What to avoid when buying a battery?
My battery died (can't get above 10.5V, loosing voltage while sitting etc) and I need to get a new one. What should I look out for? There are a lot of different types of them like AGM, Lithium Iron, Flooded Acid etc
Car is Integra (1998)
Lead acid is fine. I’d get the cheapest one you can find with OEM- level cold cranking amps. Otherwise they’re almost all the same and made by basically 3 or so companies. Ignore the marketing.
AGMs are very durable and tolerant of poor maintenance but you pay for it.
Hmm, it seems that the situation with three companies are in USA. I am from Europe, been looking into Varta batteries
Varta makes the Bosch batteries we get. I think they’re owned by Johnson Controls, but that’s their only involvement. Solid bet IMO. Well-made and reliable.
I ran Varta on my Corsa, no complaints. I got it for a good price and never failed me.
Just make sure to keep it charged and use it occasionally. The electrolyte will crystalize to the lead if the battery is left in a discharged state for a long time, which will make the battery weaker or inoperable. If you keep it charged, your battery will last for decades.
I'm not knowledgeable to get into the specifics of the differences, but for your older Integra with a gasoline engine, a regular lead-acid battery will suffice. You don't need lean angles (like AGM for motorcycles or off road applications) and you don't need other special properties that vehicles with Start-Stop would require. Basically all you need to look for is the specified amperage/capacity and form format. Don't spend a whole lot; the right battery for your car will probably be under 100 Dollars and last somewhere between 5 and 10-12 years, depending on which price bracket and quality level you opt for.
I'd just like to add to this and recommend interstate batteries. They are a little bit more than house brand, but are much higher quality. For example: Every duralast brand battery I've bought started leaking after ~ 3 years. The last interstate I bought lasted for ~ 8 years/90k miles and was like $40 more than the cheapest battery