BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   7Post - 7 Series Forum > BMW 7-Series Forums > (F01) 7-series General Discussions

Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      05-22-2020, 11:24 AM   #1
atorreon
Private First Class
atorreon's Avatar
United_States
7
Rep
106
Posts

Drives: BMW 135i
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Nashville

iTrader: (1)

Replacement Battery

Looking for some guidance here. Has anyone replaced their car battery with a non BMW one? Duralast, Optima,etc... Was there any benefit to not going oem? Thanks
__________________
2015 BMW 750Li
2013 Porsche Panamera
2008 BMW e82 135i
2000 BMW e39 M5
Appreciate 0
      05-24-2020, 08:26 AM   #2
Qsilver7
Major General
Qsilver7's Avatar
United_States
4343
Rep
7,361
Posts

Drives: F06 650ix GC / F15 X5 50i
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Indiana, USA

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by atorreon View Post
Looking for some guidance here. Has anyone replaced their car battery with a non BMW one? Duralast, Optima,etc... Was there any benefit to not going oem? Thanks
I can discuss this topic in my sleep only because Ive seen this discussion since my first forays into BMW forums that started in 1996 on my Apple MacPerforma connected to the internet on a dial-up modem using Netscape.

The biggest benefit will be cost savings for the battery...and installation (if you do it yourself). In the US market...there are basically 3 large battery manufacturers that make most of the battery brands...and you may find a few “boutique” battery brands. The two you mentioned (Duralast and Optima) are manufactured by Johnson Controls. About a decade or more ago...there was some large acquisitions made in the industry where some battery manufacturers were bought out or acquired. Johnson Controls was one major player that did so.

Back in the 90s...BMW used VARTA batteries which was a European battery manufacturer owned by the Quandt family. The Quandts are also the 1st family of BMW...they own the majority shares of BMW stock. Johnson Controls acquired VARTA about 10 years ago.

BMW NA also used to use Exide and Douglas batteries...so again...the brand name is usually less of an issue versus purchasing the correct battery class size.

Most modern larger BMWs like the 5/6/7/8/X5/X7 will at least require an AGM H8/49 or H9/95R battery class size for its starter battery. If you have certain options you may require additional batteries which may include a smaller AGM or Lithium battery.

So if shopping for a non BMW branded starter battery...check the size that you have...then shop for that battery class size...the “brand” will have specs that are very similar to each other. Their specs RC (reserve capacity), CA (cranking amps), CCA (cold cranking amps), and AH (amp hour) will fall very close within specs. Also make sure that you understand the “venting” set up if the battery is installed in an enclosed space.

You can see the battery specs of the H8/49 and H9/95R battery class sizes in the East Penn battery chart below. Again, if you’re shopping for a Duralast, Duracell, Optima...or the battery selections from Advanced Auto, Pep Boys, O’Reillys, Walmart, etc...shop for the correct battery class size.

__________________
2015 F06 650ix Gran Coupe`(Moonstone/Cohiba Brown)| 2014 F15 X5 50i MSport (Space Gray/Mocha)

Become a BMW CCA member! Click HERE to join and feel free to use my BMW CCA member #191509 as a referral.
Appreciate 0
      05-25-2020, 10:34 PM   #3
atorreon
Private First Class
atorreon's Avatar
United_States
7
Rep
106
Posts

Drives: BMW 135i
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Nashville

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the extensive write up. I ended up doing an oem battery and purchased bimmerlink to register
__________________
2015 BMW 750Li
2013 Porsche Panamera
2008 BMW e82 135i
2000 BMW e39 M5
Appreciate 0
      05-26-2020, 08:29 AM   #4
Qsilver7
Major General
Qsilver7's Avatar
United_States
4343
Rep
7,361
Posts

Drives: F06 650ix GC / F15 X5 50i
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Indiana, USA

iTrader: (0)

__________________
2015 F06 650ix Gran Coupe`(Moonstone/Cohiba Brown)| 2014 F15 X5 50i MSport (Space Gray/Mocha)

Become a BMW CCA member! Click HERE to join and feel free to use my BMW CCA member #191509 as a referral.
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:38 PM.




7post
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST