Battery upgrades?

fields_mj

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Is there an option to upgrade to a bigger/better battery on a 2000 350 crewcab? For instance I switched to group 31 battery's for my '93. Didn't know if a similar upgrade was available for the newer truck.

Thanks
Mark
 

IDIoit

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did this last month.

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austin92

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I have a pair of optima red tops I got off eBay for 150 shipped each. They will start the truck no problem on one. I consider them an upgrade


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steelheadguy

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Why upgrade? Ive cold started my truck with just one old battery after sitting for a loong time. With glow plugs and rediculous amounts of cranking still never kills the battery and eventually starts.
Hell it starts in gear up hill.
 

fields_mj

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I've thought about the optima batteries also. When it's time to replace them I'm leaning towards the red tops at this point. Always wondered how they compared to group 59, 65, and 31s, and how the yellow tops measured up also.
 

fields_mj

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Why upgrade? Ive cold started my truck with just one old battery after sitting for a loong time. With glow plugs and rediculous amounts of cranking still never kills the battery and eventually starts.
Hell it starts in gear up hill.
Mine don't. She starts hard when it's cold out. If I forget to plug in, they get the job done but it's iffy. I've killed more than one pair of group 59s in my '93 due to bad starters, bad glow plug, and operator error. Since going to the 31s I haven't had any problems.
 

austin92

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I've thought about the optima batteries also. When it's time to replace them I'm leaning towards the red tops at this point. Always wondered how they compared to group 59, 65, and 31s, and how the yellow tops measured up also.
The yellow tops have similar cca but they are designed to handle high draw accessories like winches and powerful subwoofers. If you do get optimas, look on eBay. 300$ for a pair shipped compared to 230$ +tax a piece at part stores


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IDIoit

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I wouldn't run a gel battery in these.
I have ran and killed several gel batteries.
they are great, right up to the point that they fail.
charge them wrong, they fry.
I prefer to stick with my conventional batteries.
2000 cca's and a powermaster starter. ive never heard this truck turn over as fast or as crisp.
I also run a 1000 watt amp to 2 12" subs
 

MR.T

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I've had Odyssey AGM's for 8+ years, these worked very well, including some deep discharge use. One of the pair was about dead and it was running fine off the other -- didn't even notice until I did some pre-winter battery testing.

Decided to try X2 AGM's from BatteriesPlus -- These tested well, exceeding their nameplate CCA using an Arga large current pulse tester. Hopefully they last a long time.

The good Odyssey with 8+ years tests almost like new, still reading near the nameplate CCA -- Decided to save it for another vehicle. It was on the drivers side and I wonder if because of the longer run of battery cable it usually gets less amperage draw and resulting in longer life. I've had this truck since new and if I remember correctly, it's always failed the passenger side first. Maybe I'll rotate their positions...
 
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VanDiesel

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Modified the two battery trays to accept the largest size deep cycle/marine batteries. Also have a third batttery box for running accessories. The two banks are run through a battery isolator.
 

fields_mj

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I've had Odyssey AGM's for 8+ years, these worked very well, including some deep discharge use. One of the pair was about dead and it was running fine off the other -- didn't even notice until I did some pre-winter battery testing.

That's almost $700 worth of batteries.... OUCH!

My current batteries are holding up for now. Looks like I'll be pulling them out at some point to see what I need to do in order to fit some Group 31's in there. Now that I have a back up, I can afford to have a vehicle down for a few days to make the mods.
 

fields_mj

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I was looking at the one's listed as Odessey which are $334ea. Looks like the 10% discount is still available, so that would put it at $600 for those batteries. The X2Power are $300 ea - 10%, so $540 for the pair. Not sure if there's shipping on that or not, but its still some serious coin to drop for a pair of batteries. I can understand where it would be needed in some applications though.

I like the idea of them being a drop in solution, but I can get Group 31s for around $100 ea, and for the $300+ difference in price, I'm willing to make a few mods. I've cranked and cranked and cranked on my 31's and never had a problem. If I crank so long that I start to loose some power, something else has gone noticeably wrong. If I had other high current needs, I'd be willing to spend the money, but just for starting the truck, I can't justify it. A good Group 31 will give me 950CCA ea. Not as much reserve as a deep cycle, but I've cranked on mine long enough to have killed at least 2 sets of Group 59s, and they still had plenty of life in them.
 

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