Aftermarket Batteries for Canadians

Hi all,

Do any of my Canadian brethren have any suggestions for an Aftermarket battery for a 2011 Tacoma? I've been in the market for a dry-cell to replace the stock

After doing a little research, Optima Yellow-tops seemed like a good option - but they're apparently very difficult to track down in Canada.

Any suggestions would be welcome, thanks!

 

@OZ-T might have an answer for you

 

Northstar AGM 27F

 

I don't think Optima batteries are as good as they were at one time, another option may be a better choice.

 

I have a red Optima in my 2009 v6. Found it at Walmart - stock is sketchy - sometimes there sometimes not. Canadian Tire also stocks them. Best thing to do is measure the dimensions of your current battery, determine the pole placement (neg and pos) go to the Optima site and compare dimensions and pole placements of various models. Often the battery Optima recommends will fit your truck but others of similar measurement will too if you look around for them at places like Walmart.

As for not being as good in the past - I have heard this as well, but not experienced it. The two that I currently use are fine. Previously they worked spectacularly up in the NWT/Yukon - starting a vehicle unplugged in average -37 celcius temps over 5 days.

The Optima web site should supply a list of dealers.

 

I have a MotoMaster Eliminator Ultra AGM,

 

Lordco always has them as well as canadian tire or walmarts.

 

Thanks for all the responses, I'll check out Lordco for the Optimas when I'm in BC next month. Didn't have any luck with the correct size at CT or Wal-Mart.

Are these available anywhere locally? Or just online?

 

Is it worth the money @OZ-T? I don't mean to threadjack but I will likely need a new battery in the next 2 years. I've never had a battery last over 5 years.

 

I bought mine online from Saskbattery , freight anywhere in Canada was included

http://www.saskbattery.com

I'll let you know in 5 years , haha

They have great reviews though

 

Unless things have changed a lot in the last couple of years, there are only a handful of companies that do the actual manufacture of auto/truck batteries in North America. The insides are basically the same and they just customize the cases for their wholesale customers. IMO buy the battery with the most cold crank amps (CCA), and the best price in the size and post configuration for your ride. Buy a new one every 5-6 years and pocket the savings from buying the over-hyped and over priced ones. JMO

 

All AGM batteries are expensive and have large benefits to users who punish there batteries with cold starts and high loads (large cycling). So it's not just about CCA. It's also about how it will be used.

 

Northstar makes Northstar

 

Correct as usual OZ-T but from what I've also been told, most motor vehicle batteries sold in NA are manufactured by Johnson Controls, Exide, and Eastern-Penn (Deka), which are then labeled by different distributors/retailers.

 

Just stating that the Northstar brand doesn't fall into that

 

OZ, don't you know the lead for you battery might come from the same source as the lead in the stock Tacoma battery though?

In all honesty, until proven otherwise, most batteries are the same if the construction is the same.

 

Not sure what that has to do with what I said , but OK

 

The first part was just a joke, the second part was thread relevant but not tuned towards you. I probably shouldn't of used a quote. My bad.

 

Most batteries in the US come from just a few manufactures I don't thing it's safe to say North America.

 

Hey Guys,

FYI you can buy re-branded Northstar batteries from Canadian Tire under the "Nautilus Pure Lead AGM series". Although there is no group 27f listed on their website, you can purchase the 24m, 27m and the 31m for much less than the Northstar branded ones. I have a few of them in my Taco and have no complaints (I have owned Optima and Odyssey batteries).

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/n...deep-cycle-battery-0102796p.html#.Vi8F2KR5w3o