subshooter

Please keep us informed on the results. I have heard the same thing on other car forums. I don't know if it is just a gimmic to get you to go the dealer and pay $500 for a battery replacement or if the PIWIS really needs to be used to reset the new battery.

RDCR

I was told with the GT4 to have the battery reset for the Motorsport Lithium battery if using any lithium based battery (like the Braille). Supposedly the charging system will then take it to a higher voltage then with the OEM AGM battery. Never did have that done however and I don't plan on doing it on the GTS either.

philg3

Perhaps Durametric could be used for a reset -- if a reset is necessary.

Porsche_nuts

have heard different answers from different dealers - some say you need to do it, others say you don't have to bother

drcollie

$ 130,000 for a car? My Subaru BRZ can do anything your Porsche can do for 1/5 that cost. That's nuts. Happy New Year.

Homeles

Great DIY. Thanks

The_Hunter

Dabrtlin, thanks for the great write up, my 2014 is on the original battery so I am sure this is coming for me soon. What prompted the replacement?

daberlin

Neglectful battery use on my part (drained it a few times). Also didn't start using a tender until last year. Was taking car longer and longer to turn over ignition start. Had similar age/battery decline in my 997.2 and that battery left me high and dry inconveniently. So, it was probably about 3-6 months early, but figured I'd get it over with now.

Porsche_nuts

Let me know how you like your $1600+ battery and how the weight and added HP improves the handling and performance of your Porsche.

Maybe you should get one for your BRZ too.

Noah Fect

News flash: people around here tend to appreciate something a little nicer than what's ordinarily considered good enough.

That being said, I wonder what's inside those Braille batteries. Surely they aren't actually fabricating their own cells? I'd be hesitant to pay $1600 (or $2600, for the next step up) for a box full of generic 18650s. At the same time, why doesn't someone offer exactly that? Replacing a car battery could be about as simple as changing the batteries in a flashlight.

Emergency starter packs already work this way, so you'd think someone would extend the concept to the car battery itself...

daberlin

Just came back from Porsche Auto Gallery in Woodland Hills, California. SWEET new White Carrera Targa 4 GTS in the showroom. Lovely, but I digress...

Sat down and chatted with Don Sucich, the AG Service Manager whom I've known for more than 8 years and I'd consider a reliable and trustworthy Porsche service rep. It was a slow afternoon at AG, so my timing was good.

1. AG sells the Interstate MT-49 H8 for the 991 and it comes with 900 CCAs and is a 24 month free replacement warranty battery.
2. Don said he considers the Interstate battery a robust and reliable maintenance free battery for our cars, far better than the battery delivered when the car was sold new (which they do not sell), and says it's a tad under $200, plus about $100 to install. So, with tax, it's about $100 more than I paid. Sounds quite reasonable.
3. I then asked him about their replacement procedure and associated car memory. He said there is NOTHING in PIWIS or any other unique procedure they use with a battery replacement. He said there is no intelligence that the car takes stock of as the battery ages. He replied (when I relayed what was discussed online about this topic) that additional battery service requirements that a Porshe dealer might perform is complete hog wash/urban legend probably started by someone with an axe to grind. His words, not mine.
4. I asked him about using a battery tender and he said that was just fine, but often if the replacement is done quickly enough, you can swap batteries and lose no memory settings even without a tender.

I would consider this some pretty reliable ground truth info.

Regards, David

LexVan

^Is the Interstate mentioned above the larger sized you used? That's a ton of CCA at 900. Heck, my huge Ford SUV has 850 with its upgraded battery over factory OE (740).

daberlin

The Duracell I purchased with a 48 month free replacement warranty has 850 CCAs. Interestingly, looking at the photo of the Interstate battery on Interstate's website (terrible website btw), this 900 CCA battery is also a monster of a battery size. Probably similar weight to the one I bought.

GregD

That has been my experience as well, I only lost windows memory position which takes all or a few window button clicks to reset !! I've now had that new battery for a year, never had it "coded" by a dealer, and nothing's different... I do notice that even with a new battery, this is a car that will drain the crap out of a battery when not used...Best left on a tender whenever possible.. I'm faffing up a permanent quick connection above the trunk lid so I don't need to leave something open when maintaining - it'll need to waterproofing or a little hole in the plastic cover but I want to use the CTEK pigtails there for ease of connection...

midwesterner

Great thread. I am doing this in the spring!