MX-3.com

Im curious about which OPTIMA BATTERY fits under the hood of the MX-3? The stock 1.8L calls for 440ca's...the mx-6 with the 2.5l call for 540ca's(i think, or 520ca).... I have the KL-ZE, so obviously i need to go with the 500+cranking amps....Walmart has a 1000ca which is huge, and the 500ca-ish which looks like it'll fit....But will it? Im assuming the smaller battery is the one.... Im just curious if anybody has tried either of them....Eventually I'll put the battery in the back of the car, but for now, I need it to fit under the hood....+ with the "FAST strut-bar", Im curious if it'll fit? ANY replies that could help me out would be much appreciated.... Some say there is only 1 size of OPTIMA BATTERY, but thats not true.... Once again, any info is much appreciated


----------93 25th Edition 2.5l KL-ZE GS-R----------

1st off, lower CCA's does not mean you can't start your car off it. You can start your car just fine on a 12v motorcylce battery if you wanted to. The only thing more CCA's is going to help is if you have a big stereo or something of the like, you can keep it on longer with the car OFF.

2nd, from personal experience with Optima, I won't touch them. I even worked for Optima's parent company and could have gotten them at $55 a piece, but I wouldn't even use it at that price.

I run an Exide Orbital in my car for a couple years now and love it. It's better build quality than the Optima, and has never given me one iota of a problem. I bought mine here : http://www.remybattery.com/Exide-Orbita ... dt-84.html

That's the exact model I have and I can tell you 100% it fits in the MX3 battery tray under the stock battery tiedown.

I have 2 in parallel mind you, but I did run just one for a few months with no problems even in the coldest of weather, I just got 2 for the extra runtime and redundancy

Here's the info on mine:
Part Number: 8004-003
Model Number: 34/78

Ratings:
CA: 980
CCA: 800
RC: 110

lakersfan1 wrote:1st off, lower CCA's does not mean you can't start your car off it. You can start your car just fine on a 12v motorcylce battery if you wanted to. The only thing more CCA's is going to help is if you have a big stereo or something of the like, you can keep it on longer with the car OFF. .

What? That's totally different from what I know it as, even, it should be self-explanitory, Cold-Cranking Amps


http://www.autobatteries.com/faq/index.asp

Cold Cranking Amps is a rating used in the battery industry to define a battery's ability to start an engine in cold temperatures. The rating is the number of amps a new, fully charged battery can deliver at 0° Farenheit for 30 seconds, while maintaining a voltage of at least 7.2 volts, for a 12 volt battery. The higher the CCA rating, the greater the starting power of the battery.

http://www.bgsoflex.com/cca.html

The definition of the Cold-Cranking Amperage (CCA) of an automotive battery is the amount of current a given battery can deliver for 30 seconds at zero (0) degrees F without dropping below a specified cutoff voltage (manufacturer-specific, but usually 10.5 volts).

http://www.ntb.com/advisor_guidesbattcomm.htm

The definition of Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) is the amount of power a battery can provide at (0º F). In layman’s terms, Cold Cranking Amps are a measure of how much power a battery can supply to start an engine when it’s really cold (0º F). The CCA rating is particularly important to customers in cold climates, because lower temperatures demand more power to start a car.

CCA and CA (cranking amps @ 32*F) has nothing to do with storage/runtime capacity

Yes. It's a measure of amperage vs. TIME at a pre-defined voltage. CCA's will definitely tell you how long you can run your car with a certain load on your battery at 0 degrees since time is part of the equation. Our cars will not use a full 800 amps for the 30 cranking seconds, so we will obviously be able to crank longer than 30 seconds. A normal, small car format battery should be able to crank for MINUTES at a time before wearing down on our cars.


If you need to crank for minutes, you need to fix your car, not get a bigger battery. My car's in good enough mechanical order, I only need to crank for two seconds in 0F weather. I could easily start my car in any weather with a 350CCA motorcycle battery .... as I previously stated.

lakersfan1 wrote:1st off, lower CCA's does not mean you can't start your car off it. You can start your car just fine on a 12v motorcylce battery if you wanted to. The only thing more CCA's is going to help is if you have a big stereo or something of the like, you can keep it on longer with the car OFF.

2nd, from personal experience with Optima, I won't touch them. I even worked for Optima's parent company and could have gotten them at $55 a piece, but I wouldn't even use it at that price.

I run an Exide Orbital in my car for a couple years now and love it. It's better build quality than the Optima, and has never given me one iota of a problem. I bought mine here : http://www.remybattery.com/Exide-Orbita ... dt-84.html

That's the exact model I have and I can tell you 100% it fits in the MX3 battery tray under the stock battery tiedown.

Very nice battery! Now if i can get that shipped to nova scotia for less then $150 ill buy it!

I know NAPA in the states carry Orbital batteries. Might want to check there or see if there's some other Orbital battery dealer near you.

Whats the specs on the 2.5L cca's?? i keep thinking 520 or 540cca's for the 2.5L ....iys 440 for the 1.8L....so aslong as i get 540cca's ill b fine....+ i have a 1-farad cap inline stereo...that was a huge diff once that was put in....slowly just pullin out the car from the long winters nap......still lots of dirt on raods, + potholes...im in no real rush to break a rim or bottom out.....i do miss the BOOM BOOM and the 70km corners while holding a coffee and changing the disc....+ tweaking the amp along with watching the GPS do N-S-E-W spins.....hehe...just kiddin...thats my braing playyin the part as the GPS....and its me spiining N-S-E-W.... next few weeks i assume itll be out n BOOM BOOMING down the road....Waterpump/Timing Belt/Seals before anything rolls