surfdh74

My 2011 ZR1 Battery finally took a dump today. I'm thinking about staying with the stock battery or maybe switching to the Optima. Have you guys switched? Noticed a difference? Opinions? Thanks!

Gary '09 C6

I had my OEM battery replaced about three months ago. It was likely 5.5--6 yrs old (2010 ZR1). Installed an aftermarket replacement
(600 CCAs) from O'Reilley Auto Parts. Looks exactly like the OEM A/C Delco battery that was removed from the car, except for the label.
Works fine...and the car is always on a battery tender 24/7 when not being used.

Vegas1500

Went with the optima. If anything I like that it's smaller and leaves some room to get it in and out. Saved some swearing and skinned knuckles!

surfdh74

Thanks guys!

SweetZO6

I went with the Optima yellow top because I have had great success with Optima batteries.

As for removing the OEM battery, vice grips on both terminals saves a lot of skin.

Ed

UrbanKnight

Duralast Gold from Autozone.. One of the best batterys out there...

You will notice no difference amongst mbatteries if they are doing their job well...

there is a lot of optima hate in the world right now as the quality of the current batteries doesn't 'seem" to be as good as the older ones that gave them the reputation

The boss

On Optimabattery.com, there is no battery that fit a ZR1, are you using the group 34/78 model? if not what part # are you using?

SPEEDEMON

I'm planning replacing mines soon also, I notice there's a vent tube on the original battery. I haven't started looking around for a replacement yet. Is that vent tube just on the factory battery? I'm not sure the aftermarkets will have that or does anyone know?

UrbanKnight

Correct aftermarket batteries have them to. If you buy something not designated as an OEM replacement, then they may not have the tube

chin180sx

I would say there are plenty of good options that fit.

AGM (non spill), I would stay away from Optima as their quality has seemed to dropped. But East Penn Deka sells a great battery for a good price (group 48), Braille also sells one very similar. Northstar also sells a very high quality battery (some of the most pure lead) with more CCA than a stock battery.

If you want light weight you can put in a lithium battery, but it gets tricky on size. Braille sells a replacement sized group 48 battery that weights 10lbs and has over 800 cranking amps, but retails for $1500. I know some friends that have had good luck with antigravity, but it is a smaller battery so it will either need to be on a switch or cannot sit for a long period of time.

Same if you wanted a small lightweight battery such as the Deka ETX30, or Braile 3121, it will start the car with no issues, but can't sit as long as a full size battery. Hope this helps.

INTRCUL

I know Optima makes some with vent tubes but I'm not sure if the same physical size battery is available with that tube. Since either a Red Top or Yellow Top will probably have more CCA than the OEM battery, I'm pretty sure you can get a physically smaller battery as long as the bottom and top tie down can still safely hold it.

I've heard a lot of talk about quality issues over the last few years, but I've owned 2 Red Tops with one of them only going back 2 years. Once I find the model that fits with a vent tube, I'm putting one in my Z.

SweetZO6

I don't think there is a direct Optima OEM replacement. I have the yellow top D35 battery. It is the right length and width but is taller then the OEM. The OEM hold down bracket will not work. I just left it off.

Ed

surfdh74

Thanks everyone! Going to change it out this week.

The boss

If the battery is not tied to the car, it can move and bounce over bump, this will shorten its life, make sure it tight.

D35 is what I will look for thank's

Bgreenard

Here is a Optima Yellow Top installed in my Z06, I will do the same one my ZR1.

CyberZ

Check out the Odessy PC1200. It's a military grade AGM battery. I just did a ton of research and this battery really has high reviews. It's same weight, smaller which eases install/removal. I'm impressed so far.

The boss

I fix police car here in Montreal. They had Odessey battery in Ford Crow Vic. and they lasted 3 times longer than a regular battery. They where also almost 3 times the price but whort it. Just hard to find dealers around here

Campfire

I've got an AGM Odessey in my motorcycle but went with a LFX36L3-BS12 Shorai 12v 36 AH PBEq LiFePO4 Power Sports Battery in my ZR1 because it is so much lighter than most everything else at a cost effective price. I took out a yellow top Optima when I put in the Shorai. It's been in there about 2 months at this point and no problem so far. The car gets started and driven on average, about once every week and a half. If I remember correctly, that change dropped 35 lbs out of the back of my car.

I brake for nothing

Anyone else switch to a lithium battery ? Seems the market for these is really picking up.

khoeysr

I just put a yellow top D35 in my 13 ZR1. I used a dremel to trim the hold down bracket and it works fine. Now just trying to figure out how to vent it.