4x4 Battery which one?

That's a good run goes to show they can make batteries that last a long time. I replaced my daughters 2010 kia rio batt early this yr only because she went to uni in another town didn't want her having trouble.

From my experience working on stations, over 2 years is pretty damn good for 4WD starting batteries. In June, I fitted a new Century battery to my 79 series prior to a couple of Simpson crossings, even though the original battery was only 2 years old and still performing well.

Would agree about regular extra charging, especially on vehicles with a smart alternator.

Bob

A second for the Supercharge, good value.

Another vote for Supercharge, i run these for both crank and auxiliary.
Just replaced my auxiliary battery - had the previous one for over 5 years and it had been absolutely abused and run low frequently (spent the last 3 years touring Oz). Crank battery has been in for three and going strong. Can't rate them highly enough

I've had a good run out of supercharge and they are very well regarded in the boating community.

Unlike other brands that market a specific 4WD battery, that is just a marine battery with a different colour case and an extra $20 on the price.

supercharge just market marine batteries , which are a rugged construction battery.

The supercharge gold marine, is the sealed version and has glass mats between the plates like any good rugged construction battery.

the ting with the supercharge gold marine is that even though it is a sealed battery ..... the vent valves can be unscrewed and the electrolite topped up.

This voids warranty ..... but after you are out of warranty you have some thing you can do if the battery gets over charged and electrolite gets low.

These sealed marine batteries offer most of the advantages of AGM without the poor temperature tollerance and charge limitations
cheers

We had a woeful run with supercharge allrounders on our fleet Utes. They have a site delivery service in Brisbane which is just as well because once they hit 18 months old they all went short circuit. We are paying $400 odd each for optimas and $430 odd for odyssey batteries and getting anything from 7 - 10 years from them. Cheapest batteries we own by far.

Yeh there seems to be an issue with the all rounders .... possibly that people are trying to get either good cranking or good deepcycle or both performance out of a compromise battery.

they are not in the same league or the same price bracket as an optima.

From what I have heard in the last several years I would buy the marine gold long before the allrounder.

cheers

Most companies occasionally get a bad batch which turn people of their brand. I used century in a few different 4WD's they had good cranking power but they never lasted..
I got 5yrs 3months out of my1st allrounder, never had any trouble ran the RF47 Evakool of it lots, sometimes didn't even bother starting the car when running the compressor topping up tyres when the fridge wasn't being used. I was told if you bye a combo battery regardless the brand to get the most out of it you should use it correctly which means low power drains over periods of time from fridges etc. It is a deep cycle and if you don't use it like one at all they are less likely to last very long.

It seems to me that many people mis-undrstand what a deep cycle battery is and this is part of the problem.

D deep cycle battery will withstand being discharged deeply pretty much no better than any other battery ....... hammer it down to 10V regularly and it will die as quickly as any other battery.

What deep cycle batteries ARE designed for is long cycles of charge and discharge where where those cycles may be many days ....... and they will be most efficient where the average discharge current is modest and likewise the charge current.

From what I am hearing many of the failures and shortened life in Allrounders is where they are hammered to low states of charge each day. and then have charge belted into them.

It is my belief that many people spec a deep cycle battery where they realy should be looking at a cyclic application battery ....... like a standard marine starting battery.

cheers

Compromise is that a good or bad thing ? More info would be nice.

Yes the Fullrivers are good.
Just dont put them in the engine bay, they do NOT like the heat and will not last long

Full rive DO make a battery that will tollerate underbonnet temperatures, but it is a different battery to commonly offered and will cost quite a bit more than people might expect

cheers

Sorry but from experience and that of others you can most definitely beat Australian made Century batteries.
The best battery manufacturing plants using the latest technology and the best quality control are not in Australia.
Sad but true
As far as supercheap ...... if you can't
get a better price for almost anything elswhere particularly a brand name, you are not shopping well.
cheers

Bantam, I bought two N70 CCA 810 Century Ultra High Performance batteries from Super Cheap for $170 Each. I didn't look anywhere else at that price to save 10 bucks. I have two batteries in parallel for my thirsty 90 litre fridge and I change them every 4 years regardless of their condition. My needs are simple so spending double on so called better technology is pointless for me. I think Century is the only large auto battery manufacturer left in Australia so we should support them where we can. regards, Michael.

Optima batteries ARE a lead acid battery, while they are a very good battery there are issues with their sizes and shapes and how much battery they can fit in the space due to the spiral cell form.

cheers

Technically comprised of lead & acid but they are an AGM type and not your standard L/A.
Obviously you would select one that fitted the space.
What I said stands.
Guess you are an Optima hater?

it's not a matter of being an optima hater, but there are practical considerations.

There simply is not the range of sizes that will be found in conventional battery packages and the extra cycle depth is required because in most packages there is not the same amount of AH capacity there would be in a conventional package of the same outer dimensions

All Spiral cell batteries have specific advantages and disadvantages.

cheers