Is Panasonic Battery Really The Way To Go... ?

Technical Area Electrics & ICE
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Well, summer's almost gone, and my mind has turned to the season of coolness, 
and the morning where the straighforward coldness arrives, with a freezing fog.
And that's when a battery gets found out.  
 
And  briefly my mind returned to the last few winters. My MX5 lives outside, so things like
regular/permanent connections to Cteks are not viable, quite apart from my refusal to pay
that kind of money for a charger/maintainer..So, every couple of weeks, a long cable is 
run from my window to the boot, and the, admittedly not new, Panasonic battery topped up. 
 
And while I was thinking about this, and looking forward to repeats of the exercise, I took a wander round the internet,
again, and in among all the recommendations of, for example, Westco batteries ( some years ago ), and more recently, 
that they're not very good, and that really, the Panasonic is definitely the way to go...... I just came across a sentence that
crystallized something for me...... that, 
 
'The Panasonic is great if the car is in regular use..'.
 
but, imo, a bit of a pain if the car does lots of sitting around a lot, tending towards flattening, needing maintenance charging etc , etc. 
 
So today, I uninstalled the Panasonic, and the clamp, and the tray.
I retrieved a type 075 battery that I kept from a previous everyday car.
60Ah.., 550 Cca.
 
Installed that. Foam sponges between the battery and the side of the rear wing, cable ties around it, and attached to the 
standard boot floor mounted triangular brace. 
 
I can tell you right now, with that 075 battery, the MX5 started today like its never started before. 
 
The spare wheel doesn't fit now, but without it I've released space in the boot. Neither does the cover that hides the battery, but
that makes it just a glance to do the occasional check. And I'll pop the Panasonic back in for the summer. 
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Keep an eye on the voltage of a battery with that capacity - the 60amp alternator may struggle to keep it charged. Hopefully not but worth checking it for a bit, particularly when it gets colder and has to work harder.

The Panasonic is particularly good when car, like mine, not in regular use. Most batteries do not handle the charging regime necessary with infrequently used cars well. The Panasonic is especially versatile in this respect.

The other great aspect of the Panasonic is longevity - 15 years+ seems typical. They are expensive but MX5Parts had them at under £100 again last time I checked.

The other advantage is that the Panasonic can be mounted securely in the boot. Always a bit of a worry with bodged mountings and all that G-force in the boot. Our Eunos has the battle scars on the wing to prove it.     

 

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When my 96 was in for new sills and arches, the 5 year old Panasonic went flat. The garage, with best of intentions, replaced the battery with a regular lead acid battery (I’ve always managed to revive flat Panasonics in the past). Probably why I had light surface rusting around the bare edges of the repaired wings inside the boot, despite the car being stored boot open (venting into the boot). New lead acid battery has run flat quicker than the Panasonics ever did. Pain in the behind to remove to charge (tall). When life settles down a bit, a new Panasonic is going to be ordered…

Doubt a MOT inspector will be too impressed with cable ties. A club member had just that, the battery slipped and split a cell. Whole boot had to be repainted, and new carpet fitted.

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It may or may not happen but how are you going to vent any acid gases from the lead acid battery that may be expressed if it does not have little nipples on the battery to get rid of the acidic gasses to outside the boot like the panasonic battery has.

Some cars have had problems with the boot floor being attacked with these gases.

I also suggest you look online to buy the correct length J bolts etc to fix the battery and do not leave it cable tied. Cost of these bits on ebay etc will be around £5 or so at most. If a job is worth fixing to the boot floor, do it properly.

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I saw a car like this in Brisbane a few years ago

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To answer the question in your thread title, I’d say yes, they are worth it. Not cheap, but if you buy from MX5 Parts when they have their 10% off, £90 seems reasonable. It’s also £20 cheaper than the Westco at present anyway.

My Eunos had a Bosch battery when I got it, which had been venting in the boot, causing the problems already mentioned, although fortunately not as bad as the picture above. It also wasn’t secured properly, which is probably why there is a small dent in the wing, from the inside out.

I have an Optimate, but hardly use it and the car never struggles to start, even when it’s not been used for a few weeks.

Regards

Phil