Is an AGM battery worth the cost?

AGM in my 97 Civic EX, definitely not "designed for AGM". No issues and headlights have been consistently brighter since switching to one.

 

A real deep cycle 100ah LiFePo4 battery weighs 25lbs. They have BMS and are capable of an order of magnitude more cycles. Using the right battery for the right application, priceless.

 

dang! I bought mine a year ago in Idaho…not sure about the price diff

 

Good management of an AGM can get 7+ years use. I don’t discharge mine past 80% and I don’t have to mess with a battery heater in sub zero winters. I also don’t need two batteries. Different strokes for different folks.

 

I think it's worth the cost because AGM is more reliable, less maintenance, larger storage capacity, faster cranking time. See my group 31 post here!

 

Wow, hot topic.
OP what did you decide on?

 

Its fun to buy shit we dont need. Is the hard on worth 350? Maybe depending on your circumstances.

 

Not worth it. Go EFB instead.

 

I got a regular lead acid battery from Wally World in my truck. When I push the start button, the truck starts every time! Every 5 years or so, i buy a new one. No need for anything fancy in my little world.

If you want a AGM battery and can convince yourself it's worth the extra coin, then go get one!

 

I have the OEM battery in my 2 year old truck, which I'm keeping an eye on since the starter battery in my wife's Prius left her stranded (fortunately in the garage, and I have a jump pack) at 2 yrs and 3 months. My battery tester says 10.3v on the load/crank test and 98% health at 560 CCA tester setting. For some reason though the SoC is never higher than 12.4v whenever I put the tester on it (12.38 this time). I know the heat here in FL is brutal on batteries and it didn't surprise me that her OEM battery died at just over 2 years. I'm debating whether I should replace the battery pre-emptively and just go with the AGM. I can throw the AGM version of my tune on so it charges at the correct voltage.

 

Serious question here; does additional after market electrical loads (compressors, lights, fridge units, etc) dictate the need to jump from LA battery to AGMs? And if a tune is required to properly charge them, then what were these AGM batteries designed for in the first place? Are there cars that come from the factory with them?

And I see them at my local Wally World all the time, but there is no warning sticker on the battery saying "modification to charging system required for proper charging ".

 

Some cars come with them. They will charge in cars not designed for them, just not to 100%.

Battery capacity and quality is probably a bigger factor for running extras than battery type.

 

You're going to hear arguments on both sides. It boils down to if you really want to spring for more $$ or not. I would stick with as quality regular flooded battery myself.

 

I'm an AGM fan for a lot of the reasons stated in the thread. I didn't dispose of my factory battery early, though. It is just one of those things that seemed like a reasonable upgrade when the time came. I got a stock size 24f from AutoZone I believe. I run a winch off of it and have the charging voltage increased via tune. It also sits on a 1a AGM charger 95% of the time since it is not my DD. I also went with a Jackery to run my fridge instead of a dual battery set up. Way more versatile, simpler, and cheaper.

 

It's worth if, in my opinion. But I have a solar setup to trickle charge the battery to its full capacity.

 

Cars equipped with the auto start/stop feature usually come equipped with AGM batteries from the factory. This is one "feature" I thank the Toyota Gods every day for not putting into my truck

 

These lithium batteries have an 11-year warranty
https://dakotalithium.com/product/d...ar-truck-battery-plus-deep-cycle-performance/
More here: https://www.takethetruck.com/blog/overlanding-battery

 

I had 2 of the 3 lead acid batteries in my boat start leaking. So i pulled them all and replaced with group 27 AGMs, mainly to prevent leaks. Worked great so far, but I'll probly just keep lead acids in the yota.

 

How about them Optima batteries...amirite?

Really though, are optimas just complete crap now and no one even considers them any more?

 

I had three for about 3 years (1 start battery, 2 house batteries). never gave me any trouble. I finally blew the seal on my starting battery though after my alternator died and I drained that sucker flat trying to drive to a freeway exit. Ended up slapping two jump packs on it and drove on those for another 1/4 mile. I think recharging it off the new alternator with my voltage booster prolly finished it off. I moved onto an X2 power, but only because it was higher capacity and cheaper at the time, otherwise I'd have been happy with another Optima.