Battery R89W 70-72

[lyndon Sharpton]

Who has the best reproduction R89W battery on the market. with the best reliabilty. What about restoration battery are they the best?

[Donald T.]

Re: Battery R89W 70-72

I got a battery from Restoration Battery. The nice thing is they have sealed maintenence free batteries. They come filled and charged. No mess with adding battery acid, no mess in your engine compartment from venting. Not sure how they would judge and probably not the best choice for judging. But they look like the originals and perform a lot better. I can't think of the owners name but he was very nice to work with. Dated and shipped the battery quickly.

[Dave S.]

Re: Battery R89W 70-72

Lyndon,
As far as I know neither Tom at Restoration Battery or any other battery distributor have maintenance free R-89's yet. The current R-89 reproduction judges perfectly but you may be less than satisfied with the longevity of it. I've bought several and they have lasted from 2 to 4 years. At over $200 you need to weigh the pros and cons. I will add that they will gain you quite a few judging points.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Battery R89W 70-72

I've got 6 months on mine. If I get 3 years out of it I'll be ecstatic, as I don't plan on "needing" it for judging longer than that. My hope is that the Batery MINDer as sold by Restoration Battery will actually help it to live that long.

I suspect that if Lyndon drives his car as much as one of his earlier posts suggests, he may do well. Regular use prolongs the life. I got 8 years out of the "regular" Champion battery in my daily driver 71 before I then left my lights on and killed it for good.

Patrick

[Tony H.]

Re: Battery R89W 70-72

My R-89 experience from Restoration Battery is good. My battery lasted 5 years. That's about as long as any other battery I've owned. Yes, the price factor makes it a little more than twice the cost/year. Or another way to think about it, it cost an extra $20-$25/year to have the correct battery in the car over the five year period. To me, it was worth it. And, I still have the battery so if I can figure out a way to restore or rejuvenate it, all the better.