what battery is recommend

[midwestmike]

I am looking for a new battery for my malibu. What is the one to get for the best money. Should I stay with the marine or can I do something like a red top optima instead of the blue top. That should save a little money. And what am I after , like cca or should I be looking at something else..

[Wayne]

After reading a lot of the threads on here about adding multiple batteries and looking at the capacity of the traditional marine starting battery versus an Optima, I think it depends on what you want out of it.

The traditional marine starting batteries have a higher amp/hour rating than the Optima which means if you like to listen to a stereo with the engine off, you have a little more reserve. In other words the Optima will discharge a little faster. The one benifit to Optima's is that you can mount them in any position and they seem more resistant to "abuse". Things like letting them die or sit in the boat over the winter will take a tole on them, but they fair a lot better than a lead acid.

If you store the battery inside for the winter and don't need to mount it in a funky position, the cost of an Optima isn't really worth it. If you have a group 24 size now, an upgrade to a group 27 is worth it but not necessary. If you are going from a 24 to a 27, you will need a larger battery box.