Lorry battery

Is there any benefit to putting a lorry battery in a Defender. As long as it's still 12v is it fine to put in in place of the usual one? Cranking at 900 amps could be useful in winter and 120ah is useful for using lights without the engine. Will it be fine to use the original alternator with?

your main problem will be fitting it in! like tractor batteries they are pretty large!

i would go for a optima instead

A 663 type tractor/ lorry batt of about 720-750 cca will fit under the seat of a 90- 110 and is cheaper than an optima.

but it's not sealed so if you roll you will be covered in acid.... the optima doesn't leak

fit the lorry/tractor battery - if you roll it the slight possibility of having a few drips of acid hit will be the least of your worries

Sean said:

fit the lorry/tractor battery - if you roll it the slight possibility of having a few drips of acid hit will be the least of your worries

Click to expand...

I guess you've never actually rolled an off roader? The main issues are obviously getting squashed, but the rolls I've been in were in proper competition motors with a decent roll cage fitted. The main mechanical issue is to get the motor off ASAP before it runs dry on oil. Then you typically leave them for a little while for the oil to drain back down to its normal place. Occasionally they get hydraulic'd due to oil getting into the cylinder but its normally not too much hassle clearing that out (glow plugs or spark plugs out and turn it over). Then check the fluids and top up as needs be. So yes, a battery tipping over and spilling acid would be a big hassle to also deal with.

khaos said:

Is there any benefit to putting a lorry battery in a Defender. As long as it's still 12v is it fine to put in in place of the usual one? Cranking at 900 amps could be useful in winter and 120ah is useful for using lights without the engine. Will it be fine to use the original alternator with?

Click to expand...

just fit the biggest one that will go in the hole........oo er missus

i've heared good things about Numax cannot comment on them myself other than I have researched them alot before buying them compared their specs as best I can to others and they were very good for them money. 2x 1000CCA @0 deg C (All CCA ratings are at 0 degrees F alot colder than 0 degrees C) and 86Ah they were delivered next day both for less than one optima. optima specs were somthing like 60 odd amp

Got a 663 type in mine and fits just nicely...



Go fur it

bustersbus said:

Got a 663 type in mine and fits just nicely...

Go fur it

Click to expand...

banner batteries....... i got one of them in the shed that used to be fitted to me series 3

paul_c said:

I guess you've never actually rolled an off roader?

Click to expand...

clearly you know nothing about me as you'd not have made such a stupid assumption

and since when was the OP asking for a battery best suited for a "off roader" ?

Sean said:

clearly you know nothing about me as you'd not have made such a stupid assumption

Click to expand...

I deduced it from the fact that you're not bothered about the battery acid leaking out everywhere if/when it does roll.

Sean said:

and since when was the OP asking for a battery best suited for a "off roader" ?

Click to expand...

Its a Land Rover forum - they go off road.

paul_c said:

The main issues are obviously getting squashed, but the rolls I've been in were in proper competition motors with a decent roll cage fitted.

Click to expand...

trust me, when you roll a "normal" land rover - the VERY last thing you will be bothered about is battery acid

Most important thing when fitting a battery in a defender is colour.

I'd recommend a red one and a yellow one, because the two colours really complement each other, and brighten up even the dullest of battery boxes...!

Mike_B said:

Most important thing when fitting a battery in a defender is colour.

I'd recommend a red one and a yellow one, because the two colours really complement each other, and brighten up even the dullest of battery boxes...!

Click to expand...

There we go! Finally some real advice. Does it matter if I paint them or should I just get a red top and a yellow top?

i think you should get gold top and a red/silver hatched top

I have a truck battery and a optima yellow top in my landy. The truck battery takes up the whole length of the battery box though.

On my previous landy I had 2 batteries in the box and a third in the rear. As I can't do that with the truck battery I gave my spare battery to pikey so that he didn't need to keep ringing me to come and jump start him whenever he'd been at maccy D's for too long.

When my truck battery dies I'll probably just get another optima and make do with the 2.

Any batterys under the seat will need to be the gel type.

juiceyv8 said:

Any batterys under the seat will need to be the gel type.

Click to expand...

You best tell landrover that then. Cos they still fit standard batteries in em.

ratty said:

You best tell landrover that then. Cos they still fit standard batteries in em.

Click to expand...

typical......