...So what battery is preferred these days, and what class of battery is correct for our 914's?

Yeh optimas do very poorly unless constantly
On a trickle charger . amd even then not to reliable

I recommend a !!!! sealed !!!! lead acid batt ( die hard preffered)

But if you're gonna park the car for more then 2 weeks
Take out the battery

If you cant do that then go for another dry cell $$$$$$$$$$

But its a huge waste of money if you ask me

My old red top optima has been doing just fine with literally sitting in the car for several months, more than once.

The car sat without any trickle charger for at least 4 months last winter and then again for at least 4 months this summer.

Both times it started right up with no indication of power loss on the starter.

My Red Top has lasted me for years.
I put a trickle changer on it during the winter or if I know I won't be driving it for 3 or 4 weeks.

This Optima 34R is 10 yrs. old now, and has a trickle charger when I'm not driving it for some time. But this time even the full charger only got it to just barely 11 v. so I've ordered an Odyssey PC 925 from local Auto Zone.

Optima red top. Battery tender jr. I get years of good service.

I have had my red top optima since 9/11 - 9 years on a wallwart Battery Tender no problems so far...

Have you tried the 2 battery charging method?

Actually yes they do ok . unless accidentally let to discharge like my did (signal left on ). then their junk

But after that i just dont trust em !

Mine (3 of them) completely discharged a couple times. No problem charging them back up. There’s a process to follow if it won’t take a charge. I’ve been getting 8-10 years from them so I’m satisfied.

I have. I use a Battery Minder. As long as you have two of the same type of battery, gel, flooded, etc.. You put them in series, not parallel. I made up a cable for between the two batteries.

Greg W.

I don't know about doing that. In series it is 24 V

In parallel it's still 12V but the good battery lets the charger do its job. But slower on both.

Lead acid batteries do not like to be discharged. You have to keep them topped off (your alternator does), which means trickling over long periods of non-usage. If you don't want to deal with that, you have to go with different technology such as lithium (huge side benefit, weight difference). Just saying "sealed" or AGM vs old school doesn't get you out of this.

If you insist on lead acid or AGM, I keep hearing that Optimas are not what they used to be. Odyssey seems to be the stronger brand now. But the future is leaving this technology behind.

I’ve run my Optima’s forever. The key is to keep it in the trickle charger at home. I didn’t like constantly having to open my engine lid to hook it up though do I created this quick connect system, easy peasy and fast hookup. Check out this old post:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=300866&hl=

My experience, also. I think I am on #3 over 30 years, or maybe it's #2? I can't remember, but hard to argue with the results. Starts every time, and probably saved my chassis when I made the switch from lead-acid in 1990~. Have never kept them on chargers. Only downside I see is they are heavy.

I wouldn't mind doing something lighter next time around, but not sure what that is—and don't love the idea of more maintenance or having to use a charger.

Same for me.

Bob B

I've got a TINY lithium. Its less than 2lbs. 330CCA. I got 2 years out of the first one till it decided to be a PITA and not hold a charge. Im going to keep this one unplugged when not in use, but it turns over the car really, really well and they are only $90.

So sorry about that. I was thinking about my old MGB, and forgetting that they were two 6 volt batteries in series.

I had a few Optimas. Once I got a bad one so I switched to an Odyssey. They delivered reliable service.

If you use the Optima charger it can bring back even the most dead of Optima batteries. I love mine. I have had a few red tops considered gone come back.

Two bad Optimas - Odysseys no problem

Happy with my Odyssey so far.

In the photos the Odyssey has screw top connections for leads, so what mods did y'all do to use the original post clamp connectors?

for another $10 I bought mine with the SAE terminal kit already installed.

https://www.odysseybattery.com/products/sae-terminal-kit/

Trying to remember which one of the high-tech, lightweight micro batteries has an on-off switch?

Could be pretty appealing for a 914 that sits a lot…and as a theft deterrent, even if it's easily defeated.

I've gotten 10+ years out of several Optimas (red and yellow top).

Replacing a battery is a lot cheaper than rebuilding your hell hole when your lead acid battery leaks.

I have use optima and odessey only for last 15years. I have pretty much moved to only optima last couple years. They have tended to last 7-10 years on average. On cars that do not drain when turned off and are used at least every two weeks I dont do anything. On newer cars with higher drain that dont get used frequently they are on battery tenders.

john