wackenhut

Hi,

I currently have a porsche branded battery in my 996. It is time to get a new one and wondering if it is best to buy the same porsche battery. The dealership quoted me $306 and I believe it is still a wet battery (not AGM). I was thinking of just putting in an interstate battery from Costco for $120. I was told this particular model allows for aftermarket batteries. The one thing I did notice is there is a clear vent tube for the current battery and not sure if an aftermarket battery has something to hook onto. If anyone can give recommendations as to a good battery for the car, that would be great!

Thank you.

dwdm

Interstate battery from Costco will work just fine. There should be a provision for a vent tube on the battery and it should come with a hose kit.

Mike Murphy

Yep. I have a Costco Interstate as well. Works great.

nrp3

I can’t picture there being anything wrong with the interstate or the batteries plus one I bought. There are other more exotic and or costly options, I don’t think that’s where to put my $$$. If you are looking for weight loss, that’s another story.

Idaho911

Another vote for Costco Interstate.

wyovino

I would consider an AGM battery for a few more dollars.I don't think the brand matters much as apparently they're mostly made by the same company.

rileyracing1

Odyssey AGM for me a few bucks more but great burst power for that initial crank.

DBJoe996

Are you serious? One - you have a 99 996 with a Porsche branded battery in it? So your OE Porsche battery is 21 years old? Or did someone be stupid enough to put another Porsche branded battery in it for $$$$$$. The car, any car, doesn't give a damn what kind/type of battery it has in it...really...fact. Get a decent AGM battery with some CCA's and move on. My goodness, I'm surprised people even have to ask this question. A battery is a battery. Oh, and I only buy Porsche coffee for the morning and only drink Porsche wine in the evening. My coffee mug is Porsche branded and so is my wine cup. I wear only a Porsche shirt and shoes while drinking my Porsche coffee and wine. Stick a battery from Costco or Walmart in there. Car won't know the difference. And the clear vent tube is for the older type lead-acid batteries. You don't need it for the newer AGM batteries that do not vent.

rileyracing1

Actually the car does give a damn my original OEM battery in my 997 was only 640cca which made the car turn over slowly which drove me nuts and why I replaced it. I have said this before and I will say it again our cars need at least 800cca and I have no idea why dealerships and battery look up's suggest batteries with less cca's.

When I bought my car a few years back the car prior to me owning it went to Porsche for minor service and at that time the battery was replaced with another Porsche / Platinum Bosh battery so this is not that uncommon.

On the topic of AGM's Many of the better AGM batteries do have a vent tube port , The Odyssey AGM I picked up had it in the exact same location as my OEM battery and it even came with an adapter in case your vent tube was a different size. The vent tube on AGM's is there more as a precaution than anything but it was nice to be able to stick the house somewhere rather than letting it drop somewhere below into the tray.

As mentioned just get a decent AGM battery with high CCA and you will be good to go , while I was at it I bought a premium AGM battery which I thought from a construction and warranty perspective was worth the few extra bucks. My car sure cranks over nicely now when compared to the oem that's for sure.

pdxmotorhead

I've used several of the Exide Extreme AGM batteries, my 2006 BMW had a wet battery and the 800CCA rating. Always had trouble with it running some electrical things like windows in cold weather. Dropped in a 1200CCA Agm, Cost was about 40 bucks over a wet version. That battery was going strong at 6 years old and still testing over 1100 CCA when it got totalled.

I use them for the winch/start battery in my Jeep as well, no comparison how much better the winch pulls on a real heavy duty battery.

peterp

The vast majority of independent mechanics for Porsche, Ferrari, etc all recommend Interstate batteries specifically. Yes, most batteries are made in the same factory, but they are made to individual brand specs. Interstate is the "nobody ever got fired for hiring IBM" choice in my opinion.

Between the non-AGM and AGM versions of Interstate, I stick with the non-AGM version because non-AGM are more tolerant of discharge events and the non-AGM version is 6-7 lbs lighter than AGM. AGM does generally perform a bit better, which is why AGM is always used in modern auto stop/start cars.

My last non-AGM Interstate H7 lasted 11 years. I replaced with a non-AGM H6 from Coscto. I don't like using a battery tender when the car is parked, and it's sometimes idle for a week or two, so I prefer non-AGM (and the weight savings is an extra benefit). I don't think you can go wrong with either AGM or non-AGM Interstate.

pdxmotorhead

Main reason I use AGM is the only corrosion issues I've had on my cars were batteries dripping out the vent tube..

Interstae and Excide are the OEM's for many of the other battery companies.

996-CAB

The AGM battery may or may not have a vent hole for the tube drain, but AGM batteries don't need or use the vent. With an AGM you avoid battery acid from venting on your mounting plate. Oops sorry. I have to check this again. Google says I am wrong, but I don't see a vent hole. Jumped the gun. Just checked my Diehard AGM and it has vent holes. I thought they were just using the standard external frame but they didn't mean anything for AGM. Going to fix this ASAP and get the vents on!

dporto

When I bought my car (2014) the battery was dead (Orielly’s said it was shot and couldn’t be charged). Fortunately there was an Interstate factory somewhere close by (in an industrial park outside of Chicago). I brought the battery to them because according to the sticker it was still under warranty. They explained that they would only replace it if it wasn’t able to be charged. Long story short, they put it on a “deep charge” over night, and the battery lasted me another 7 years… I like Interstate batteries…

EVOMMM

Costco sells AGM batteries
I have one in my truck