Battery Type?

[dr.ian]

Anyone know what type of battery the 88 esprit needs? Right now, ther is a little piece of crap battery in there. The answer to my problems may have been right in my face.....battery sucks. It is the $29 special from walmart.....a little bigger than a lawn mower battery.

[5150neo]

The optima line of batteries are a good choice. I use the red top in the Esprit and a yellow top in the truck. They can handle far more abuse than a standard battery. But they are not cheep, $130 - $180 is about the average price anywhere you find them.

[cnh1990]

Once I get home from my out of town trip i can look in the spec book. I have a regular Die hard Battery from Sears in mine from the P.O. so i have not had to replace it yet. From what I can tell it is 3-4 years old but it is a 72 mo. battery.
Calvin

[Mark91SE]

If you got the bucks... I'd definately go for an Optima! This is a non-liquid battery. It does not leak or spill, so you can drive upside-down with no worries , doesn't outgas like typical lead acid's so you have fewer concerns about hydrogen gas explosions (not that any worry about that), but it does have 4 times the staying power when your Esprit is parked in the garage for any length of time and also can recover from deep discharged more times than typical batteries. I've got one in mine which was there from the former PO when I bought it and have talked to Optima about it as well. It was $120.00 from Pep Boys. Optima P/N 34/78 is what I have in my SE... the red top.
If you store it for long lengths of time you might consider a yellow top.

www.optimabatteries.com/usingOptima/applicationsRed.asp

The Red Top specs are;
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Looking it up on the web, specs are;
Optima 34/78 DT
55 Amp/Hr
750 Cold Cranking Amps @ 0 degrees F
980 Cranking Amps @ 32 degrees F
L" W" H"
10 x 6.8 x 7.8
38.8 Lbs
Has both top and GM-style side terminals
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But, I don't doubt there are other less expensive batteries which will fit the bill just fine too. Just charge them up periodically if you let the car sit for a while (a few weeks).