Need E320 Battery - Lots of Options! Help!
 

2002 4Matic wagon ... spec is 100 amp H8 size (DIN55?)

Options are:

- flooded or starved electrolyte where starved will never "fit" the same, but has other advantages

- 49 size in flooded - 13 15/16 x 6 7/8 x 7 12/25 - much cheaper
- MTP 93 size in flooded - 14 3/8 x 6 7/8 x 7 1/5 - more expensive
- H8 specific at the dealer or shop - same size as 49 in more cross reference books - way and unnecessarily expensive $165 plus

Very little difference in any of the CCA or CA at various temps.

I understand most of the basic physics and feel like am being sold something unnecessary with the MB stock solution - especially since starved electro batteries now pretty common?

Could I get some recommendations from folks who have been throught this recently?

Thanks!!

Stay with MB recommended battery. I've used red top in 124 chasiss cars an they worked and fit fine. Or course if they leaked it was not the end of the world.

I've used the red top Optima in Porsche only because car has no pan or tray, so if battery leaks you're screwed. In the Porsche the Optima battery would frequently fail, possibly due to the fact car is not driven very often.



And incidentally Optimas are advertised as spill proof but they can and do leak. I have two blue top Optimas to run a 24 amp trolling motor and one of the batteries leaked at the vent, and the negative terminal. The other was fine. Both batteries were always charged with the same charger and otherwise treated identically.


Now it you want a really good battery get an Odysess battery. I have run one of those in a Porsche too with not problems. They have not vent they are truely sealed or so they say. They are supposed to be certified to run in the passenger compartment of a car if need be. I bought mine from West Coast Batteries and found they have good prices and service.

Just to close thread out ...

Size 49 and size 93 differentiated by different weight (93 is spec'd at 4 pounds heavier - about 8% or so) and slight power differences - same relative percentage ranges for CCAs, etc.

No one had a 93 and Wally World had a 49, so 49 it was ... $65 and it is now installed (zero issues) and working great - had left and right side vents so used the correct one by removing vent from old battery and plugging it in to new one - and, used rubber cap for the off side vent. Forgot had to resync seats-headrest, and the ESP system - once that was done, all lights are out.

While the dealer furnished battery was potentially higher quality, the $100 price differential was the breaking point.

BTW - the battery I removed was built in Oct 2001! The original battery!

Not so fast.... :)

I was at Wally World and saw group 48 & 49 batteries (Evermaxx???) priced the same at $82 -- with three year free replacement. Some were manufactured as recently as this month, judging from the labels.

My current group 48 Autocraft Titanium refuses to die but I know it is near the end of its life (fluffy powdery residue in tray; cluster lights dim a lot when cranking; ASR faults when tempratures are too cold or air is too humid; going dead if I forget and leave the headlights on for more than an hour; and so on.)

What is this vent issue? Should I save something form my old battery or will the new one have what I need? And because they are the same price I plan to go with the group 49 because my current 48 does not fill the full width of the tray. Is that OK/safe?

The venting "adapter" should be attached to the new battery in a plastic pouch. It usually consists of a flexible plastic hose that will interface between the car's vent hose and the new battery vent. Used one on my '95 911 with no issues several years ago.

Noticed that Wal-Mart went up on their battery prices by about $10 recently. If you go to Sam's Club, at least here in Georgia, you can get "Energizer" branded batteries for what Wal-Mart used to charge, around $70 before tax.

The larger 49 sized battery shouldn't be an issue in your car. Seems unlikely that since it fits in a diesel that it wouldn't be compatible with a gasser. I'm assuming being larger than a 48 that it has more CCA's. If I were you, I'd go ahead and replace it given the symptoms you've described rather than get inconvenienced...of course asking for a jump is a great way to meet folks!;)

I would go for the Red top. It's just good peace of mind. They will fit the stock battery hold down clamp. Mine is going on 6 years old and I have run it down 3 times due to an alternator that was chewing brushes. Each of the 3 times it recovered enough to start the next morning with new regulator and no jump needed.

Of course I have heard that the new Optima's aren't as good of quality as they once were. Their average lifespan seems to be going down? Not sure about that one though.

The 210 has the battery under the rear seat, not under the hood like yours.

I see. Thanks.