What car battery fits my needs?

[broku518]

Hello.
I am at the point of selecting the car battery. Trunk location.
I have a basic setup, dart 347, carburetor, no radio, no heat or ac. I will drive this car as a daily commuter with occasional weekend race track.

Based on this any regular battery would do. I am wondering how they hold up over the winter. I plan to remove it and store inside the house.

I can go with Optima, but my needs don't quite justify the Optimas features. I think.

[Papa]

I prefer AGM batteries for most of my cars. Mounting in the trunk you will want something that won't leak. I buy Optima red top batteries for any lead acid battery I replace now. I just bought two of them for my F250 diesel. They aren't cheap, but are very good in almost any application.

Edit: I buy mine on Amazon and get free shipping with no core charge.

[42Bfast]

The Miata has a trunk placement for the battery. (At least the 1st 2 generations did) Mazda and the people in the know strongly recommended an AGM battery.

In the early days the only place to get the smaller AGM battery was through Mazda so they were kinda pricey. Thus, some owners bought normal car lead/acid batteries. This practice most often resulted in a hole in the trunk that allowed the owner to look in the trunk to check if his shoe laces were tied.

Today there are other options. I don't know if the Miata sized battery will adequately spin your engine but you might do some research. The last one I purchased a few years ago cost around $100. I think I bought it online through "The Battery Mart". Miata.net is a great website for all things Miata so you should be able to research the latest info as I sold my Miata 3 years ago and haven't kept up.

Bottom line, go AGM or you will likely have acid corrosion issues. Secondly, there are options beyond the high dollar Optima. However, there are some differences in the way you should treat an AGM battery and the way they behave. You will want to understand those differences.

Edit post: No offense intended Papa to your suggestion of the Optima battery. Fine batteries and a good suggestion. Just wanted to provide additional info if the cost of the Optima is painful.

[rich grsc]

Using this in my car, mounted on the passenger foot box top,
https://www.batterymart.com/p-odyssey-pc680mj-battery.html

[Big Blocker]

I have an Optima Red Top in my Roadster . . . have for 15 years now and still going strong. Mine might be the odd instance but 15 years on a battery in the hot Las Vegas summer heat and the winter cold speaks volumes for this brand. In my humble opinion, well worth the price paid for it.
It's mounted in the rear DS trunk panel, just behind the rear wheel. Would have put it on the PS but there seems to be a gas filler pipe in the way . . .
FWIW, my car is not much different then yours, basic engine, no PS, no PB, nothing on the car that doesn't make it go faster. No power draws that go beyond normal fuel pump, EFI computer and ignition, lighting. 8 circuit Painless wiring harness, nothing added.
IF [and when] this battery ever finally give up the ghost and dies completely, it'll get replaced with another Optima Red Top, hoping for another 15 years.

[Bill_VA]

Please consider the FFmetal.com battery box which mounts the battery out of sight in the trunk. It's designed for the Optima RedTop type 34.

[NAZ]

Have used Optima for many years. Great batteries.

[broku518]

Thank you all. So it seems that Optima would be a nice fit.

[Joee]

I installed a Bosch AGM last year all good.