What do you guys think? Kirkland or Duralast Gold battery? I'm still on the OEM and it's been 5 years so I'm pretty impressed.

Kirkland battery only cost $65.99 while the duralast gold cost $107. Both have the same CCA rating and same warranty.

I may go with Kirkland, but does anyone have experience in the two brands? Consumer Reports rate both very highly.

 

I have used both , and on several different cars, and I have to say I was not impressed with the Duralast batteries. In one car, I ended up needing to swap it twice before the two year full-replacement warranty was even up. Granted, it was not their top of the line GOLD battery, but I thought it was a disappointing indication nonetheless. On the other hand, I've put the Costco batteries in three different vehicles and had zero issues with them. I believe the Kirkland battery does compare more directly with the GOLD battery, but I can't see the reason for paying that much more for an equal battery. Heck, the Kirkland was even cheaper than the inferior 'value-line' battery from Duralast.


If you're comfortable doing the install, I'd go with the Kirkland (Costco) battery. They are indeed a high quality battery, and they have an excellent return/warranty policy. No hassle, no haggle, just show them the receipt and you're golden. They just take your word for it, there's no "wait here while we test your battery to be sure it's really bad". BTW, I only know that because I bought an Ultima Red-Top battery from them that went bad; haven't had a single one of their own Kirkland brands go bad.

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^ Good to know. The same battery you see in the DIY pics is still running strong, but it's nice to know of alternatives when the time comes to replace.

I'd go for a Red-Top myself, but supposedly the quality of those have gone down quite a bit in recent years. Too bad, the one in my old Maxima is still going strong... 8 yrs or so now.

 

That's true Mike, and besides, that Duralast Gold is certainly great for people who may not have a Costco nearby or don't want to pay membership fees.

 

Thanks guys. I got the Kirkland battery. I'm going to install it this weekend.

Never installed this before on the G and hoping it's pretty easy.

I installed a battery on a 2003 Lexus LS430 and it seemed not so bad; but there are no covers in the way like this car.

Hopefully the removal of covers isn't a pain. The battery is also at a weird angle in our cars so hopefully it's easy enough to drop that in.

Does anyone know if the felt washers are needed? I don't think our OEM battery had felt washers. The OEM lasted 5 years, and it's still working. However, when I went to Advance Auto and Autozone to test the battery, both of the machines say that the battery needs replacing. One of the machines says there is 378 CCA left on the OEM battery. I don't want to get stuck out somewhere, so I think it's time to replace it.

 

Here's a good product for keeping all your presets. Works with any portable jumpstarter that has a 12v cigarette style power outlet, or you can hook it up to another car during your down time. Yeah it's $25 but if you see yourself using it a bunch of times like when you have to disconnect your battery to install any mods or whatever, it could be worth the hassle of reprogramming all your car's preferences all the time.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...ortby=ourPicks

 

^^^ FYI, Griots is always rather expensive. You can get equivalent item for about 1/2 that amount.

 

Great write up! Was able to swap out my batter in less than 15 minutes. One thing to note - be careful when removing the battery, I accidentally snapped the red terminal cover off (it popped back on okay).

Another weird thing, I didn't have to re-program my radio, all presets were there.

Went with the Kirkland 'Type 3' battery, so far so good.

 

Another thank you for a great write up. Finally replaced the original OEM battery on my 2007 G35s, After 5 1/2 years of use the battery seemed fine but I'd figure it'll be safer to replace it before winter arrives.

A few of the additional tabs that you need to pop won't be visible until the cowl is removed.

Replacement battery was from WalMart, $99 with the core charge.

 

OMG!. . . is that really dust I see on your engine cover Mike?


On another note, just wanted to report that my original battery is still cranking her over just fine as I heading into its sixth year.

 

I'm glad it's helped y'all.

Yeah, can't have enough gold dust around here. Makes my car feel special that way. It's typically an even layer to look nice, but my hands can't keep... err... my hands off of 'em, which explains the hand marks.

How you manage to have the original battery cranking that long escapes me.

 

My oem is still working but the stealership informed me that it failed the battery test. I haven't noticed slow startups but figured it was time to change it.

I assume that if your battery is failing, your alternator would be affected. I don't know I haven't had to work on cars since my college days.

 

How's optima battery?

found it on Advance auto part with 20% off = $180

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...ies_16940021-p

 

IMHO, they are overrated and overpriced. Some time ago, Optima used to be made by the folks that now make the Odyssey battery line. Back then, they were a good, premium battery and worth the price bump. Since the original manufacturer sold the Optima line though, they aren't nearly the quality they used to be. People apparently still like them for the bling (pretty colors and perceived status) factor, but you can buy two perfectly good batteries for that price.

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Vq is correct. The Optima's these days are no longer the same as what made them famous. I had one of the originals on my old Maxima. It's still on that car, originally installed in 2003.

Get a DieHard or Duralast Gold, cheaper and works fairly well.