NB Battery life

The only correct answer is "it depends"..... ;-)

I got mine from Westco a couple of years ago, they had the best price then, looks like they still do.

You might find an independent battery place that stocks Westco. MK battery seems to be in quite a few cities. It's not a retail establishment, but they will sell you a battery if you walk in off the street. When a Westco I got from them went bad, they replaced it without a problem under warranty even though I had no receipt (the batteries themselves are dated). I'm usually more interested in instant gratification than getting the lowest price. Especially when my battery's dead.

You can search the Westco web page for a dealer. The Miata battery is

12V31M.

I went to the Westco site to look for a local retailer but there were none listed. The closest thing was a dealer in Florida that had a web site (batteryweb.com) and the lowest price ($110 shipped). I ordered thinking it would mean quicker delivery for me from Florida than from Westco in CA. It came two days later from a warehouse close by in New Jeresy... and it said it was from MK Battery! Funny that Westco did not list a New Jersey location for MK Battery. But I am happy with the speed that it came and the price. Thanks all.

7 years is the probably the longest I have gotten out of a battery, usually closer to five years. This is in central Texas, but the car stays under cover most of the time and is rarely driven during the heat of the day between June and late September to early October.

During those months I usually drive during very early morning hours or after the sun has gone down, when the temperature is a comfy 80 or 85 or so instead of 105.

Pat

Thanks Pat. My gut told me to buy a new one so I did. The cost of preventive maintenance far outweighs the inconvenience of having one fail, and 7 years is a good run despite reports of some lasting as long as 13 (with ambiguity of weather or not the current one was the long lasting agm type that Mazda supposedly stopped selling in about 2001). The install was easy but I was left scratching my head about how to connect the square tipped rubber vent hoses that fit the oem Mazda battery to the round vent hoses of the Westco battery. A quick look at miata.net said to simply cut off the square ends of the hoses and then the round hoses should easily fit the Westco. Thanks again.

One of the advantages of a used car, I found a spare set of the vent hoses in the little well with the jack and tools. Apparently the original battery was replaced but the old hoses re-used.

I cut the square ends off the original set and still have a virgin set it the original plastic if they're ever needed!

Mine's still working fine . It's original on a 2000 NB over here in the UK Regards Chris

I replaced what I believe was the OEM battery in my 99 just a couple months ago. I did go with an autozone battery (wish me good luck!) which comes with the new vent hose and such (keep your old hoses and connections till you hook up cause you might need a combination of the new and old).

Chris

99BBB