2-Yr Battery?

LMJ

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2010
Location
Virginia
TDI
2000 VW Golf
Interstate asked me if I wanted the 2-yr or 6-yr battery. I chose the 6, like last time. It lasted exactly 6 years. There's no indication on the new battery of it expected life. Do battery manufacturers actually make of 2-yr battery and how do I determine now that mine is a 6.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
eh, yes and no.
cheep vs expensive lead acid wet batteries last about the same, give or take. there are threads opon threads about this going either way, its a can of worms your diving into if you want to know more, i suggest you go to thecandleforums.com and read up on batteries and how they need to be charged and discharged,
most batteries are actually rated in amp hours and given a life expectancy of cycles. car batteries are usually cut in half as they dont get discharged down to 60%, they keep getting topped off all the time with amps. in general you can get a 1 year battery to last 5 years, and i can easily kill a 6 year battery in one year, its all about what your use is and in a car its about where you live and what the car was designed for, diesels in cold areas, batteries dont last as long.

again, rabit hole here,

in b4 massive debate thread that gets derailed
 

LMJ

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2010
Location
Virginia
TDI
2000 VW Golf
eh, yes and no.
cheep vs expensive lead acid wet batteries last about the same, give or take. there are threads opon threads about this going either way, its a can of worms your diving into if you want to know more, i suggest you go to thecandleforums.com and read up on batteries and how they need to be charged and discharged,
most batteries are actually rated in amp hours and given a life expectancy of cycles. car batteries are usually cut in half as they dont get discharged down to 60%, they keep getting topped off all the time with amps. in general you can get a 1 year battery to last 5 years, and i can easily kill a 6 year battery in one year, its all about what your use is and in a car its about where you live and what the car was designed for, diesels in cold areas, batteries dont last as long.

again, rabit hole here,

in b4 massive debate thread that gets derailed
I'm not looking to do a research project here, simply want to know if manufacturers (in my case Interstate), makes a "2-yr" car battery cause it sounded like a scam when the salesperson asked if that's what I wanted.

Here's what happened. My car battery was dead monday morning, so I drive the truck to work. Stopped off at Interstate on the way home to get a new one. Figured they know what size I needed. Sent me home with the wrong one. Today I looked up the recommended size on Interstate website and wrote down the price. On the way home I returned the small one I bought yesterday and bought the correct one. While there, Interstate quoted me a price that was more than listed on the website. When she quoted me a price she asked if I wanted the "2-yr" or 6-yr" battery. Is there such a thing as "2-yr battery" being offered by Interstate (or did she just make it up).
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
There probably is as they are rated for any number of years including lifetime. But a cheap short rated battery can be made to last quite a while if taken care of properly and you can kill a lifetime battery pretty quickly by neglecting it. Just what Mongler98 told you above. I have bought used cheap short rated batteries and had them last for years as well. My antique car battery is over 15 years old, but I take excellent care of it.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
So the answer your looking for, yes. There is a 2 year and a 6 year and warranties and lots of bs you will get from places like interstate. Avoid them and buy your battery at costco or walmart.
The only 3 things you actually need to care about are size, cca, and date of manufacturing. A battery make in 2016 has been sitting around and will last less for you. Dont bother with things like, gold, silver, platinum, or 2 year or 4 year or extended warranty. These are all just marketing bs. Yea there techincally is a difference in the battery but its come down to the difference in testing at the manufacturer, not internal construction, kinda!
Just go buy the best bang for your buck. Make sure that of your car calls for AGM, you get AGM, and if it's not clearly states in your owners manual then default to the lead wet acid type.
 

scooperhsd

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Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
So the answer your looking for, yes. There is a 2 year and a 6 year and warranties and lots of bs you will get from places like interstate. Avoid them and buy your battery at costco or walmart.
The only 3 things you actually need to care about are size, cca, and date of manufacturing. A battery make in 2016 has been sitting around and will last less for you. Dont bother with things like, gold, silver, platinum, or 2 year or 4 year or extended warranty. These are all just marketing bs. Yea there techincally is a difference in the battery but its come down to the difference in testing at the manufacturer, not internal construction, kinda!
Just go buy the best bang for your buck. Make sure that of your car calls for AGM, you get AGM, and if it's not clearly states in your owners manual then default to the lead wet acid type.

On a TDI, don't even worry about CCA - you want AMP HRs. Get the battery size as recommended by VW and you will be fine. Most of them take either a Group 94R (H7) or Group 48 (H6). The newer the better. I had a place want to sell me an H5 because "it had the CCA rating (640) called for by VW". I straightened them out pronto.
 

Mongler98

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Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
While that's mostly true, you need to understand that CCA and amp hours are not directly related. You can get a 100 amp hour battery but it only has a rating of 450 CCA while you can get a 850 cca battery that's is only rated at 38 amp hours.
Agm and deep cycle batteries are usually rated in amp hours. Car batteries including agm are rated in CCA. It's a very in important number to get right. You can not calculate amp hours from CCA.
I'm so far down this rabbit hole, you dont want to know.
Again. You want good info, go to candle power forums and decide for yourself.
Diesels need a good CCA battery, amp hours, not so much but definatly more important than in a typical gas car.
The reality is you never discharge a battery more than 15 to 20% max in a car that is working properly. You should never go below 60% in a typical car battery and never lower than 50% in a deep cycle agm. So it does not matter what battery you get honestly.
Nitpicking over what battery you get is like some of these guys who only run VW oil, and parts, because some of us are that anal about our cars.
Why spend more money on a part your going to replace anyways. Just dont let it stand you in the dead of winter in some back roads!
 

scooperhsd

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Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
Excatly the opposite if you live in a cold climate.

However he is in temperate climate so slap anything in there that meets the spec.



No - I will stand on my statement that you buy a TDI battery on AMP HRs - period - EVEN IN NORTHERN CANADA / NORTHERN ALASKA !
 

Mongler98

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Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
No - I will stand on my statement that you buy a TDI battery on AMP HRs - period - EVEN IN NORTHERN CANADA / NORTHERN ALASKA !
Please ready my post above in response to this you cant go off amp hours alone. While your on the tight track, your misinformed on how batteries are rated.
 

scooperhsd

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Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
You want AMP HRs in a TDI because


1- Glowplug power draw
2. Starter draw (especially when it has to turn more because of cold).
 

JSWTDI09

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Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
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2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
....and how do I determine now that mine is a 6.

Probably, you can tell by the warranty. I suspect that both batteries (2 and 6 year) are nearly identical inside. My guess is that the biggest differences between them are the price and the warranty. Warranties can be expensive.


Have Fun!


Don
 

scooperhsd

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Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
Please ready my post above in response to this you cant go off amp hours alone. While your on the tight track, your misinformed on how batteries are rated.

YOu certainly don't buy on CCA alone either. SInce they have nothing to do with each other..
 

scooperhsd

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Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
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NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
And we have had these battery discussions over and over and over again in the 16 years I've been on this board.
 

scooperhsd

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Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
You buy a battery with enough AMp Hours - (72 or 80) - it will have enough CCA.


The reverse is not true.
 

Mongler98

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Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
You can start a tdi or any engine for that matter with a set of capacitors even in the cold. That's what those instant jump packs are. There are basically no amp hours on them, maybe a few minutes but it will start my ahu mk3 no issues even at -10*F
Cold cranking amps go hand in had with mass power storage.
When in dought, go back to the owners manual and service for the car.
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
As to the original question, batteries have always been rated by year, you can make anything cheaper. Some resellers can up the warranty period, as a sales tool. I see Honda is giving 9 years on a regular 4 or 5 year battery. Don't think I've ever seen a 2 year battery, but Interstate does sell a lot reconditioned.
 

scooperhsd

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
You can start a tdi or any engine for that matter with a set of capacitors even in the cold. That's what those instant jump packs are. There are basically no amp hours on them, maybe a few minutes but it will start my ahu mk3 no issues even at -10*F
Cold cranking amps go hand in had with mass power storage.
When in dought, go back to the owners manual and service for the car.



That should be DOUBT not dought , and the manual on my 2000 NB is exactly where that Group 48 72 Amp Hour battery came from . It so happens that the 2015's also use that same battery (at least MY 2015 Golf TDI does). The gasser versions only specify a Group 47 (which may have the CCA, but not the Amp Hours).
 
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