Best Battery for the C7 Corvette

It doesn't seem like C7 Corvettes have been on the road a long time, but with C8s becoming more common every day, it reminds us that C7s have been on the road since 2014! That means many of these cars are quickly moving into the timeframe, where they'll need to replace their factory battery. If you've owned Corvettes before and you have a C7, you'll notice the H6/Group 48 batteries in these cars are significantly larger than those found in previous generations. This isn't by accident.

C7 Corvettes are some of the most-demanding cars on the road today from an electrical standpoint, a trend that really started ramping up with the C5 Corvettes. These newer Vettes are packed with all kinds of electronics that the previous generations never saw and demand far more from their batteries as a result, even when the cars are parked. GM's answer was to use a bigger battery that could do a better job of handling those increased electrical demands, but a bigger battery isn't the cure-all to these electrical demands.

Corvette owners have been a tough crowd to persuade to use a battery maintainer, but when you look at a collection like Ken Lingenfelter's and you see virtually every Corvette he owns plugged into a quality battery maintenance device, you know you should be doing the same thing with your Corvette. With that said, we're excited to let folks know we now offer a lithium ORANGETOP QH6 and a YELLOWTOP H6/Group 48 battery upgrade specifically for the C7 Corvettes.

One of the common questions we get about this battery is why we didn't use our SPIRALCELL design for it? The truth is, H6/Group 48 batteries are significantly shorter than a typical car battery. They make up for that shorter stature with their length and that combination of short and wide just doesn't work for our SPIRALCELL batteries. However, in going with a flat-plate design, we carried over several design features from our SPIRALCELL batteries and incorporated into what we refer to as our PUREFLOW technology. That includes 99.99% pure virgin lead, thick, cast straps to connect the cells and pure virgin polypropylene cases, among other features. The end result? A pretty incredible battery.

On the lithium side, our QH6 ORANGETOP not only offers a lightweight option (21 lbs), but it comes with industry-leading communication features, including Bluetooth connectivity and an advanced CPR feature, that automatically turns the battery off, if it is being deeply discharged. This feature holds enough power in reserve to get your Corvette started one more time, to get you home safely.

The OPTIMA H6/Group 48 is conservatively rated at 800 CCAs, but every DH6 YELLOWTOP we load-tested before we installed them in SEMA show vehicles tested over 1200 CCAs. But let's be honest- if these batteries are going into Corvettes, they are unlikely to ever be used in the temperature spec'd (0°F) for measuring cold cranking amps. On the QH6 ORANGETOP, that battery offers 880 amps of starting power (cranking at 77° for 10 seconds) and a broad operating range of -40°F up to 167°F. 

The YELLOWTOP DH6 does weigh significantly more (about 54 pounds) than what you'll see from a typical Group 48 or H6 battery, even though they have basically the same physical dimensions. If you're using your Corvette for racing, the lighter ORANGETOP QH6 is a better option, as it is a 45AH battery, which means if your charging system fails, it can still hold enough power to get you back to the pits.

For everyone else, those few extra pounds in the YELLOWTOP mean more reserve capacity and a battery that can get discharged for longer periods of time and still start your car (although we still recommend using a charger when your car is parked for long periods of time). We're so confident regular use of a battery charger will extend the lifespan of your battery, if you pick up any OPTIMA battery factory-direct today and if you buy a D1200+ Charger at the same time, we'll add an additional year of free-replacement warranty coverage on your battery.