Anyone got a recommendation for an aftermarket replacement battery that’s as good as the OEM?

 

I was searching for a similar answer to this last month, ended up with oem from the Dealer!
btw check your pm’s In a few regarding the plugs update lol.

 

Any particular reason you stayed with OEM? Do you know our specs off hand?

 

This guy put an Odyssey 1350 in his W212:
https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...y-battery.html

I've had great experiences with the Odyssey "extreme" series. I've got three in current use right now with no issues.

-chris

 

Interstate 6+ yrs into W211 E63 transfer to BMW E39 540 still strong. car start maybe once every 2 weeks for maybe 100 miles trips.
I also love the Diehard Gold from Sears...

 

I replaced my main and aux batteries about 6 months ago with OEM units. It seems the main battery was about 6 years old, and the aux battery was 7 years old. (The main battery died on me, and I figured I'd replace the aux battery just as a PM measure). That's about right for battery lifetime, right?

Out of curiosity, what's wrong with the OEM batteries? Is there any evidence that shows that aftermarket is substantially better than OEM? Just curious, and no, I don't work for MB!

 

Nothing at all wrong with OEM, in fact I’d prefer it against most aftermarket junk. The problem was that mine took a crap with no warning on a Saturday and you can’t get OEM until Monday when the dealer’s parts counter opens.

 

For some reason if you get an OEM it is never the same as the one shipped with the car. I have seen 10 yrs from original and maybe 6-7 out of OEM replacement.
The price difference is not worth it.. I am happy with the aftermarket providing CCA is equal or grater and the design fitment is perfect for the space and hold down to secure.

 

What kind of life do you get out of the aftermarket batteries? I see you said: "Interstate 6+ yrs into W211 E63 transfer to BMW E39 540 still strong...." Any other good recommendations?

 

I like the Odyssey's because they are sealed. No need to vent and no worry of leakage.

In the Exige the battery is located in the trunk and would ruin the carpets if it leaked and also could go a while without notice as access isn't great. Swapping to a smaller and lighter battery was also a plus.
Same story in the E30 M3, the battery tray area in the trunk in these older cars is notorious for corrosion so one less thing to cause issues. Also swapped to a smaller battery for lightness, same size battery as the Exige so I could swap batteries between the two cars if I had to.

The third Odyssey is in the Tacoma, this is primarily a camping rig now and gets driven very infrequently for most of the year and sits without a battery tender. When it is driven regularly we are often in remote areas, I haven't added a 2nd house battery or solar so I wanted something bigger than stock with better reliability than a conventional battery to reduce the chance of getting stranded. If the truck was used more normally I'd just get a battery at Costco and replace it whenever it failed under warranty.

-chris

 

Dude you jinxed me.....I was reading your thread thinking might be getting to time to change mine. Out the blue with zero warning, mine crapped out this morning. Luckily dealer is open and right across the street. Suprisingly, factory replacement batteries are cheap on this car!

 

Weird that you got no warning either. At least it was a little more convenient for you!

 

Also very very easy to replace. That secondary battery was the easiest to access of any MB with no taking dash pieces out etc.

 

I went with the Interstate AGM MTZ-48/H6 battery with 3yrs warranty. Cost was only $260 vs $550 OEM at Mercedes. And works just as good as OEM.

 

Replaced mine with Interstate MTZ-48/H6. $286+ tax.

Regards,

Joe

 

$199 at Oreilly minus $25 rebate for H6 or H8. There's only a few AGM battery manufacturers, from my understanding they're all the same except for the store/retailer label. Interstate from Costco, Champion from Pepboys, Super Start from Oreilly made by Johnson Controls.

 

I've got an Antigravity Lithium-ion battery on mine, 45lbs weight reduction with 1,000 cranking amps.

Stock battery - 55lbs
Lithium-ion battery - 10lbs