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Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:19 pm

Hello!

My husband Hawkeye and I are the proud new owners of a German-made 1972 Super Beetle, which is being delivered to our house in Canadensis, PA on Friday.

We need to purchase a new battery for the car but our local car-parts stores are unable to tell us what we need to buy because their inventory search is coming up empty due to the vintage nature of the car.

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Laurie

Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:33 pm

If you have an autozone nearby, they should have it, I just bought mine there about 10 days ago, and it was in-stock, on the shelf.

Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:35 pm

if you have the $$ I'd reccomend getting an Optima red top, they are about $100 to $120, but WELL worth it..... they don't leak because they are gel filled....... and WAY more powerfull than stock.

Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:37 pm

I don't have an Autozone near me. I need to know battery codes/models so I know what to ask for at my local car-parts store. Thanks!

Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:48 pm

It's a group 42. Everyones group numbers are the same.

With the battery on the counter, the side with the post facing you, make sure the positive is on the right side.

There's also a 42-something (A or R) that looks like it, but the post are reversed.....don't get it.

It should look like this

Wed Jun 28, 2006 11:48 pm

a battery group 58r works too and not too expensive

Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:14 am

whutdidyousay wrote: if you have the $$ I'd reccomend getting an Optima red top, they are about $100 to $120, but WELL worth it..... they don't leak because they are gel filled....... and WAY more powerfull than stock.

I second that. I used to have just a regular Power start or some junk, then I stole my dad's Optima out of our sand rail. What a difference. If you buy them, make sure to get the ones with the side posts, then you won't have to worry about covering the battery to protect the posts from touching the back seat springs.

Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:42 am

mine came with a plastic tray that covers the top so you can use both... unfortunateley I left it at the store.

Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:52 am

Optima is a good battery also a VERY dangerous battery if you don't understand one thing:

It's too high. if any one is in your rear seat it will compress the springs onto your positive terminal and can cause a fire. Many fires are caused by this problem
They do not have the needed cover over the positive terminal.
You can get around it by placing thick rubber over the battery. Personally I think they are not a good pick for a bug.

The best is a Sears Diehard and you can get them at any Sears . I have given you a link for info:
.http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Batt...dghldfom.0

Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:55 am

very true!..... make sure you cover the top with the cover, but it's nice havin that extra zap to get her cranked.

Thu Jun 29, 2006 1:11 am

whutdidyousay wrote: very true!..... make sure you cover the top with the cover, but it's nice havin that extra zap to get her cranked.

Specs for both:
Optima: Cold Cranking Amps (CCA at 0 deg.F) 800 Reserve Capacity (RC) 110 min

Diehard: Cold Cranking Amps (CCA at 0 deg.F) 700 Reserve Capacity (RC) 110 min.

They are basically the same(Die hard costs less with better warranty) Optima is probably less likely to leak in 5 years but the difference is minimal and the safety issue
trumps the difference.

Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:38 pm

A big battery is ok but a stock beetle requires a scant 325cca. If you aren't going for the Optima then make sure you get the proper Group42 size and protect the whole positive terminal from the seat springs above it. I use the small plastic cover that comes with the battery plus a rubber terminal protector THEN lay a small rubber floor mat over the top. I've seen too many melted rear seats & burnt butts in my day....and a burnt but aint a pretty sight !

Thu Jun 29, 2006 1:33 pm

Quote: A big battery is ok but a stock beetle requires a scant 325cca.

I put a Honkin' Big Cold Cranking Amp Battery in my Bug once and when I hit the Ignition the Bug flipped on it's side !! :shock:

Fri Jun 30, 2006 6:32 am

Well, I'm thinking plutonium................hmmmmmmmmmm

Fri Jun 30, 2006 12:20 pm

AC Delco batteries are good also. they have a 7 year warranty on them and we can squeeze twelve years out of them on a chevy. we even had one last 14 years in a monte carlo. up in ukiah california, there is an ac delco parts store and they have the type of batteries that go into a vw. they arelower, meaning the battery is half as thick(tall) and it produces 400cca. i would reccommend ac delcos because the dont leak(ever) and with this particular battery, it eliminates the chance of a battery to seat short out. ive never tried a gel cell like an optima, but it sounds good. but please for the love of god stay away from cheap batteries and interstate batteries.

forgot to mention that everstart is delcos generic brand, cheaper but it is the same.

Fri Jun 30, 2006 1:28 pm

A group 75 would fit no problem either. It can also be bought with a dual terminal with the chevy terminals.

I would get the battery tested every 6mths or year to do a load test. So many people think a bettery can last over 5yrs but they are sadly mistaken. If the battery fails a load test it will just make the alternator work much harder. I'm a mechanic by trade and I see this every day and I love(being saracastic) changing burnt out alternators because of frugal owners thinking thier car battery works well.

Group 42 is not necessary because its an extremely large battery which is not really a benefit in shear wieght. A bare bone beetle doesn't require alot of reserve or cold crank ratings.

I suggest getting an old rubber inner tube or sheet of rubber to isolate the +ve terminal just in case a "big" passenger sits on the right rear seat.

Fri Jun 30, 2006 2:28 pm

That horse hair sure burns real fast and I'm happy I had a hose outside the day I was kneeling on my back seat cusion. I pulled the cusion out real fast and hosed it down. Then I put a rubber battery terminal cover on the positive terminal.

Sat Jul 01, 2006 2:03 pm

I just put in an Optima last week in my Mexican Beetle. The main reason I paid triple the money to get an Optima is the fact that it is absolutely sealed. I have never seen any Beetle that didn't have some corrosion on the floor under the battery. Completely rotten through is very common even in areas of the world that don't have rust. With the Optima this can never happen.

One thing I found was that the group 75 that Costco sells is too narrow for the stock VW clamps to grab onto. I noticed that on the yellow top Optimas they also sell, there is a clip-on adapter that's included, so I stole one of those and modded my red top to take it. With this adapter, the stock clamps work fine.

The posts are in a slightly different location than a group 42. The Pos will be closer to the rear of the car by about 2-3". There should be enough room for the cable to reach. Also, the posts are above the top of the battery, not recessed like a group 42, so you must make sure they won't contact the seat. In my case, Mexican cars don't have the coil springs in the seats, so there's about 8" of clearance above the battery. Also, Mexican cars come with a factory plastic battery cover.

Sat Jul 01, 2006 4:29 pm

I decided to go to my FLAPS and get the old school plastic battery box and put it in there, might have to trim it a little shorter, but it will look clean.
The big differences in the optima is that it won't leak.... ever, and vibrations won't hurt it.... do VW's vibrate? :wink: and that the power comes very constant and they (seemingly) charge faster than typical batteries, including the Die hard, which is a good battery, I just think the optima is overall better for a VW. especially if you have nice floor pans (I do not) :cry:

Sat Jul 01, 2006 6:50 pm

Bruce wrote:
I noticed that on the yellow top Optimas they also sell, there is a clip-on adapter that's included, so I stole one of those and modded my red top to take it. With this adapter, the stock clamps work fine.

I'm thinking about getting an Optima. Is there a problem with it fittiing into the stock clamp? Which model Optima did you buy? I was going with a Diehard But there's only a $20 difference from the Optima model I was looking at

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