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Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:35 pm
Posts: 47
Location: Inverell
Vehicle: Sierra 1988 SJ51 LWB

Post Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 8:40 pm 
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Hey guys just a quick question, what’s the best battery to run in a Sierra SJ51....? Need to buy one for my project

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Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2010 1:53 pm
Posts: 5885
Location: Northcliffe, W.A.
Vehicle: LJs, Sierra, Jimny, Swift.

Post Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 9:17 pm 
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Depends what your aims are.

The stock battery is NS40 sized with JIS terminals. These are cheap but light on for capacity.

NS60 batteries drop right in the stock tray and are a worthwhile upgrade. I put an exide X60DPMF in my Jimny a few years ago and it's been great.

I like having extra capacity and a commodore size battery fits in a Sierra with a bigger plastic tray under it (most people just chuck the tray) so that's probably the way I'd go. AFAIK these don't come in a JIS terminal configuration so you'd have to swap terminals.

On the other end of the scale I had a gel quad bike battery in my LJ81 (ytx4bs from memory) and that always started it like a champ. It weighed nothing so if you were building something where weight was a factor then that could be an option.

I'm a fan of Exide red tops, I've had great luck with them and they tend to have the greatest amp/hour rating of any battery their size.

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Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:35 pm
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Location: Inverell
Vehicle: Sierra 1988 SJ51 LWB

Post Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 3:01 am 
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Thanks Sideways, iv been using a 57mf out of an old falcon Ute but wasn’t sure on what the standard one was

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Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:30 pm
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Location: Melbourne

Post Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:42 am 
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Any time these questions are asked you'll pretty much just get list of products people have used. Sierras aren't hard on their batteries, although an alternator upgrade is always advisable to take load off the battery.

I exclusively use (and have built many cars running) optima D34 batteries. They fit in the stock location, are of high quality, and don't spill.

I don't like the stock battery position though, it's high and on the wrong side of the car for weight distribution. On my builds, the battery goes under the passenger seat. (still using a D34 optima)

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Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:35 pm
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Location: Inverell
Vehicle: Sierra 1988 SJ51 LWB

Post Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:58 am 
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Thanks Steve I’ll look into them. What would be in your opinion the best user friendly alternator upgrade

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Location: Melbourne

Post Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 10:06 am 
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El/EF falcon.

There are other good batteries than optimas for sure, and optimas are arguably overpriced, but I like them, and a especially like they can be safely mounted inside a vehicle.

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Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2010 1:53 pm
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Location: Northcliffe, W.A.
Vehicle: LJs, Sierra, Jimny, Swift.

Post Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 11:57 am 
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Stock in Australia was NS40 but snow weather markets got NS60s. NS60s are just a bit longer and all Sierras/LJs/Jimnys have the tray/bracket to just drop them in.

Personally, I don't think much of Optimas. They have a poor A/H rating for their size/weight, less than or on par with the lowest capacity/cheapest conventional batteries of a given size. They don't seem to live any longer than normal batteries and of course they're very expensive.

Their beauty is the freedom of mounting.

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Location: Melbourne

Post Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 12:29 pm 
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I have little interest in A/H rating- I’m much more interested in mounting freedom and CCA. I agree there are better choices if A/H is critical. I only winch infrequently and lightly and don’t run a fridge, so I’m happy with the A/H of an optima.

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Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:35 pm
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Location: Inverell
Vehicle: Sierra 1988 SJ51 LWB

Post Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 2:37 pm 
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Just another silly question, my Ute is on a mates farm 35km away so I don’t have quick access to it But if your looking down on your battery an the terminals are on your side will the positive be on the right side...?

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Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2016 12:08 pm
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Vehicle: 1987 WT LWB Sierra

Post Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 3:12 pm 
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Yes. See below picture of the battery installed in the car.

Image

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Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:30 pm
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Location: Brisbane
Vehicle: SJ80, SE416

Post Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 2:35 pm 
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sideways wrote:
Stock in Australia was NS40 but snow weather markets got NS60s. NS60s are just a bit longer and all Sierras/LJs/Jimnys have the tray/bracket to just drop them in.

Personally, I don't think much of Optimas. They have a poor A/H rating for their size/weight, less than or on par with the lowest capacity/cheapest conventional batteries of a given size. They don't seem to live any longer than normal batteries and of course they're very expensive.

X2 - On paper the Optimas are very expensive indeed (like everything else in the places they're sold)...

I've had 2 of these NS60 size batteries in different Suzukis over the last few years...
https://www.autobarn.com.au/supercharge-battery-el04449

NS60 size, 490CCA, 75min reserve@20A, 40 month warranty - and I've never paid over $150 for one.

Had one in a Vitara which spent a year mainly sitting in a depot for up to 8 weeks between drives last year and always started!

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Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2010 5:50 am
Posts: 427
Location: Melbourne
Vehicle: '85 Sierra LWB, '99 GV 2.5L

Post Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:18 pm 
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Optimas are the best cranking battery you can buy, but they are very ordinary at A/h rating.
All the winch comp guys run Optimas because they can dish out very high CCA (compared to a same sized conventional flooded / wet cell battery) and they recover quickly.
Also, like Steve said, a big consideration is if the car falls over, it won't spill acid everywhere. They are effectively 'sealed' (won't emit flammable vapour in normal charge / discharge cycles) & are safe / legal to be mounted within an enclosed space (like under the seat, in a box in the cargo area etc). Another side benefit is that they retain charge for a longer time when not is use (ie, the self discharge rate is lower than for a wet cell), so a comp car can sit idle between events / seasons & still have a functional battery. Better to put a maintenance charger on any battery not used for a while though.
Benifits over a wet cell =
Higher CCA
Quicker recovery
Won't leak / spill
Safe / legal inside a vehicle / enclosed space (a dual cab ute tub with a tarp or canopy fitted, is classed as an enclosed space)
Less self discharge
Last longer in service (typically)

Are they over priced?
Considering they are made by Johnson Controls (a US based multinational, with fingers in all sorts of pies) in a Mexico factory - yes. (hello Warn Tabor)
There is an Exide equivalent in the 10" D34 size (Orbital) which is generally around the same $$ under $300 that an optima D34 is over it (region of $275 Vs $325).

A lead acid battery relies on a chemical reaction between -ve & +ve charged plates. Effectively, more surface area of plate able to interact = higher CCA ability. If you 'unwound' the spiral strips of lead in an Optima / Orbital cell, it would have a larger surface area than the plates in a flooded batteries cell.
However, the density & thickness of the plate material contributes to a batteries ability to hold onto a charge when asked to release amps in a 'deep' cycle application. The plates in a spiral cell are very thin (compared to a 'deep' cycle flooded battery) so the amp hour rating is not that impressive, however because the plate material can not move anywhere (as in distort / buckle, like a thin plated cranking wet cell could) it can take the pain of being deeply discharged in a 'deep' cycle application (like running a fridge until the low voltage cut-out kicks in at around 10.5-11volts) & then can recover quicker than the wet cell when a charge rate is applied.

Is a spiral wound battery worth the extra coin?
For the average car owner, no.
For the average 4WDriver (especially if fitted with a winch), if you can afford it, yes.
If one or more of the benefits listed is desirable / critical, it's a no brainer.

Rgs, Michael

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