Cheaper alternative to Odyssey PC680 mini battery

[sergiosdsm]

http://www.gruberpower.com/gruberpower/advertising/batteries/cutsheets/58-PC-680.asp

From what I have read, they are built in the same factory just without the Odyssey middle man and they perform well even in extremely cold weather. enjoy

 

[blcknspo0ln]

That's a nice alternative. Are you running one yourself?

I run a civic battery. Its half the size and the weight of an oem battery. I checked the cranking/amperage power on the gold battery versus my stock red battery and it is the same (actually the honda battery was a little better rated).

Check my gallery for pics. This was a duralast gold purchased from autozone.

 

[almostquick]

very nice, I like the price, I might have to ditch my lawn mower battery for this.

 

[FlatBlackTerror]

very nice, I like the price, I might have to ditch my lawn mower battery for this.

Has anyone ever used this on there car? I like teh price as well, i might just have to put the order through.

 

[almostquick]

I'll probably order one when I get paid this week.

 

[FonZ454]

I'll stick with my larger walmart battery for this winter (650 CCA), but next year I think I'm definately going to go with a smaller battery and mount it low in the engine bay.

 

[sergiosdsm]

I saw alot of guys on the neons.org running this battery so I researched it and found that it works

 

[FlatBlackTerror]

I saw alot of guys on the neons.org running this battery so I researched it and found that it works

Link doesnt work anymore...


edit: it does now

 

[Ludachris]

So I just bought the Gruber 680. I found that it dies overnight. Should I be running a trickle charger nightly? Or do I have a wiring issue that is drawing power when the car's off?

 

[DougR]

ludachris, buddy you have a wiring issue.
Something is pulling slot of power to kill a battery overnight.
check the car out with amp meter. See how mutch draw it has, start dissconnecring things one at a time.
what ever has the highest amp rating is probly the problem.
I test with everything turned off.
Excuse typo's please, I'm on iPhone.

 

[romeen]

If you have never had similar issues with a previous battery then it could be a defective battery. If it will still take a charge then you can recharge it then have it load tested at Autozone or auto electrical/battery shop (usually free test). How low ("dead") is the battery voltage now?

Fortunately it's usually not too difficult to find an electrical drain:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...inding-short-partial-short-battery-drain.html

 

[tenn-gsx]

Hey guys found this. Odyssey PC680 Battery - Odyssey Batteries Dont know how long it will last. Just wanted to share.

 

[Ludachris]

Old discussion, but thought I'd make it known that the old Gruber batteries mentioned here appear to no longer be in production.

Here is another alternative to the Odyssey PC680:
Deka ETX20L(1) Replacement Battery - Wholesale Batteries Direct

But I also found that one of our vendors has some pretty good pricing on the Odyssey too:
EXTREME PSI : Your #1 Source for In Stock Performance Parts

Maybe others can chime in again with some other options.

 

[romeen]

So I just bought the Gruber 680. I found that it dies overnight. Should I be running a trickle charger nightly? Or do I have a wiring issue that is drawing power when the car's off?

Chris, what ended up being the problem with that? I had an Odyssey 680 back in '02. It would drain within a week and wouldn't take a full charge and just got worse over time. It completely died after 11 months. If the Gruber and Odyssey are/were in fact made at the same factory then I'm wondering if this is common.

 

[turboglenn]

WHen i worked on porsche track cars (mainly 944's, but some 930's/011's and so on) but anyway, all of them ran the little Odyssy batteries and NONE of them would start after having been parked for a couple days. we would use a jump box and after a few laps on the first day then it would be good enough to start for MOST of the remaining race weekend. But even at that there were times we needed the boost-a-packs track-side.

All of these cars had the mandatory battery kill dwitches so nothing was draining them they just don't hold the typoe of juice one needs in a battery that's serving a daily driven purpose car.. Sure they are fine for a "track only" setup of for some one who wants to feel as close to a race car on the streets as they possibly can but is it really worth all thr trouble? especially with the haggered DSM charging system backing it up>?

 

[Ludachris]

Chris, what ended up being the problem with that? I had an Odyssey 680 back in '02. It would drain within a week and wouldn't take a full charge and just got worse over time. It completely died after 11 months. If the Gruber and Odyssey are/were in fact made at the same factory then I'm wondering if this is common.

Never did figure it out, kept having to jump it that season. Pulled the battery out after the season and it sat and died since the car hasn't been started since.

I agree Glenn. It was way more hassle than it was worth, even at the track. I'm hoping to find something halfway in between the 680 battery and the stock battery in terms of weight and cranking amps... maybe just a slightly bigger Odyssey battery. I don't know yet.

 

[TSiAWD666]

Weird, my 680 works great. I don't drive it for days at a time and it starts right up. It does drain pretty quickly if I leave a light on or something but I expected that with the smaller capacity relative to a stock-sized battery. I'm pleased with the smaller package.

The only time my 680 has not performed well, dying after a couple days of sitting with no lights on, was when I had a parasitic draw due to a body shop mis-wiring a component to my sound system when they reinstalled the interior. Once I found that the battery has performed just fine, at least to my expectations. I do though tend to watch the battery voltage and if I drain it below 11.8 I 'll charge it as Odyssey told me 11.8v was the cutoff.

For folks that have had them "die" on you, have you hooked up an AGM battery supporting charger to them to try to re-charge them? I had mine "die", which means my charger said the battery had problems, and then discovered the nuances of battery types and that my then charger didn't support AGM batteries and incorrectly reported battery problems. Picked up an agm-supporting charger and voila battery was back at full charge in a few hours.

 

[rEclipserGST]

I am currently running a brand new 94' Honda Del sol battery from Napa. Half the size. Rated around 575 cca. Weighs 27 lbs. Easy to tuck & lower. Hell of a warranty as well

 

[VisionPaintball]

SHURiKEN SK-BT20 (SKBT20) 850 Amp 12 Volt AGM Power Cell Battery

I know some guys run this. Damn, 2 months ago it was 69.95

My odyssey is working great thank god.

 

[JusMX141]

I am currently running a brand new 94' Honda Del sol battery from Napa. Half the size. Rated around 575 cca. Weighs 27 lbs. Easy to tuck & lower. Hell of a warranty as well

This will never fit into most of the aftermarket trays built for our cars, though.

Think of the PC680 as a motorcycle battery, because that's exactly what it is.

 

[ed1380]

I'm also running a group 51 battery. Fits great. no need to deal with all the extra wire, fuses, switches to relocate

 

[blktalon3]

I ran the pc680 for a little while, eventually died so I'm gonna try a YTX20H-BS. Its smilar in size, 18 AH capacity, and 310 cca. After my pc680 died I had a ytx12 sitting around so I stuck it in and actually did pretty good. It only had around 200cca and if i happen to leave a light on and drain it I just stuck on the charger and it charged right back up. Didn't seem to be as picky as a pc680.

 

[Doubleot]

I'm actually considering getting a civic battery and seeing how that works out. It's only a couple bucks more expensive then my current battery.

 

[zedicus]

i did the civic battery on the stock tray for a while. its tall, works o.k., looks like crap, needs a rubber upper mount or a narrow upper mount.

a miata battery would fit the best with stock parts, but the terminals are on the wrong side so an extension is needed.

personally the 680 and an aftermarket tray is grotesquely expensive for a motorcycle battery and some sheet metal. i too was looking at lawn mower battery's even.

i still havent decided for sure on my permanent set up but my plans are either miata battery on stock tray and drill it and build a custom top bar, and make a permanent splice in the cables and route it nicely. or pitch all the stock stuff, buy a motorcycle battery and just build a custom bracket and strap for it.

and considering all the other stuff stripped off my car im not sure its worth the work for what a stock battery weighs in comparison.