Battery Recommendations?, Looking for advice on an AGM battery in Canada Options

[LikesSummer]

Hello Everyone!

It's so nice to see such a vibrant forum and community. It's amazing!

This afternoon, I joined the 914 community with the purchase of my first car the specific details of which will be forthcoming at some point. In the meantime it's a 1972 1.7. I can't even begin to convey how excited I am about this thing. It's the first car I've ever owned that didn't become a classic while I owned it -- a good and bad thing! It's also the first car I bought for pleasure only. I'm now firmly in the 50+ crowd but have been looking at 914s since I was a teenager wondering if there was a Porsche I could ever afford. As I got older, I started to realize how cool of a car they were in their own right; hardly a compromise. Well, 914s were always just out of reach before today. It's a happy day. I think I got a good one. She's beautiful and ready to hit the sunny afternoon road is grand style!

Now, on to my question: It struck me as a really obvious thing to remove and replace the standard flooded battery with an AGM. I understand the 914 takes Group 42 or 96R. I learned today that AGMs in these sizes aren't too common! There have been discussions about which brand to go with over the years here and they're helpful. However, for me, there's one snag: I'm in Canada. The market here isn't nearly the market the US can support so selection is much poorer. Even many well-known brands of various different things have a much reduced offerings here versus in the US, a guaranteed source of perennial frustration.

Discussions have often talked about Odyssey and Optimum batteries. They're *technically* available here through third parties, but one never quite knows how long those have sat on the shelf or how a warranty claim, if needed, would be handled. And then, one also wonders how "official" those purchases are. So, to my fellow Canadian 914 folks, how have you proceeded if you wanted to put an AGM in your car? It would have been so nice just to go to Canadian Tire, taken advantage of their convenience, and received their great warranty! Alas, it seems not to be...

Any thoughts would be warmly received! Thanks.

[cdn914]

I bought a battery at Costco for the fourteen. I am very pleased with it.

Gord





quote name='LikesSummer' date='Aug 2 2026, 08:01 PM' post='3267336']
Hello Everyone!

It's so nice to see such a vibrant forum and community. It's amazing!

This afternoon, I joined the 914 community with the purchase of my first car the specific details of which will be forthcoming at some point. In the meantime it's a 1972 1.7. I can't even begin to convey how excited I am about this thing. It's the first car I've ever owned that didn't become a classic while I owned it -- a good and bad thing! It's also the first car I bought for pleasure only. I'm now firmly in the 50+ crowd but have been looking at 914s since I was a teenager wondering if there was a Porsche I could ever afford. As I got older, I started to realize how cool of a car they were in their own right; hardly a compromise. Well, 914s were always just out of reach before today. It's a happy day. I think I got a good one. She's beautiful and ready to hit the sunny afternoon road is grand style!

Now, on to my question: It struck me as a really obvious thing to remove and replace the standard flooded battery with an AGM. I understand the 914 takes Group 42 or 96R. I learned today that AGMs in these sizes aren't too common! There have been discussions about which brand to go with over the years here and they're helpful. However, for me, there's one snag: I'm in Canada. The market here isn't nearly the market the US can support so selection is much poorer. Even many well-known brands of various different things have a much reduced offerings here versus in the US, a guaranteed source of perennial frustration.

Discussions have often talked about Odyssey and Optimum batteries. They're *technically* available here through third parties, but one never quite knows how long those have sat on the shelf or how a warranty claim, if needed, would be handled. And then, one also wonders how "official" those purchases are. So, to my fellow Canadian 914 folks, how have you proceeded if you wanted to put an AGM in your car? It would have been so nice just to go to Canadian Tire, taken advantage of their convenience, and received their great warranty! Alas, it seems not to be...

Any thoughts would be warmly received! Thanks.
[/quote]

[LikesSummer]

I bought a battery at Costco for the fourteen. I am very pleased with it.

Gord

What specifically did you buy?

[913B]

I bought a battery at Costco for the fourteen. I am very pleased with it.

Gord

What specifically did you buy?

I recently purchased this from my local Costco in Los Angeles.
It is slightly taller than the original but it fits without the rain tray. I don't drive in the rain.
I saw this guy on YT ensuring it fits.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGez-yatkko

[LikesSummer]

I bought a battery at Costco for the fourteen. I am very pleased with it.

Gord

What specifically did you buy?

I recently purchased this from my local Costco in Los Angeles.
It is slightly taller than the original but it fits without the rain tray. I don't drive in the rain.
I saw this guy on YT ensuring it fits.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGez-yatkko

This was exactly the answer I wanted. Thanks for saving me some work! I asked around if someone had an H5 core they were willing to part with so that I could do a physical size check for fit. Everyone looked at me pretty strangely! That video is perfect.

Thanks again.