Hi there, could somebody please recommend the best battery for an XJ6 1973 Series 1? I've been told AC Delco, but i'm not sure what size i'm needing. Cheers!

 

I don't know what size you need, sorry. As for brand, well, I don't think I've ever had a bad one. Sears, Delco, Optima, Interstate, evenWalmart's house brand have all been fine in my various cars and trucks, including my Jags. I've had el-cheapies last5+ years just like the high dollar ones.

There are only a couple companies making batteries in the USA. One of them is Johnson Controls, I think. I'm sure there are different grades and quality levels but I'm betting there's a lot of "label engineering", too. That is, same battery, with the "label of choice" being applied.

Others will chme in, no doubt.

Cheers
DD

 

Best thing to do, is go to Sears or Pepboys/AutoZone/O'reillys/Napa and have them look up the spec'd Battery for that year and model..


BTW this is the wrong forum section for this question...just saying

 

I am using Optima batteries in a couple of my cars that are not daily drivers.
Don't know if this car is a daily driver for you.
I travel for work so sometimes these cars sit for a month or two without being driven and they start right up. (your mileage may vary)
hth,
Chad
http://www.optimabatteries.com/

 

Thanks guys, i will check them out! And sorry for not having this post in the proper section, i'll be mindful from now on. Cheers!

Luke

 

Keep in mind that while there are millions of different brands of batteries, atleast in north america, they all come off of 1 of 3 assembly lines. For example, the same battery will have a Walmart sticker on it, an Advanced Auto sticker on it, a Schucks sticker, and an Exide sticker. The internals are exactly the same. Nothing special about one over the other except for the warrantee that is associated with it. So, when looking at batteries, you will see a wide variety of prices for the batteries. What you are paying for in most cases is the name on the outside of the battery, nothing more.

With this being said, make sure to compare the same types of batteries. You have lead acid batteries and spiral wound batteries. yes, there is a big difference between the two. Spiral batteries are greatfor high shock conditions (ie, 4x4 trucks, race cars, etc), but for the general driver, a lead acid battery will handle the bumps just fine. Also note that in lead acid batteries, you also have deep cycle and starting batteries. DO NOT!!!! put a deep cycle battery in a daily driver vehicle. Will it work. Yes. But, you will be replacing that battery in about a year. Deep cycle batteries need to be charged and discharged over and over. This is really hard on the alternator of your vehicle if you are letting the alternator recharge the battery. Not to mention constantly getting jumps is a bit of a pain.

I know a thing or two about batteries. The one I use at work is capable of powering a small town, literally.

 

Also having done alot of research on batteries I can vouch for the information Thermo posted. Only a few manufacturers for literally hundreds of brand names.
The main difference between deep cycle and starting batteries is: deep cycle batts are designed to provide a small amperage output over a long period of time while starting batteries provide a large amperage output for a short amount of time (when the car is started for example).
Deep cycle batts are able to be discharged and recharged more often because the plates inside are considerably thicker than starting batts. The starting batt has more plates for a greater surface area and as such the thinner plates cannot take the abuse that the deep cycle can.
The spiral wound are not the typical automobile lead acid battery in their construction. I have been very happy with the three that I use for my hobby cars because they don't seem to discharge as much when left idle for long periods of time. Unfortunatley There are only six or eight size variations of the spiral type made so you have to do some research as to the group size your car requires and maybe even some modifications to make them fit. I have found that as a rule they are smaller than the lead acid batts and therefore easily adaptable.
Chad