odyssey vs. panasonic battery

[kls1]

hi there,
just got a dead battery that came with a bmw 1983 r65.

sooo...i was curious at what people think about odyssey vs. panasonic. now keep in mind i am trying to be as cheap as possible, but i'm willing to get a battery tender. it seems to me that people have done quite well with the panasonic from digikey (although others have raved about the odyssey). A 50 dollar difference doesn't seem like much...

also, if i did decide to go the odyssey route, do you have to buy the adapter or could you simply attach the cables to the battery flat (horizontally) instead of vertically like the OEM has it.

thanks!

[Bob_Roller]

kls1

I had an Odyssey battery installed in my '81 R65 for 6 years before it finally quit, and I could not go back to a standard 'flooded' OEM battery after this .

I don't have any experience with Panasonic batteries, but the Odyssey lasted through 6 Phoenix summers, where a standard OEM battery had the average life of 18-24 months. For about the same cost.

Where exactly on planet earth do you call home ?

The more extreme the environment the better the 'alternate' choice batteries become.

I had no problem mounting the battery leads to the Odyssey it is a little tight, but do-able, but there are adapters available, at least in the US.

[kls1]

hmm.

seems like it might be a smart move to go to the odyssey. any need to buy new bolts or does the battery come with them? (I noticed on some sites they list bolts as a separate purchase). Thanks for the quick response.

located in the bay area.

[Justin B.]

We have three Odysseys, one BMW "wet", and one generic AGM battery,  I will never use a "flooded" battery again.   The Panasonic batteries also have a good following as well so I would say it would also be waay better than a wet battery.

[Bob_Roller]

The bolts are a common metric thread, you can go to an auto parts store like NAPA and easily find them.

I don't have a metric tap and die set, or I'd tell you what size they were.

[Justin B.]

Oh, as far as bolts are concerned the Odyssey comes with stainless allen head fasteners and flat washers and I have not ran into any situation where the "adapters" were needed...

The "generic" sealed lead-acid I put in the junkyard LS was from Gruber Power Services and they market it as an equiv. to the PC680.  Don't know if they will last as long as the Odyssey or not but they are currently $58 plus shipping:

http://www.gruberpower.com/gruberpower/advertising/batteries/cutsheets/58-pc-680.asp

[Semper Gumby]

+1 Odessey.  Had no problems screwing down five looped ends on each post.  4mm (?) allen works fine.  Keep the battery on a Deltran trickle charger.  Always hot to trot and good in the winter down to -5'C.  I have the old Bosch starter not one of the newer lower draw starters.