Okay so lately my battery will die if i dont start the car everyday and hate that i have to do that so what brand model battery is best? And wont burn a huge hole in my wallet! The battery i have now is at least 3 years old maybe older?

 

Just go to autozone and get a new one for 50 $ and you will most likely be fine for 2-3 more years. FWIW my factory replacement battery is going real strong at 4 years now i think. Trickle charging int he winter helps alot to though.

 

autozone's miata battery is more like $85 but it has an awesome warranty and is actually an AGM battery. I think it's a Duralast Gold 8AMU1R. Lifetime warranty I want to say.

 

+1 same with me mines shooting out 12-14 volts and its the factory replacement, and i think its pretty old more then 3 years. And i just bought a battery charger so it really does help out alot charging during the winter

 

+1

good Miata battery just a drop in. I've been using one for 3 years now.. no issues.

 

living in chicago winter and having an orginal miata battery is a joke. That battery would not start a motorcycle if it had to in below zero weather if you needed to. I had trouble with me stock battery recently and got fed up with it. Didnt really wana spend money and put in the same shitty 370 cold cranking amps battery. I saw the adds for the upgrades AGM type but even that was expensive and put out about 450 cold cranks. I decided to do my own setup. Looked at lots of battery's from Sears, Autozone, Walmart, etc. They are all too high in price and did not match the size I wanted. So finally decided to go with the walmart group size 47-3, for $69.96, but I knew I would have to modify the setup. I got a cheap adjustable battery hold down, and a set of 2 metal battery hold down rods. Took out the stock battery and redrilled to bottom tray clamp, and installed the new battery. Hard to explain here, but will try to get some pics of it today put it here if anyone wants to do the same. It fits in fairly nicely, not perfect but it works. It also does still hide behind the cover. The best part is that this battery is vented like the original miata, but it has 700 cranking amps, and putting out 590 cold cranks. Trust me while I was trying to fine tune my cold start this is the battery that works. Starts everytime and feels strong. For under $100 bucks I think its a pretty good setup.

 

Fun, Chicago people seem to be coming outta the woodwork.

I'm debating installing a Braille battery I've had forever in the car...

 

I bought an Optima red top four? years ago. It is a great battery (but now I see REMY sells them for about the same as the local Costco) It's too bad there so expensive...
But zarish is correct, the stock battery won't start a miata when it's below zero out. It was 18 below this week, and at 2am I need my car to start everytime. If your not going to spring for an AGM, then go buy the largest and cheapest battery you can. Maybe following zarish's advice?

BMW used to (maybe they still do?) put the battery in the trunk, and there was never any concerns of using 'special' batteries.

I'm in the market for a battery for the other miata, I'll probably buy another red top, The walmart idea sounds enticing (but I don't typically go to walmart). Maybe I'll see what's at Costco later today.

 

I used to work at an autoshop (Sears) for many years, so did a lot of battery installs. I am familiar with the BMW trunk battery setups, that is why I made sure I went with a battery that would be the best fitting size with the most power output plus I needed to make sure it is a battery this is vented so it would work in the trunk of the car. I didn't really want to buy a walmart battery, but then again Sears didn't have what I wanted and the prices were way to high. So went with the Walmart battery. At the end of the day the batterys do come from the same 3 big battery builders, so no matter who sells it they are all the same with different tagss. I am not sure who makes the one I got but I didn't care since in chicago weather I don't really like to hold on to a battery that is more than 3 years old anyways. Working or not in Chicago its a good idea to change the battery cause you don't wana get stuck with a dead battery when the weather turns ****. I would rather spend 70 dollars every three years and have a peace of mind than having a dead battery while trying to get to work. Will save me from a tow bill, repair shop bill, plus the time away from work cost. Living in Chicago its better you plan ahead for it. Oh an even if that battery goes bad, lets say got 1 or 2 bad cells in it, well I am sure it will still put out the 370 or less that the stock puts out. I am going to go out right now an try installing my 460cc injectors and dual feed home made rail. Will get some pics of the battery for you guys too.