battery brands

[omodos]

Hello all, need to pick some brains, ok so I hear alot that you get wahat you pay for in life, which in most cases is true, but i was on a bmw e46 forum and when it came to batteries i dug up a list as provided on one post, that kind of turns this on its head a bit, as it shows alot of batteries are made by the company johnson controls so you can get one battery in sears for an x5 that cost say 80$ and pay 120$ for a bosch that is made by johnson controls.....are these the same thing just re-badged? so confused and not too sure how valid the list is or if the cheapo batteries are just as good as the brand name ones? any clues much appreciated....my oem is still on its last legs after 8 years and 3 months of service..

[Qsilver7]

The list you post is based on the USA & Canada (most of North America). Here in the USA, there are basically 2 or 3 major battery manufactures that produce 99% of automotive batteries for the whole country. There may be a few small independent battery mfg's out there that make their own.

And I say 2 or 3 because there was a lot of buying & selling off of parts of battery companies within the last decade or so. As you can see, when you start to look "behind the curtain"...if there are only 2 or 3 battery manufacturers making all the automotive batteries...then the term "cheap battery" is revealed to be more of a marketing/opinion bias more than fact-base build specs.

Batteries come in class sizes as well...and what works for our BMWs are 49/H8 and 95/H9 battery class sizes. When you start to shop for the correct battery class size, you will see that the specs are very similar across battery brands. Then when you realize that only 2 or 3 mfgs are making all the batteries...this also reveals how easy people fall suspect to marketing ploys or their own bias that a certain "brand name" is "cheap" versus another...when in actuality, they both may have been made by the same company and have the same specs...and the only difference is the price of the battery.

Another example, a lot of BMW owners in the USA held the perception that the BMW branded battery was the better battery based on the original battery that came with their e46/e38/e39/e53. What they didn't realize is that those original batteries were manufactured by VARTA (European mfg'd battery) which was a hell of a battery that usually had a very long life (6-10 years). But the replacement BMW branded batteries sold by BMW dealerships in the states was NOT a VARTA battery, but a "Douglas/East Penn" battery (which sold off a large portion of their business to J Controls approx 10 years ago). So the replacement batteries had a tendency to not "last as long" as the original VARTA mfg'd batteries, but BMW still charges a premium for them.

Another interesting fact is...VARTA was once owned by the Quandt family. If you're not familiar with the Quandts...this private family owns the majority shares of BMW...thus they are the 1st family of BMW. Well, the Quandts sold of their interest in VARTA to Johnson Controls...again, this happened almost 10 years ago now.

My suggestion when looking for a replacement battery is to consider which of the battery class size you want to go with when shopping for a battery...or if you prefer a specific brand name (cheap or exclusive). The "cheap" vs "expensive" is based more on class size than brand name. Many brands sell both the 49/H8 and 95/H9 class size...and you'll usually find that the 49/H8 battery is less expensive than the 95/H9 battery class size...but sometimes the specs for the 49/H8.

If you live in the Republic of Cyprus (the island located in the Mediterranean Sea) ...the battery manufacturers on your side of the world will be totally different than the brand names you see listed below.

Another FYI...that image you posted looks very similar to the one that I've been using for many years that was screen capture from a website about battery manufacturers...I just checked and the date that I saved it was 12/16/2009

Below are some examples of 49 & 95 class size batteries...note their similar specs...but the cost of the batteries can range from a bit below $100 to $180...all dependent on the retail establishment selling the battery:

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[jgold47]

another thing affecting price is the warranty that comes with the battery. I prefer wal-mart batteries because they are cheap, but they have limited warranty. However, I dont keep cars that long and i am likely to only have to deal with a battery once, so cheaper is better.

[Zulu95]

I paid $90 fitted back in 2004 for the Exide battery I am currently using in the X. Still holds healthy charge but I am aware it could fail at any moment.

[Ricky Bobby]

Previous owner replaced mine with 850CCA Bosch brand battery from Pep Boys 15 months ago when I bought the X, I have full air suspension so he thought the car could benefit from the additional CCA's. No complaints with my Bosch so far.

[omodos]

thanks qsilver7 (sorry if i pinched your table of batt manufacturers) you don't have by any chance the list of european manufacturers as such? I am looking to replace like for line 90ah with 720CCA rating, even though most people assure me 100ah is better (althogh the flip side to this people have told me alternator is pushed further to charge this up rather than a 90ah battery)

[TerminatorX5]

Originally Posted by omodos

thanks qsilver7 (sorry if i pinched your table of batt manufacturers) you don't have by any chance the list of european manufacturers as such? I am looking to replace like for line 90ah with 720CCA rating, even though most people assure me 100ah is better (althogh the flip side to this people have told me alternator is pushed further to charge this up rather than a 90ah battery)

it would not matter for the alternator if the battery is 90 ah or 100 or 5000 aH - it just will take longer to charge...

Think of the electricity as of water... the bigger battery is like bigger, deeper vessel... to fill it, you will need either more time at the same water flow, or more flow at the same time... alternator is an AC generator that is using a rectifying bridge and voltage stabilizer to convert AC into DC, puts it out at voltage above 12 VDC nominal battery voltage (think of water in connected vessels, you need higher level of "water" in alternator in order for it to flow to battery - so the alternator puts out 13-14 VDC). The alternator is running while the engine is running and it produces the electricity whether it is consumed or not, so it would not matter if the battery is bigger or smaller - the smaller battery will charge up faster but will have less charge... what matters is the duration of the charge, or, in this case, the duration of the drive... This applies to E53 - the newer BMWs have electronic controls, that complicate the "water" flow by introducing artificial controls, as opposed to natural "gravity" flow...

i hope my rambling made sense...

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by omodos

thanks qsilver7 (sorry if i pinched your table of batt manufacturers) you don't have by any chance the list of european manufacturers as such? I am looking to replace like for line 90ah with 720CCA rating, even though most people assure me 100ah is better (althogh the flip side to this people have told me alternator is pushed further to charge this up rather than a 90ah battery)

Sorry, I don't have any info about Euro battery manufacturers other than the small quip about the Quandts selling their shares of VARTA to Johnson Controls...and that info came from data about the expanding aquisitions of Johnson Controls as they were buying up many competitors & other small battery mfgs on several continents a while ago as their ownership of the battery market share was in full expanse mode.

BTW, don't worry about "pinching" anything I post. None of the of images you see in my posts are "hands off"...I post them because I think they help. If I know who the image belongs to, I usually try to acknowledge them...especially if they personally took the image while doing a DIY. If I've added it to my personal stash of pics...I will amend the image by adding their name to it...and on some of the pics I take, I may or may not put my name on it...again, I really don't care if others use it...as long as they use it for the public good.

You may be able to find something by doing an internet search for European battery manufacturers....and again, in your search for a replacement battery...search for battery class size. In your search for a 49/H8 or 95/H9 battery class size...pay attention to the specs given...they should vary somewhat close to the 720 CCA & 90 AH ratings you're looking for.

You may also find that going down a battery class size or two...may also give you the specs you're searching for (i.e. a 47-49/H8 or 91-93/H9). You can see in this old Douglas Battery chart (from approx 2003)...the 49 & 95 BCI (class size) is the preferred...but a move to a class size slightly smaller...has specs that are still within working range of our BMWs...and the will fit the space of our battery compartments (and are ventible):

Below are some examples of Walmart's Everstart batteries in the alternative H7, H8, 49, & 94 class sizes:

[omodos]

thanks to all for the input, I dug up this page on global battery manufacturers alot to trundle through, gonna do a search and see what sold out here see if can avoid paying an arm and leg for a battery...

Lead-Acid Battery Manufacturers and Brand Names List 2013

[TwinsPoppa]

This is what I replaced my original BMW battery with.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...d-x-today.html