brysawn Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 My battery in my loyale is finally gone, so I went to Costco to get one, and I get it home, and it's too tall. My closes fine and everything, but I can't bolt it down because my "straps" aren't long enough. Optima's are too expensive, so what is the next best thing that fits? The les schwab battery looks like it may be the only option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brysawn Posted September 22, 2010 Author Share Posted September 22, 2010 (edited) Will this work: http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/pts/1964674143.html ? Or does it have too high of CCA and CA? Does too high of cranking amps matter? Are all terminals the same? Edited September 22, 2010 by brysawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 You just need longer J bolts it sounds like. I've seen plenty of Costco and Les battery's in EA82's. They fit fine. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 You will find that EA82's like your's use the opposite-of-normal post layout. That is EA81's and EJ cars use the same style while the EA82's use the opposite. You may have issues with that and the Optima - you may have to make or buy new battery cables for the starter positive and the ground strap. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brysawn Posted September 22, 2010 Author Share Posted September 22, 2010 You just need longer J bolts it sounds like. I've seen plenty of Costco and Les battery's in EA82's. They fit fine. GD Where can I find, or make these bolts? If I'm going wheeling, and my car is bouncing around a lot, is there an advantage to have the optima over any other type? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 (edited) Where can I find, or make these bolts? If I'm going wheeling, and my car is bouncing around a lot, is there an advantage to have the optima over any other type? There are advantages to the Optima. Power to weight ratio is higher and they tend to deliver power for longer before discharged, etc. You should read up on them - IIRC they are sensitive to over-charging and some people find they don't have a very long life. As far as bouncing around - any gel-cell battery will be basically the same. The Optima is a type of gel-cell that uses their (Johnson Controls) proprietary Spiral Cell technology. But they aren't the only game in town with a gel-cell. Avoid the NAPA spiral-cell gel batteries - I've heard very bad things about them and I know a couple people that have had them fail in very short order. Personally I've had very good luck with Interstate batteries. I prefer them to most other brands. You can find J bolts at any auto parts store I would guess. Or you could just hit the junk yard and grab a couple that suit your needs. Wire wheel them, quick coat of flat black and some anti-sleeze on the threads..... GD Edited September 22, 2010 by GeneralDisorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Drop me a PM with your phone number. I have a collection of hold down bolts. If I can find my collection, I think I can find you a longer set. Secondly, if you want the best price on batteries, try the Interstate distributor just north of us....north on I405, north on I5 to the 2nd exit, left across the highway, left at the next traffic light (not onto I5 south!), and Interstate is just around the curve to the right on your right. Sorry I forgot the address but you could google it. Convenient that we're both in Bothell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor pole Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Interstate dist. in Everett has always treated me right. address: 727 134th Street Southwest, Everett, WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ettev Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 There are advantages to the Optima. Power to weight ratio is higher and they tend to deliver power for longer before discharged, etc. You should read up on them - IIRC they are sensitive to over-charging and some people find they don't have a very long life. As far as bouncing around - any gel-cell battery will be basically the same. The Optima is a type of gel-cell that uses their (Johnson Controls) proprietary Spiral Cell technology. But they aren't the only game in town with a gel-cell. Avoid the NAPA spiral-cell gel batteries - I've heard very bad things about them and I know a couple people that have had them fail in very short order. Personally I've had very good luck with Interstate batteries. I prefer them to most other brands. You can find J bolts at any auto parts store I would guess. Or you could just hit the junk yard and grab a couple that suit your needs. Wire wheel them, quick coat of flat black and some anti-sleeze on the threads..... GD Rick, What size Interstate do you use in your EA81's? I know that sometimes a slightly physically larger battery with more CCA fit in vehicles above what is spec'd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eulogious Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 The battery I have in my Loyale is the one I bought for my MR2 before I retired it , and it's a different size than the one I pulled out of my car. I don't even know if it's suppose to "work" or not for my car, but it works fine, no problems. And I picked it up at walmart. I don't really know why you would have any problems, my just fit right in, no modification or anything. If you really don't care that much about it, just use zip ties, or use them as a temp solution until you can get the right parts. Just make sure you use the fatty zip ties, not the small, thin kind. I did that for my MR2 for about 2 years and didn't have any problems. Like mentioned previously, you should be able to find the battery "straps" (J bolts) and any local autoparts store. As for using an optima, they are great batterys and one of the nicest things about them is that you can recharge them if you drain them without losing any of the batteries capacity. This is really nice if you drain your battery leaving something on as it won't harm it to completely discharge it and then recharge it. I also know people that have been using their redtop battery for 10 years before replacing it. My buddy has had one now for at least 4 years and never had a problem with it and is still using it to this day. I haven't heard of optimas not lasting, but again, I have never owned one, I am just going off what I have "seen". The added "power" the battery CAN produce won't hurt anything. Keep in mind that the CCA rating and what not are the MAX it can put out, so I highly doubt that a loyale will pull all the power available from the battery, so it should be just fine. But I will say that the optima is a little over kill if you are just running stock equipment. Any normal battery should work just fine. If you do go with the optima, you *might* have to redo some connections to the battery, but I really don't think you will. I have seen optimas installed in soobs before without any modification, but I have not done it myself so I really don't know. But even if you have to redo the ends, it's not that big of a deal. I just did it on mine for my stereo install and it was a piece of cake if you use quality parts Basically I would just make the darn thing fit. Like I said, I made my battery that was designed for my MR2 fit into my Loyale, so you should be able to get the costco battery to fit as well. Can't imagine it being so far off that it will not fit at all. If your hood closes, then it should be fairly easy to get the battery to stay put if you use a little bit of creative thought Good luck man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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