Current hotness in Diesel batteries?

[Zombie]

I've been out of the game for um... a while.

The rig is a 98 Ram 2500 with a 12 valve, stock springs, Rancho 2"ish level spacer, bilstein 5100s, and firestone bags in the rear, I share the suspension information so you can start to paint a picture of the kind of vibrations that exist in the engine bay.

It's currently on a pair of costco batteries that have been replaced once under warranty. In the early 2000s I would have thrown a pair of Optima Yellow tops in it and gone about my business, but I have this memory of the mid 2000s Optima kind of going to shart, and getting a horrible reputation. I don't want to spend Optima money and get fecal quality.

The previous owner hasn't driven the truck much in the last few years, I think it would have been better off with a deep cycle battery. I'll be driving it more than the previous owner, probably 200ish miles per week, at least every other day for the most part, and the runs will be 30 minutes at the shortest.

So I ask, ye braintrust of RME, what battery should I run in this truck?

 

[mbryson]

I've had good luck with the O'Reilly gel battery in my "Jeep". (Way better luck than the 3-4 Optimas I had in there previously) Not sure if it would work well in a deezel or not? I'd bet yes?

 

[Zombie]

Thanks Marc, would that be the Super Start Extreme? None of the options I see on their page list a gel battery, but this one talks about high density acid paste, which is probably the same thing.

 

[mbryson]

Thanks Marc, would that be the Super Start Extreme? None of the options I see on their page list a gel battery, but this one talks about high density acid paste, which is probably the same thing.

I'll have to check for sure but that sounds right.

 

[ID Bronco]

I'm running dual red top's in my duramax and have been really happy. I read about all the bad optima days but I never experienced it.

 

[Rot Box]

Hey Zombie! 98 12v—dang. Wanna trade for a 99 crew cab powerstroke?! Joking/not joking ☺️

I’ve been running CAT batteries for years and love them. They don’t list them by group size so you would have to take one of your batteries to the dealer and compare sizes. Mine are 230-6368 for the 99 powerstroke—not sure if yours would be the same size or not. Anyway that’s what I would do.

 

[Zombie]

That's a killer idea. It strikes me that if a company were inclined to produce a battery that could live in a rough suspension high vibration, demanding diesel starting environment, Cat makes a lot of sense to be so inclined. I'll look into them. Thanks!

 

[DesertRam]

I don't know if they qualify as "hot," but the Autozone Duralast Platinum AGMs I put in my 2006 Cummins have been humming along just fine for over four years.