Car battery just died after pretty much exactly 5 years so I'm looking around.
"AGM" batteries are almost twice the price, recommended by Repco reps.
Is it worth buying one of these? Or should I just get one of the standard batteries and replace sooner?
My car does have start/stop.
Coded out start stop on my VW golf and replaced with a standard lead acid exide battery from Bunnings for like $150. Been fine for the last 2 years.
You should take the risk, save the money and come back when you battery craps out too soon because you didn’t purchase the required equipment.
Consider it might not be just the start stop system that requires a fancy battery, but the ‘smart’ alternator may also be calibrated to suit the fancy battery.
Rubbish. AGM batteries charge at the exact same voltage and current as standard lead acid batteries. They are interchangeable, however the AGM is better for constant start stops & higher drains. A ‘fancy’ battery would be lithium ion.
AGMs are typically designed for deep cycle discharge no? Does the smart alternator disable charging as often to save fuel?
My experience with smart alternator is that the regular battery wasn’t charged properly. It may be that a car requiring an AGM has different timing for charging, not just voltage and current.
Is your battery in the engine bay or in the boot? I've got an AGM in the boot of one car; I've read that AGMs should not be used when fitted in engine bays as they are far more susceptible to heat than a traditional flooded battery.
You may also have no warranty recourse if you purchase the 'regular' battery and have an issue within the warranty period.
Ugh - I have to say I have VERY mixed feelings about my start/stop function.
While I appreciate the fuel saving and being environmentally conscious and all, it can be a pain taking off quickly at intersections, and is MUCH harder on the battery.
I have already gone through several in my car because of the strain the start/stop function puts on it.
The fuel savings are next to nothing, your car consumes very little fuel when idling anyway. Start/Stop was invented by car manufacturers to misleadingly lower their city fuel consumption stats as in the fuel consumption testing for city driving the car spends half of the time completely stationary. A useless and frankly annoying 'feature' that just helps car manufacturers trick people into thinking their cars are more efficient than they actually are. Whilst also adding additional failure points and increased maintenance.
You are saving bugger all fuel. It's all negatives in my opinion.
Just disable it after you start the car.
The cooling system changes temperature, often increasing in places, so physically stresses seals and connections, pipes and components as well.
Exhaust catalyst has to deal with temp changes, heat soak, and the engine's filthy startup emissions a lot more than once per trip (at temperature not so bad, but still a factor). Then the fuel pump and components cycle and undergo pressure variances, and the in-car infotainment and HVAC systems load the depleting battery when off, causing it to cycle (wear) unnecessarily, and requiring them to be more complex to work effectively with plunging system voltage (13.9-<12V).
Worst thing is the oiil pressure drops on stop, and doesn't immediately return on start for a small time- causing wear inside the engine. Again they add things to reduce this but the little valves are often plastic and fail in short order causing problems that should never have occured in the first place. So not just starter, battery, catalyst, etc.
Start/stop is literally a system designed to cause product obsolescence and failure. Especially in Diesels.
Only in non-crawling bumper to bumper traffic can it ever be of any help saving fuel. Most traffic cadence makes the stops too short for it save enough fuel to justify a fraction of the added expense and complexity. There is no question that in most markets, and in most customers use, the system is no more environmentally responsible than the industry that offers it (on nearly every car, and often makes it practically impossible for customers to permanently disable).
Where regenerative braking is properly integrated the starter motor wear is less of an issue, but hybrid ICE/EV is hardly the best we can do in this day and age anyhow
My car does have start/stop.
Then you have to either find a way to disable it, or use start/stop batteries
Do you use or disable start stop when driving?