Welp, my battery's going out.
 

My Speed is exactly three years old today and the battery is getting sluggish. I searched for recent threads on batteries, but not a lot came up. So, any thoughts on a good replacement? Are Optimas still shit?

Walmart.

My battery died on me 2 days ago. Got an interstate from where I work (Costco) for 78$ out the door. Can't beat that price so if you have a membership I say go there

Reason to get a small battery tray and grab a 51r battery

I second @Djohns; Bought an Exide 51R and crapped out in a year. Replaced with an Interstate 51R from Costco, Best price around!

Can you detail that out? I've never heard of it.

I think he meant by this:
Mazdaspeed 3 51R Small Battery Box [MS3-BTRY-BOX] - $120.00 : James Barone Racing, Aftermarket Performance

or

HTP Battery Tray for 2007-2013 Mazdaspeed3 - Hi-Tuned Performance Products

But +1 for Costco's interstate battery cheapest with the best reviews so far

Costco or SamsClub for the battery


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I am thinking I am going to swap mine soon.

Anything I have to worry about with tech package ? I know on some cars (2006 MDX) you had to enter in a code to (re)activate the radio/nav system . I don't see any mention of anything like that , so I "assume" its a simple swap .

Welp, my battery's going out.
 

Drivers side window reset. That's about it.


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6 lb Braille battery. Can fit it almost anywhere and fit an 8 in intake.

I got one for Christmas. Haven't had any issues yet, but only barely below freezing. I think it is a great way to save 28 lbs and it only cost me $145 delivered with holddowns

I wouldn't even want to chance that battery in -20 weather, but if you can fit an 8" intake hen it may be worth it.


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I'm a big fan of Odyssey batteries myself. They aren't cheap but they handle audio systems/accessories well and I've never questioned their ability to start my car in Winter. I think I'll be needing one soon too.

Got a walmart 51r size battery when mine went out about a month and a half ago.. It's been fine so far, we'll see how it does as the winter continues getting colder around here, I'm sure it will hold its own though.

Batteries are a big deal? Never really thought twice about it, as long as it wasn't from a Mexican tire shop I thought it'd work just fine.

More stuff to consider (or not). Mine has started to slow down a bit on start at just over 3 years..

http://www.mazdaspeedforums.org/foru...teries-195854/

My oem battery only lasted 3 years!


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I switched to a Walmart 51R when I put in 3.5in intake.

sent from my Nexus 6P

My actually lasted 6! I was more than pleasantly surprised.

I was pleasantly surprised when mine only lasted three years, especially since I bought three years used


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http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...48966c2d78.jpg

Go big or go home. Jk



__________________
MS3 Gen2 w/ Tech Package: HPFP Int; Cobb: AP V3/ATR; DramaTuned; CS: SRI/TIP; NGK: 1 step colder; UR TP; EGR Disconnected; Damond Motorsports OCC.

Weird...I bought my speed new, after 3 years it started having issues starting. I bought one of those wall adapter battery charger and it helped out some.

Yeah, I use a plug-in Battery Tender to keep it fully charged, but it's starting to slow-crank now, so it's time to replace.

OEM battery lasted (at least according to the label attached to it) from 07 to 15. No idea how, when I got it tested near the fall it failed its cranking tests at one shop, but passed at another.

Went ahead and replaced it in November. Went with the costco brand.

For a car application you don't really need any fancy stuff such as the optima or odyssey or any other deep cycle battery. You need to chose a battery right for the way you use the car.

The factory battery tray can fit batteries up to 77Ah (Bosch S5 or Varta Silver Dynamic, same battery actually). However, if you constantly make short trips it maybe too big, it will never fully charge and that will make it wear out quickly. So removing the battery tray to fir a larger battery may not be such a good idea.
The dimensions of the largest battery I could fit in the factory tray are 278x175x190 mm (that's roughly 11x7x7.5 inches).

Also, if you have cold weather (I mean "cold", with temps well bellow freezing during winter) you still need a decently big battery, 65-70Ah. This helps quite a ton if your car stays unused for days, you may still want to be able to use your car if you need to leave in a hurry for the hospital because your cat bit your dick.

So just get an AGM battery, 55 to 70Ah that fits the battery tray you have. The factory battery is 55Ah IIRC. the ones we've got around here lasted up to 8 years with proper maintenance (yes, the factory ones are not maintenance free, you still need to add some water from time to time).
The models already mentioned above as being reliable should be on the top of your list.

mine starting going south. 70k miles. 4.5 years from production date. water level was fine but failed the load test.
i did what others said and went with the interstate from costco. $75 after $15 core charge. interestingly costco went from 60 month to 42 month warranty.

I had my battery discharge at NTB the other day. They apparently left the lights, wipers and radio on with the key on so they could turn the wheels easily for alignment. By the time they were done, they had to jump start it.

I can't totally blame it on them, I have the 6 lb braille battery :-)