Battery Group 25 Popularity/Choices/Availability?

[CarbonSteel]

I am leaning harder towards installing the Genesis G3 system and ripping out the OEM garbage, but when searching for Group 25 batteries, they do not appear to be very popular and AGM seems to be even more limited in that BCI size. The fact that I can only find one "normal" AGM battery in Group 25 size is a reason for pause.

I also see that dimension wise Group 35 batteries appear to exchange with Group 25 but would need to research that further to make sure they are truly compatible.

Any others to add? Alternately, are there other group numbers that fit the Genesis system that I have not considered?

Brand/Store​	Type​	Cold Cranking Amps @ 0°F​	Price​
AAA Premium (NAPA)	Lead/Acid​	625​	$220​
Champion AGM (Pep Boys)	AGM​	550​	$210​
Duracell Ultra (Sam's Club)	Lead/Acid​	550​	$130​
Duracell Ultra Gold (Batteries Plus)	Lead/Acid​	625​	$205​
Duralast Gold (Autzone)	Lead/Acid​	550​	$210​
EverStart Plus (Walmart)	Lead/Acid​	550​	$100​
Full River (Online)	AGM​	750​	$375​
NAPA Legend (NAPA)	Lead/Acid​	625​	$195​
Odyssey Performance (Online)	AGM​	765​	$325​
SuperStart Extreme (O'Reilly's)	Lead/Acid​	625​	$210​
SuperStart Premium (O'Reilly's)	Lead/Acid​	550​	$190​

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[Reinen]

From @Genesis Offroad (check me if I'm wrong):

Battery Options:

• Requires 2 Group 25 size batteries, any brand.
• Batteries must be the same physical size for the lid to securely hold them in place
• We recommend the Full Throttle FT750-25 or the Odyssey ODP-AGM25, or any other high quality AGM batteries
• The Optima Red Top Group 25 and the Optima Yellow Top Group 75/25 will work, but due to their physically smaller size, they have far less capacity than other brands, and therefore we do not recommend Optima batteries with this kit.
• Traditional wet lead acid batteries are NOT recommended
• Note the stock battery is NOT compatible with this kit

If you don't want to spend the $$$ on top end batteries, at least get AGM batteries. AGM batteries have a different charging cycle than Lead Acid and the JL expects AGM. Using an AGM charger on Lead Acid won't cause immediate harm. The AGM charger will charge at a lower current than the Lead Acid batteries can handle and will not fully top off a Lead Acid battery. But long term you will not get the full life and performance out of the Lead Acid batteries.

Although it doesn't apply here, do not use a Lead Acid charger on AGM. It will charge at too high a current to too high a voltage which may damage the AGM battery.

 

[ArcadeTracks]

..

 

[CarbonSteel]

From @Genesis Offroad (check me if I'm wrong):

Battery Options:

• Requires 2 Group 25 size batteries, any brand.
• Batteries must be the same physical size for the lid to securely hold them in place
• We recommend the Full Throttle FT750-25 or the Odyssey ODP-AGM25, or any other high quality AGM batteries
• The Optima Red Top Group 25 and the Optima Yellow Top Group 75/25 will work, but due to their physically smaller size, they have far less capacity than other brands, and therefore we do not recommend Optima batteries with this kit.
• Traditional wet lead acid batteries are NOT recommended
• Note the stock battery is NOT compatible with this kit

If you don't want to spend the $$$ on top end batteries, at least get AGM batteries. AGM batteries have a different charging cycle than Lead Acid and the JL expects AGM. Using an AGM charger on Lead Acid won't cause immediate harm. The AGM charger will charge at a lower current than the Lead Acid batteries can handle and will not fully top off a Lead Acid battery. But long term you will not get the full life and performance out of the Lead Acid batteries.

Although it doesn't apply here, do not use a Lead Acid charger on AGM. It will charge at too high a current to too high a voltage which may damage the AGM battery.

Yeah, therein lies the problem...no AGM batteries (in essence) aside from Odyssey and Full River.

 

[Reinen]

Yeah, therein lies the problem...no AGM batteries (in essence) aside from Odyssey and Full River.

There's the Champion Group 25 AGM at Pep Boys.

 

[CarbonSteel]

There's the Champion Group 25 AGM at Pep Boys.

Yeah; it's the only one outside of Odyssey or Full River. While I get there is a space limitation, using a battery group that has practically no choices outside of two brands that are not typically on a shelf is not a good thing IMHO.

 

[Whaler27]

My 2005 NorthRiver boat came with a pair of Odyssey AGM batteries. They worked well for over 12 years. I don’t know how my experience compares with others, but it made me feel better about the purchase of the Genesis system and the risk of having a less common battery size.

 

[CarbonSteel]

My 2005 NorthRiver boat came with a pair of Odyssey AGM batteries. They worked well for over 12 years. I don’t know how my experience compares with others, but it made me feel better about the purchase of the Genesis system and the risk of having a less common battery size.

I am just thinking that if something happens there are no off the shelf AGM batteries to be had except the one so far (Champion) and companies stop making products for a myriad of reasons. Odyssey as an example has stopped making the ODX (Extreme) Group 25 and only offers the ODP (Performance) model.

It also appears the only late model cars that use a Group 25 battery are Lexus (IS 300, IS 350, RC 300, IS 500, RC 350, GS 350, GS F, GS 300) from 2015 to date and Subaru Outback & Legacy from 2010 to 2019. Everything else is (mostly) pre-2005 and much older.

I plan to dig into the Group 35 batteries to see if they are a true cross match and what is out there before making the decision to move to Genesis. Despite the obvious shortcomings of the OEM system, it would not make sense to paint myself into a corner with limited Group 25 batteries either.

 

[Whaler27]

I am just thinking that if something happens there are no off the shelf AGM batteries to be had except the one so far (Champion) and companies stop making products for a myriad of reasons. Odyssey as an example has stopped making the ODX (Extreme) Group 25 and only offers the ODP (Performance) model.

It also appears the only late model cars that use a Group 25 battery are Lexus (IS 300, IS 350, RC 300, IS 500, RC 350, GS 350, GS F, GS 300) from 2015 to date and Subaru Outback & Legacy from 2010 to 2019. Everything else is (mostly) pre-2005 and much older.

I plan to dig into the Group 35 batteries to see if they are a true cross match and what is out there before making the decision to move to Genesis. Despite the obvious shortcomings of the OEM system, it would not make sense to paint myself into a corner with limited Group 25 batteries either.

Makes sense. Of course, Lexus and Subaru sell a lot, and the vehicles they build today are going to be around for quite a while, so there will continue to be a market for Group 25s for a long time -- long enough for me to be confident in the purchase (but I probably have a shorter shelf-life than you do.) ?

 

[CarbonSteel]

Makes sense. Of course, Lexus and Subaru sell a lot, and the vehicles they build today are going to be around for quite a while, so there will continue to be a market for Group 25s for a long time -- long enough for me to be confident in the purchase (but I probably have a shorter shelf-life than you do.) ?

Agree; I just wish there were several other brands of Group 25 AGMs on the market. Seems off that Lexus and Subaru are using flooded batteries versus AGM, but then again, perhaps their OEM brands are AGM and are another source to consider.

 

[Vanburi]

When comparing, don't forget to check the + and - post locations.

 

[CarbonSteel]

When comparing, don't forget to check the + and - post locations.

Yep, I'm thinking that Group 25 and 35 are the same EXCEPT for post orientation.

 

[Jeffy56]

FWIW, I recently had a less than 2 yr old Champion AGM battery from Pep Boys. I had to trickle charge it a couple times a month or aux radio operation would shut down "to conserve battery". After long drive no problem. Was replaced under warranty. New one did the same thing after 2 months. '14 Edge. Charging system tested fine. I suspect higher than normal internal battery resistance.

 

[Genesis Offroad]

Autozone carries Odyssey batteries. Some of the stores have them on the shelf, but they can all order them from their closest warehouse for next day delivery or even pickup yourself at their warehouse.
You can also use Odyssey's online store locator service to find a store near you - https://www.odysseybattery.com/dealer-search/

The Group 35 has the posts reversed. The problem is that the factory positive and negative cables have no slack on them, so we have to keep the positive post right next to the factory positive wire.

The Group 25 is the largest physical standard size that we can fit between the fender and the engine.

There is another option for those who are concerned about availability of a replacement battery on short notice. You could leave the stock battery configuration under the hood and use the kit that we originally designed for the diesel/392 Wrangler to remotely mount an auxiliary battery along with the Power Hub under the back seat. This kit allows you to use many more sizes of batteries in our adjustable battery brackets. See this page for more details - https://www.genesisoffroad.com/gen3-diesel-jl-dual-battery-kit

 

[CarbonSteel]

Autozone carries Odyssey batteries. Some of the stores have them on the shelf, but they can all order them from their closest warehouse for next day delivery or even pickup yourself at their warehouse.
You can also use Odyssey's online store locator service to find a store near you - https://www.odysseybattery.com/dealer-search/

The Group 35 has the posts reversed. The problem is that the factory positive and negative cables have no slack on them, so we have to keep the positive post right next to the factory positive wire.

The Group 25 is the largest physical standard size that we can fit between the fender and the engine.

There is another option for those who are concerned about availability of a replacement battery on short notice. You could leave the stock battery configuration under the hood and use the kit that we originally designed for the diesel/392 Wrangler to remotely mount an auxiliary battery along with the Power Hub under the back seat. This kit allows you to use many more sizes of batteries in our adjustable battery brackets. See this page for more details - https://www.genesisoffroad.com/gen3-diesel-jl-dual-battery-kit

Thanks for the information on the Group 25 vs. 35 which confirms what I suspected.

Speaking only for me, I really do not want to be tied to only 1 or 2 brands of batteries--it does not sound like a good plan to be limited that way and I would not want a battery in the cabin of the Jeep, so that would be a non-starter.

I fully understand that Genesis is somewhat limited by the space of the OEM system, but at the same time, this would not be a system that I would want to install due to the Group 25 battery availability.

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