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Best Battery for a Vitesse


RayHutch

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Personally - the biggest that will fit.  Thankfully some sites, like Halfords, let you just browse all batteries and list dimensions.  Only thing to watch is which side the terminals are on and if the car leads are long-enough to reach with the battery "the wrong way around".

The recommended battery for my Spitfire is an '038' so 35Ah and 280/300 CCA, but for well over 5 years I've been happily running an '075' giving 60Ah and 550CCA.  Useful for those "hasn't been started in a while" moments where it takes a bit of cranking to remember how to run.

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I have an 063 in mine (and in the Spitfire and the GT6) as it fits nicely and costs less than the smaller one. The terminals are swapped but that just means you turn it round to fit with the cables more tucked away (and not at risk of touching the clamp).

I've never felt the need of a "high torque" starter - the original type spins the six over quite happily, if it's in good condition.

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the advantage of the so called hi torque is the very low current required , very useful if the battery is low state.

it is a small high reving little motor drives the pinion through a gearbox to get the correct rpm whether it produces more or less torque than

that of the orig direct drive is a good question, but it runs on fresh air in comparison .

Pete

 

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075 a tad bigger than the 063. But recently the 075 is often a cheaper option, I think as more cars now use it over the 063. 

The 038/015 is quite unusual thesedays, so teh big brands do not sell it , but halfods do. As do may other ebay etc shops. But I would opt for the 063/075 

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I have an 063 in the GT6 (and Spit) and an 075 in the Vitesse.  We found the 075 a bit big for the Spit/Gt6 box, but the 063 is perfect.  And Cheap.  And very common.  My original Halfords "3 year" lasted about 15, so I tend to buy them.

Nick

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because batteries need to cycle with charge and discharge having a balanced capacity is good

going for something with a much higher capacity may well fail very early 

063 are good value and due to the wide useage on a lot of moderns the production volumes keep the price economical 

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All good advice. The battery that I have in at the moment is 35Ah 330 CCA and it just seems too small for the job. After starting the car, the voltmeter shows a heavy drain, it goes back up after driving for a while but I'd like a battery with a bit more in reserve.

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How long is "a while"? And what do you consider "a heavy drain"? As Pete says, batteries need to cycle. If the voltmeter shows more than 12V within a few seconds after starting, and gets up over 13.5 in, say, five miles, then your battery and alternator are both perfectly adequate. If you can start, stop, start, stop half a dozen times - or if you can crank the engine with the coil disconnected for more than a minute - then your battery is fine and you don't need anything bigger. A 35Ah in good condition will satisfy that easily.

Triumph never fitted a voltmeter. If your voltmeter causes you to fret, rip it out!

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 agree .my Citroen Cactus 130  has just speedo and fuel gauge  , you soon get used to things being reliable without any visible data being forced at you 

keep it simple  works for me

my 2000 has no rev counter...you know when its in the red , you cant hear the radio simpulze 

Pete

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1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said:

 agree .my Citroen Cactus 130  has just speedo and fuel gauge  , you soon get used to things being reliable without any visible data being forced at you 

I remember being amazed that a relative's Renault 5 Campus had no temperature gauge, just a warning light. With a gauge you could see minute movements of the needle and if it approached hot, you checked it out before it got to the red. I always felt that once the warning light came on, you were already in trouble.

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1 hour ago, Colin Lindsay said:

I remember being amazed that a relative's Renault 5 Campus had no temperature gauge, just a warning light. With a gauge you could see minute movements of the needle and if it approached hot, you checked it out before it got to the red. I always felt that once the warning light came on, you were already in trouble.

SWMBO's Yaris also only has a warning LED - it's blue when cold, then goes out, comes on red if "too hot". I think their threshold is below the point where any damage is done and probably not far above the temperature where the cars that do have gauges stop lying about it being absolutely slap bang dead on right in the exact middle perfect within a fraction of nothing, honest guv.

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