SuperCharge Gold battery. Long term review.

[Steampunk]

Long story short, I've had this battery since late 2007 and it's still cranking strong with a pleasant surprise; I've stupidly ran the battery down to such a low charge that no interior lights would turn on (left the key at the "on" position after playing with MegaSquirt), three times now.

After each jump start and subsequent recharge (just via the alternator), it's still like it was before I ran it down, each time.

SuperCharge doesn't claim any deep-cycle capabilities for their Gold series, but you could have fooled me.

If I'm not wrong, they are still around $120 a pop.

[Locutus]

been there, done that!
the supercharge in my last car was around 40 months old when i drained it so flat that the alarm in the car tripped (on a backup alarm battery) due to low voltage.

i hooked it up to a $40 battery charger overnight and it was good as new. ended up outlasting the car.

[Pamex]

I had a Super Charge in mine.

Swapped over for an Odyssey a few months back, and it sat in my driveway. (I swapped because I wanted to try an Odyssey and I was getting issues with rust in the boot, not because the battery itself failed).

It sat in my driveway for at least 3 months.

I then used it to start the S13 I have out there, and the S13 cranked over perfectly, first time.

If it's the right application for you, I highly recommend Super Charge batteries.

[Mr Morlock]

whats remarkable about 4 years for a battery- nothing. The subject statement is not accurate. Repost it in another 5 or 6 years. The going price for run of the mill batts is around the $ figure quoted.

[GP]

I swapped because I wanted to try an Odyssey and I was getting issues with rust in the boot

Supercharge Gold are great, We use them at work exclusively. Supercharge do sell the correct non vented battery for the 5 so I would recommend you ditch the Gold and get a proper one

[Pamex]

No, but a battery lasting without use, sitting neglected in a driveway and then firing a car up first time after months is pretty good. That's one of the reasons I was happy with mine.

I guess that Andrew was more highlighting that even though they're considered a sub-standard battery by many, he has been happy with his, as others have. It will also be good to have a bit of a battery review/ discussion thread specifically for SuperCharge or other batteries as it's a topic that most people will search on the forums at some point: particularly those that can't stretch to the Panasonic or Odyssey prices at that point. This thread goes nicely with our big battery thread, where the SuperCharge range is suggested.

It's good to see threads such as these that provide some useful information, rather than scattered negative comments on every thread possible that just highlight the obvious.

[hks_kansei]

whats remarkable about 4 years for a battery- nothing. The subject statement is not accurate. Repost it in another 5 or 6 years. The going price for run of the mill batts is around the $ figure quoted.

true, 5 years is not that amazing.

BUT, it is amazing for a battery not treated that well.


when people get 10 years out of a battery it is generally from daily use, and decent drives to keep it charged.

a battery will generally lose a dramatic amount of it's life when completely discharged.


the batteyr in my old car (a 1982 Mazda 626) lasted only 2 years, once it discharged it completely lost it's ability to hold a decent charge for more than a few days.

[Locutus]

^ what he said.

the batteries we use in our cars are not designed to be deep cycled. after the abuse i gave it, i honestly did not expect the battery to be able hold enough charge to crank the engine any more.

after the incident, the car still started after 2 weeks of inactivity. another time i left the interior light on for about 4 or 5 days and didn't realise until the next time i hopped in to take it for a drive - she still fired up without issue.

[93_Clubman]

Andrew's other point is that he's so far achieved 4 years use for $120, when many similarly priced batteries expire after 1, 2, or 3 years without being abused.

As GP says there's now a new Supercharge battery, the GT12-35HR, which doesn't vent.

[Mr Morlock]

I have no idea whether this brand is any better than brand XXX. I do know that most batteries are warranted for 3-4 years and many fail within months of the warranty- ie they are built for a certain period- most resellers and Auto elecs will tell you this. There has been some really good topics on the batteries esp for the virtues of AGMs' and as we know there are plenty of MX5's running around with 10 yo batteries.

[hks_kansei]

I have no idea whether this brand is any better than brand XXX. I do know that most batteries are warranted for 3-4 years and many fail within months of the warranty- ie they are built for a certain period- most resellers and Auto elecs will tell you this. There has been some really good topics on the batteries esp for the virtues of AGMs' and as we know there are plenty of MX5's running around with 10 yo batteries.

true, but the batteries warranted for longer, and that last longer, tend to cost more.

the spirit of this thread is to say that this Battery is a good value alternative, it has lasted 4 years and cost $120.
so let's say $30 per year (and assuming it's still; running, less per year)

versus say the Panasonic battery (Mazda genuine), which generally lasts 10 years, and costs $360 (according to MX5 Mania website)
that's $36 per year.

so, as it stands, the Supercharge is slightly better value, the only issue is having to change it more often.



so, Morlock, yes, you can get a battery that lasts longer, but it also costs more, so it's really comparing green apples to red apples.

so, over a 10 year life, the OEM Mazda battery will cost $360 (total price)

the supercharge will cost $300 over the same period (so that would be assuming a life of 4 years, so 2.5 batteries)

it's up to the user to decide if they are willing to save $60 and have the slight annoyance of changing a battery every 4 years.




remembering of course, this is a worst case scenario for the supercharge compared to a best case for the OEM.

[93_Clubman]

And while long life has been achieved from OEM batteries of the 1990s, it remains to be seen how long owners get out of their more recently purchased OEM batteries.

[Mr Morlock]

I was not too concerned about the cost evaluation more about the right choice of battery. The sums do not add up either. If you have a start price of $360 for an agm and brand x say at $120 and being replaced say twice over 8 years then even at that point the agm is probably in front- reason brand X is going up every year and say at an inflation rate of 6% after 4 years it is $151 and after 8 it is $190 total $462. Even at 3% infation the numbers favour the agm.
For someone without the spare initial cash or an owner not intending to keep the car I understand the choice. I think the NC may not have an agm anymore - I would prefer an agm in my boot.

[Steampunk]

Pamex, clubman and hks have made exact points that I was going to state;
- Due to price, it's considered a "budget" battery and thusly unfairly judged as sub-standard as Pam said, but faultless cranking for 4 years (I bought it August '07 to be precise) and three deep-cycle events proves otherwise
- I replaced my original Panasonic with an Odyssey because was apparently the best. It completely packed it in after < three years. It didn't even show signs of slow cranking, it just died. Took it to a battery shop and after testing and attempted recharge, it was officially deemed dead. Therefore: $400 or so for 3 years?! Once bitten, twice shy.
I'm not saying Odyssey is shite, as a friend has had his for almost 10 years and it's still OK, but for the price, I think anyone would have been dissapointed if it didn't at least last 5 years.
- I've had Exide batteries that have lasted 3-5 years, friends have had similar experience, Exides are around $200
- When I bought the SuperCharge, it was on special at around $95
- I would gladly pay considerably more for a maintenance-free battery that claims to last 10 years, and has a reputation for doing so, but that was my thinking when I bought the Odyssey, so in other words, if the SuperCharge were to die in the next few months, I would not be unhappy as it has far outlasted the Odyssey at a cheaper price.

When the Exide battery, that was already in another car I bought, died a few months ago, I went straight to Autobarn for a SuperCharge. I didn't even consider any other brands.

I endeavoured to keep a long story short, but once again I was prompted to waffle.
It's just like picking out corn husks that gets lodged between your teeth after eating a delicious corn on the cob.

'Nuff said.

[Pamex]

I'm interested to see you can get the non-vented SuperCharge batteries now mentioned above.

To be honest, when my Odyssey packs it in (HOPEFULLY not for quite a while!) I'll be considering a SuperCharge again. It just wasn't the exact right battery for my application, but there was nothing wrong with the actual battery or its performance.

For any other future/current cars I'll be putting a SuperCharge in them.