Hey, I'm just after a reccomendation on a good battery, I am pretty sick of having batterys go flat, as I've always just used 2nd hand batteries in the past. I've got an EL V8, and I'm looking for a battery that's gonna last a while, and be able to support a few accesories (but not heaps) such as a couple of amps, maybe some slightly higher wattage headlight globes, and a GPS or something. I'd like it to last a good few years too.

Cheers, Gab

he NRMA/RACQ batteries are the best I have seen for a while(both are AC batteries in different wrapping...). I always go a high CCA and use currently a AC 600CCA(for both the EB and the 1977 mini - nearly flips the mini on its roof ).

Second hand is always false economy as condition is unknown and could last a week or a year.

Hooroo

Oh, don't go past the Optima Yellow Top (or Red Top if you don't intend to cycle the battery with stereo etc).
They're pricey ($~350) but they last years and put out a nice hot voltage (0.5-0.8v higher than normal lead-acids). Makes for nice solid starts on the coldest of mornings.

They're a sealed job, truly maintenance free, though make sure you stick it in the black factory battery box - don't rip it out like I did. I thought it was to channel any acid leaks or to protect against an exploding battery from spraying all over the place, but nope..
If you have a good look, that black box and its pipes are designed to keep the battery cool.
Heat accelerates aging, as I found out when my last Optima dies after ~7 years. Which is premature for them. It actually "dried out" through overtemperature venting, not sulphation or plate corrosion.

Add the cost and hassle of standard wet-cells dying every few years and an Optima starts to make sense. Plus you don't have to worry about it dying after 5-10 deep discharges - they'll tolerate up to 500 deep discharge cycles!

cheers

I've been looking around for another battery too, think my one has nearly come to an end and finding it hard to push the extra accessories in the car.
Love the way you explained the yellow top batteries benryanau, I reckon that will be my next car purchase.

I found these two on ebay...

Cheaper but less CCA, but should be plenty wouldn't you say ??
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-OPTIMA-D34-YELLOW-TOP-DRY-CELL-DEEP-CYCLE-NON-SPILLABLE-12V-BATTERY-/150708373359?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2316eb476f

Or this one with a bump up in the CCA:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OPTIMA-YELLOW-TOP-BATTERY-12-VOLT-NEW-AGM-D27F-830CCA-DEEP-CYCLE-ALPINE-PIONEER-/220999129113?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3374931819

I use a century.
Last one died a month before the 2 year warranty so got a new sealed one for nothin