Braille Battery vs Optima Battery

[ktm]

Savage42, I was partially mistaken regarding Deka and East Penn.  I was typing in shorthand without going into those specifics. I knew East Penn made the batteries; hell, going to East Penn's website (www.eastpennmanufacturing.com) shows a Deka on the home page, but you clearly know more about battery manufacturers than I.  Deka does not make batteries, correct, but they are a division of East Penn who does (correct?).....now, who makes the Braille battery?  I do not see where you provide that information.

 

I don't see where you are getting more cranking power.  I am ignorant in the matter, but if a Braille is listed at 400 CCA and a DEKA at 400 CCA, are they not the same?

 

Also, I understand where you are coming from, but I had my old Deka ETX-30L for 4 years before it finally failed due to too many deep discharges (forgetting that I put the car in accessory mode when doing diagnostics).  My current Deka ETX-30L is 1 year old (after I killed the old one) and it never has an issue.  Yes, I need to make sure to top it off with my Schumacher charger if I let the car sit for more than 2 weeks, but it always works for me.

Edited March 5, 2016 by ktm

[slownrusty]

Similar to Bo, I have an ETX-30L in my supercharged V8 project but keep it on a tender to avoid deep cycling it.  I find I get about 2-3 years out of them partially due to to Houston weather being really hard on batteries.

[Savage42]

Logic would make it seem that all batteries in a given size coming from a couple different facilities would make them all the same, but that is far from the case. We build all of our lithium batteries in-house, but our AGM batteries are contract manufactured to our specs and if the ones coming in don't meet our minimum specs of 550 CCA and 750 CA, they are sent back. Obviously, for motorcycle use and for guys selling them to a lower cost market/application, peak performance is not critical, tested or even worried about. The OE Harley Davidson, Deka, Big Crank and other brands are all intended for a different use and marketed as such. That being said, it's not that those others won't work, but as previously mentioned, there is a reason that so many Harley, custom bike and MOTORSPORTS dealers sell Braille as the AGM upgrade and then go to lithium for those that each the AGM batteries annually. So it's like the difference between 87 octane & 93 octane fuel coming from the same refinery.

 

Heat is a killer of all car parts and we typically see about 3 year life in batteries here in Florida, even the full-size batteries. One added benefit of our lithium batteries is that they have a 10-15 year service life (even in high heat & cold climates) and have less than a 10% loss in performance over its life, where all lead batteries start dropping off I cranking power & capacity after 6 months of use. Lithium is like switching from pump gas to race fuel....no comparison.

[Phantom]

Wow - I just can't imagine buying a battery that lasts only maybe 3 years - unless it's for a purpose built race car. I bought the Optima back in 2002 because I'd heard they last a long time. Fortunately it was before they changed ownership and it lasted almost 14 years.  I'm in the process of replacing the lead-acid battery in my Suburban.  It's a 2002 and it's second battery is getting too weak after almost 9 years. It was an Autolite. I'm replacing it with a 7 year warranty battery that I fully expect to get 7-8 years out of. I'm investing in the Braille for my LS1 280Z because i figure it will probably be the last battery I'll have to buy for it.  I've had the car for 24 years now.

Pulled the Optima out of it yesterday and took a shot of the original stock 1977 battery tray. A little dirt but not bad for 39 years of service.  First time I've seen it since 2002.

 

 

May have to do something about the funk in the upper left-hand corner though.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Phantom

[dwonda]

After owning 3 Braille batteries, including 1 Lithium, you'll be lucky to get 2 years. Hence why they have a 1 year warranty. My Lithium battery lasted 1 year and 3 months. Their products are garbage, stay away, they are just rebranded Deka batteries from the same manufacturer (East Penn Manufacturing). Their specifications are overrated, and the battery test sheets they send with the battery will show it. Just stay away, don't get pulled into their motorsports marketing bullshit.

[AydinZ71]

Damn... wish I read this before I bought a Braille for both my cars 😂

[Derek]

19 hours ago, AydinZ71 said:

Damn... wish I read this before I bought a Braille for both my cars 😂

Don't you find it strange the only post from this person on this forum is digging up a post that has been dead since 2016?

 

I have a Braille B2618 in my Z that I daily since Feb. 2019 with zero issues. I will say one thing. They absolutely hate parasitic draw. If I'm not going to drive it for a couple of days I put a tender on it. Also if you break down on the side of the road you won't get too many "ok try it again" out of it. 

 

Derek

[AydinZ71]

4 hours ago, Derek said:

Don't you find it strange the only post from this person on this forum is digging up a post that has been dead since 2016?

 

I have a Braille B2618 in my Z that I daily since Feb. 2019 with zero issues. I will say one thing. They absolutely hate parasitic draw. If I'm not going to drive it for a couple of days I put a tender on it. Also if you break down on the side of the road you won't get too many "ok try it again" out of it. 

 

Derek

that is a fair assessment  I am so used to push starting the Z over the years, I had a habit of parking “uphill” precisely for that reaSon  

 

I had an alarm system (car got broken into twice) which had parasitic draw and would deplete the battery under the right circumstances. 
 

this is my first time with two Braille’s, one 11lb for the race car, and the other 2 sizes up for the street car. I looked at the cylindrical AGM’s (optima?) as well but they will VERY heavy at 32 lbs. 

 

I throw a tender on for a day or two every week or two, and keep the battery terminal disconnected. Hopefully she will last  

[Mike Mileski]

I have had a Braille GU1R lithium battery in my car for about three years now and I love it. Only 6.6 pounds and it spins over my 10.7:1 compression 495 HP LS3 with ease, hot or cold. Kind of pricey but I wouldn't hesitate to buy another (now it would be a G30, the GU1R was discontinued).

 

Mike Mileski

Tucson, AZ

[AydinZ71]

8 hours ago, Mike Mileski said:

I have had a Braille GU1R lithium battery in my car for about three years now and I love it. Only 6.6 pounds and it spins over my 10.7:1 compression 495 HP LS3 with ease, hot or cold. Kind of pricey but I wouldn't hesitate to buy another (now it would be a G30, the GU1R was discontinued).

 

Mike Mileski

Tucson, AZ

Wow, 10.7:1 

How did you pull it off? Large valve overlap (low dynamic CR)? E85? I couldn’t run an L6 with a static CR that high on pump gas unless it was a cold day and had a ton of valve overlap. 

[calZ]

11 hours ago, AydinZ71 said:

Wow, 10.7:1 

How did you pull it off? Large valve overlap (low dynamic CR)? E85? I couldn’t run an L6 with a static CR that high on pump gas unless it was a cold day and had a ton of valve overlap. 

 

It's an LS3

[Savage42]

I've had the 6 pound lithium in my 2008 G37S coupe for 5 years now and put 95k miles on it during that time, still going strong.  Have one in my 280Z with LS6 for 3 years, all good and I know Phantom (Bill Davis) has one in his LS1 powered 280Z for several years, as well.  Many 510s & Z cars (S30 up to Z34) are running them.  As is the case with any vehicle that isn't driven at least a few times a week, you want to keep a charger on it to keep the parasitic draw from discharging the battery and "cycling" it because ALL batteries will last longer if kept at or near 100% state of charge, so regular driving or kept on a charger are the best solutions if there is a draw.  The other benefit with a Braille lithium is they don't self-discharge like lead, so if disconnected at the terminals or via a disconnect switch (like most race cars), the battery can sit for a year or two and still be at 80-90% state of charge, where a lead battery will be dead by then.  The right size/model and proper maintenance is key to long life, but where a smaller AGM battery will average 3 years (more depending on several factors), a lithium battery will last 10-15 years.  Other factors are goals & budget (size, weight savings, more power, longer lasting, better performing, etc.) as to which AGM or lithium battery is best for a given vehicle and how it is used.  

[AydinZ71]

3 hours ago, calZ said:

 

It's an LS3

better tech, naturally  I know modern cars have integrated knock sensors that automatically retard timing and such. Still impressive for pump gas. 

[calZ]

Yeah, combustion chamber design has advanced a lot, and then computer control as you mentioned. 

[Ironhead]

On 5/15/2021 at 3:09 AM, Derek said:

Don't you find it strange the only post from this person on this forum is digging up a post that has been dead since 2016?

 

I have a Braille B2618 in my Z that I daily since Feb. 2019 with zero issues. I will say one thing. They absolutely hate parasitic draw. If I'm not going to drive it for a couple of days I put a tender on it. Also if you break down on the side of the road you won't get too many "ok try it again" out of it. 

 

Derek

 

I agree about the post.  Hard to put much credibility in it.

 

I think the lithium Brailles are great for project/weekend/track cars that don't get driven often....IF (and this is a big IF) you have a cut-off switch in the car that completely removes the parasitic drain.  If the battery is fully disconnected, you can ignore it for a year + and it will still have pretty much a full charge.

[AydinZ71]

On 6/16/2021 at 7:14 PM, Ironhead said:

 

I agree about the post.  Hard to put much credibility in it.

 

I think the lithium Brailles are great for project/weekend/track cars that don't get driven often....IF (and this is a big IF) you have a cut-off switch in the car that completely removes the parasitic drain.  If the battery is fully disconnected, you can ignore it for a year + and it will still have pretty much a full charge.

 

Very much recommend the main power disconnect switch, if you are adding a lot of new electrical components to your Z. I determined after a year of use that my alarm (reluctantly installed after my 2nd break-in in college) had developed a worsening drain over time. The switch will allow you to park your Z in your garage for several weeks without worrying about your battery, and the annoying process of disconnecting your battery terminal between use. It will also help you diagnose current drain easily, my measuring voltage across the terminals w/ switch on/off at any time.