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side post vs. top post

surpip

surpip

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Is there any real benifit to using a side post over a top post or vice versa?
the surface area of both contact patches seems to me to be about the same.
just curious why the manufactures went to a side post vs a top post.
 
i preffer side post setup in truck with dual post battery for jumping :D i just like the screw on for securing the battery cables. just have so many top posters wear away and yhe square end spins when you do not want it to.
 
I used to like the side post until last week, I was unbolting the positive terminal when the bolt broke inside the battery :eek1: . I then decided to use easy outs on the broken nut. Had to drill a starter hole and.............. drilled into the battery iself. :mad: I then had to drill and tap the new hole, plug the old hole and rig up a new terminal post, a good waste of 3 hours. It turned out that the bolt was in need of cleaning and was decaying inside the battery.
 
I dislike sidepost. Personal thing. Point in case. I went to leave a buddy's house in my 02 Chevy 2wd and the truck wouldn't start. Checked fuses, then battery. The positive terminal has completely pulled out of the battery. Imagine a beer bottle cap. Ok, now that is basically all that was holding the (excuse my lack of techinal terms here) threaded metal disk that the battery cable bolts to on. Its just kinda clamped in there, and it gave lose. Battery acid all over me, my truck, and my friends driveway. A two liter of coka-cola, many gallons of water, and new battery later, I was on my way. So, needless to say, side post batteries aren't my favorite.

Kris
 
I am of the opinion (meaning that I haven't actually measured it) that the top post has more contact area than the sidepost does.

One friend thinks sideposts are a cruel trick played on us by GM.
 
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With the trucks I have had, the top post batteries seem to corrode at the connections more than the side post batteries I've had.

I have read that side post batteries aren't a good idea for extreme amperage draw (winch) and the termainals can melt out of the battery.





:crazy:
 
got a side post for my passenger side..
just put a dual post on the drivers side.. gonna rig them together in parallel and run my winch off of the top poster.... :bow:
 
I think the side post was a GM invention to accomodate lower hood lines. The fact that they got a patent on it and you could only buy a replacement battery from GM was just a bonus. I used to work in a battery shop in 79-80, and I daw more side posts with their threads pulled out than I did top posts ruined. Also, it was my experience that a side post will corrode UNDER the battery cable where you can't see it till it is too late. Also, the tiny bolts that GM used on the first side post cables were junk. The heads rounded off way too easily, and jumper cables could not get a decent connection.
 
Side posts from my experience seem to corrode less. I suspect part of this is how well the "covers" that come on the stock cables cover the connection.

At least on the original GM cables, you could peel back the covering to clean the contact surface if it was corroded.

I'd say a dual post setup battery is the best of both worlds, simply because of being able to hook jumpers/battery cables up easier. The small bolts used on the side terminals just don't allow cables to hold very well.
 
my battery has tripple posts :D ï also use these:



polplintsko.jpg
 
I like side post.

Top post irritates me. Mostly because the only connectors anyone ever sells for them are JUNK.

I use both side post and top post. All my batteries have connections to both. I just always have to clean the top posts is all.
 
Good results came to me by using them just for starting , using actual cables with pre made connectors , and using a bolt with the same threads and a hex head for 9/16 wrench , using dielectric grease , and not torquing them too tight . I leave them alone for the most part , removing them often is bad . I disconnect the ground cable at the block if I work on it .

Everything else goes topside :D
 
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