Battery AC DELCO or Deka
Great thread. I have used lightweight batteries in all of my builds. Dont buy Braille or any high end BS. They are all rebranded Deka. Ended up grabbing a etx14 power sports battery from autoquest for $70. Same as the Deka ext14 just rebranded.
In sum, I can fully recommend the Deka ETX30L battery for long-term and continuous use in our cars.
I have some extended experience with a lightweight battery in my daily driven 2006 Boxster S, which is well known for the demands it places on the battery. In spite of that, I successfully used the Deka ETX30L (21 lbs.) for almost 3.5 years.
In our shop we have found that the professional line of AC-Delco batteries seem to last the longest. I believe if you check the AC-Delco was what was installed at the factory in your Suzuki, and that lasted 7 years.
I'm a big fan of AC Delco batteries. Every one I've had has outlived the cars I've put them in.
EDIT: Confirmed fitment (duh) and ordered the Deka through Batteries Plus. This battery seems to be best fit as its reserve capacity is nearly double that of the Optimas.
I have had excellent results from a Deka Intimidator 9A48 High Performance AGM Battery Deka / Remy part # 9AGM48 installed Dec 2010
I don't recommend anything less than the DEKA ETX-20L for a car that see true street duties. The ETX-14 is 200 CCA @ 12 lbs, and the 4 lbs weight loss isn't worth it for 70 CCA loss on a small battery in charge of starting a car. The ETX-18L does 270 CCA @ 16 lbs and much more suitable for our 4 banger application. The ETX-18 however is the one I recommend to 95% of readers of this thread. It cranks out 300 CCA at 18 lbs, which is still plenty light.
I've always had sucess with the Deka ETX-20L in the DSMs, two EVOs, a Saturn race car, and now the TT (most of them running on E85 which is hard to start on cold winter mornings). As long as you discipline yourself to not run accessories with the engine off, they are a great option!
I just upgraded mine a few weeks ago, ended up getting a DEKA AGM 9AGM47 More CCA and far more reserve capacity than the stock battery (120 mins) I was at ~35k miles and my OEM battery was failing fast.. I couldn't leave it in the accessory position without the engine running for more than a minute or two or it would barely be able to crank. The OEM battery is crap as far as I'm concerned
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