Spiral cell batteries

 

Optima Spiral cell batteries have been around for many years now.  Many people have only good things to say about their performance! A short explanation about how they're constructed may help you to understand why they work so well for vintage car applications:

 

Traditional batteries use lead plates suspended in acid. However, the plates are not pure lead, but an alloy of lead, antimony, and other metals. It is these other metals that allow sulphation (irreversible coating of the plates) to occur. When a battery sits idle, sulphation occurs at a greatly increased rate. As the plates develop more of this coating, the battery is less able to accept a full charge and finally dies.

 

Battery designers can't use pure lead plates in a traditional design because they're too soft, and will bend the ongoing charge/discharge use of the battery.  When this happens they either touch each other or touch the inside of the case, shorting out the battery.

 

Spiral cell batteries use a pure lead sheet, wound in spiral with a fiberglass mat that absorbs the liquid acid. This allows a much greater resistance to sulphation, and an ability to sit idle for long periods without losing charge. Just what is needed for vintage cars.

 

It's a long explanation, but it's helpful to know why the spiral cells are worth the extra money

 

NOTE:  You can buy battery cases that the Optima Batteries will fit into and will allow it to look like original size and style batteries.  These are available from Antique Battery in Hudson Ohio . They look good and you won't need to alter anything to maintain the classic styling.