weighs 42 lbs

Low CCA 500 battery has 80 min RC battery weighs 37 lbs


East Penn does have a group 24f middle grade battery that has 650 CCA and 115 min RC.. in fact this is the Valuepower battery at Wally World now.... Which weighs 41 lbs by the way... And the part number being 624fmF confirms this... Making this $49.88 battery a real deal. Yeah warranty is only for a year but same EXACT battery has a 2 yr free replacement through O Reilly's and this same EXACT battery has a 3 year free replacement warranty through Federated Auto parts...

 

[Islandvic]

Thanks everyone for their resposnes!

Do yall have any input on AGM style batteries? Is an Optima Red Top going to possibly last longer?

So Johnson Controls are still a good manufacturer, correct? Although one person posted they were "junk".

And East Penn are good?

On the batteries, are they marked "JC" or "EP" for example, according to manufacturer?

I guess I was thinking about more CCA's because I have usually had to purchase batteries for various GM full size trucks/suv's in the past, and I thought 550cca was small. Ha.

Of anyone has anymore input, please post.

I prob will get the battery at the end of the week.

Thanks!

 

[bbhero]

Well East Penn are very good batteries...

And you are correct that if it's made by East Penn it will EP in the sticker code.... And if it's made by Johnson Controls... It will have a JC in the sticker numbers. . Walmart and O Reilly's do this.. also the battery case let's you know who the manufacturer is... East Penn equals flat top... JC equals caps that can be opened and generally these caps are elevated aboved the rest of the top of the case... The middle level group 24 JC is one of their batteries that does not have that.. but the caps are there and can be opened... The caps are just even with the rest of the case...

AGMs really are not worth purchasing in your case IF the battery is in the engine compartment... The heat there is going to beat on them just has bad has a flooded battery... Truth be told a flooded battery with the opportunity to open the caps and add distilled water would be a better way to go in your area..

If your battery is located elsewhere like under a seat or in the trunk... Then given that... A AGM battery would be a fine idea..

But the name on the sticker means nothing if...1) the battery is old and has never been charged while sitting waiting to sell... Flooded batteries lose 12-15% charge per month uncharged... Lost capacity is a big deal.. Look at the manufacturer date on the battery you are thinking of buying. Fresh one will be far better than one that sat for 6,7,8 months or longer..

 

[92saturnsl2]

FWIW, Exide batteries have a flat top with the caps recessed and able to be removed. Their case is distinctive and sets it apart from EP though if you look at them side by side. If you're looking primarily at Walmart batteries, you likely won't encounter any Exides though. If you have a Sam's Club membership, the Duracell batteries they stock are made by East Penn and have good reviews with pricing better than most.

 

[WhyMe]

Costco if you have one around. 42 month warranty and if it bakes to death just bring it back

 

[bbhero]

You are certainly right.. Exide is not at Wally World..
There is a reason for that I'm guessing.

The main difference between East Penn and Exide is that the East Penn batteries have no way to open them at all from the top. ( For most of the typical East Penn batteries sizes... 24, 27,35,51,58,65,124,85) One strange exception is the group 36 size East Penn which has elevated caps like a JC and maybe another one or two different sizes) Otherwise they are completely sealed and flat in the most commonly purchased sizes...

They could be opened.. but it would be a very fun adventure in doing so.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted by Islandvic
My wife's 2013 Honda Pilot will probably need a battery replacement soon.

We live in South Texas, so it rarely freezes and it's always hot. For example, when northern States complain of heat waves in summer, that is a typical day for us.

The OEM Honda battery is a 550cca group 24 battery.

We are the original owners of the Pilot and plan to keep it another 3-5 years. It has 50k on the odo. Besides an Anker dual port fast usb charger, there are no other electronic accessories. The vehicle is driven everyday.

I am looking for a battery has more cca's than stock and has good reliability.

Will a group 35 battery fit?

What are your opinions on Optima Redtop batteries?

What about AGM battery offerings from Advanced Autoparts and Walmart?

In the past, I generally buy Walmart MaxxStart batteries with 3yr full replacement warranty. Who makes those now and are they still a good battery?

Are AGM batteries all made the same, or are some brands better than others?

In my application, will an AGM battery potentially last longer than a conventional battery (is the increase $$ of AGM have a correlating gain in performance/reliability) ?

Thank you for your thoughts and opinions on the matter!


More CCA in same footprint means a battery with thinner plates. Not a good idea. Either install the same CCA battery (or close) or if you can fit a larger footprint battery then go with that.

 

[henni]

We run all our family Hondas (across all models and recent model years) on AGM batteries. Most are Bosch with a few Exide but all are AGM.

Couple things that stand out as far as battery comparison(s) is that all of these have a 4 year non-prorated warranty, that means, no questions asked. If the battery fails anytime inside 4 years we get a new battery without cost. Had to do that one time and it was a completely painless customer service experience. Turned out to be a bad AGM battery cell.

With many parasitic draw components we hook up all our Honda batteries at least once a month to a CTEK MUS trickle charger/analyzer and leave it there for 24 hours or more.

 

[Islandvic]

Thank you very much for EVERYONE's input and suggestions.

All very valuable information.

I learned about some aspects of batteries I was not aware of !!!

I've narrowed it down to either Adnvaced Auto Parts or Walmart.....

AAP:
AutoCraft Gold $120
AutoCraft Platinum AGM $154

W-M:
Everstart Maxx $104
Everstart Maxx AGM $160

I believe all have 3/5yr full/prorated warranties.

I may have to check Sam's Club today.

 

[bbhero]

Reserve capacity is really more important than CCAs.... This is not just representative of how many amp hours drawn at 25 per hr the battery will have in it equalled to in minutes..( Some battery manufacturers have dropped that to 20 by the way).. This is very helpful if your alternator stops working... You will not likely get all of the 120 minutes available in a Gold level group 24f battery More likely 105-110 minutes of run time A number of variables involved in this scenario... But it is way better than say having only 80 minutes of RC listed on the battery and yet you will only get say 70 minutes of run time.. That extra 30 minutes could make all the difference when trying to get to a location... Also the heavier the battery the more starting reserve capacity the battery will have has well.. Of course all this is most certainly predicated upon the battery being charged to one hundred percent and maintained that way..




Battery footprint and plates and weigh..

Example... X-2 battery made by Northstar group 24f battery weighs 56 pounds !!! It has a LOT more CCAs than other batteries of the same size.. But it obviously weighs a whole lot more too. And reserve capacity of X-2 is 160 minutes vs 120 for the flooded Gold batteries..

Whereas most other Gold batteries weigh 40-42 pounds...


X-2 battery AGM made by Northstar group 35 weighs 46 pounds... Whereas the highest level Gold batteries weigh 37-38 pounds... And the X-2 has 750 CCA... Vs 640 for other Gold level flooded batteries... And a lot more reserve capacity has well. 130 minutes vs 100..

Same exact foot print..

So heavier batteries with more CCAs don't always mean thinner plates in all cases... It does depends upon what the manufacturer does in their process of making the battery.

I have read on here the plates are actually the same size no matter what level of battery... Aka Silver or Gold etc etc.. It is just that the higher level battery has more of them inside.. It's just how the battery is put together in the end..