I've heard from a lot of different places that Optima batteries are not what they used to be and the quality control has gone to !#$@. I was planning on replacing mine with a good yellow top but now I'm not so sure. Has anyone else heard this and/or have any facts? Lastly, if I don't go Optima and want a better than stock replacement for a bone stock system minus an intercooler pump, what brands should I be looking at?
"In Oldskool we trust"
Wouldn't surpise me to hear that, quality on everything these days is going down...personally I have a duralast gold battery and haven't had any problems with it. I have 5 gauges and around 1300 watts added (but I have an LSJ alt and a small battery in the trunk)...the warrenty on the duralast's is good though. 3 years free replacement and i think 8 years overall.
Interstate would be a good choice too...my dad loves those.
Yeah I really wanna do the lsj alt swap. Thanks for the input!
"In Oldskool we trust"
i always had bad luck with my red tops in my white cavalier but it sat for days before i would drive it. had them in my daily driver's and never an issue. i just think they dont like to sit unattended...
It's nice to be injected but I love being blown.
Right so this is the concern. I often let my car sit for a week and sometimes 2. My current battery died once after about a week and a half of some cold weather. Then today it was almost dead since it's ridiculously cold. It's definitely time to replace it, just can't decide on what to get. (checked for draws there's nothing wrong electrically).
"In Oldskool we trust"
Dude,
3 years ago they were bought by jci which makes em in Mexico. Buy a orbital battery, that's what I use...
jason norwood wrote:Dude,
3 years ago they were bought by jci which makes em in Mexico. Buy a orbital battery, that's what I use...
Exactly what I was looking to hear. Thanks bro.
"In Oldskool we trust"
Also check for any excess draw on the battery while it is sitting, could have something pulling it down over time. Exide batteries are good as well... that's what we have at work, well they say Case IH on them but they are re branded exide.
Have a nice day.
Had a blue top(older one, Gel cell) in my truck(same as yellow top but has studs, good for hooking lots of accessories up to) and it would deeply discharge if left for weeks. At work we use Discover AGM batteries all the time, they are pricey but never had a complaint about them, one of our customers truck was involved in a fatal accident with a semi (he was not driving the truck) and the 2 AGM batteries that we mounted in the back of the truck broke lose and skidded across the highway, they had some road rash but were still in good condition. Not sure if all battery cases are that strong, but I figured the cases would be cracked or something. We have had special request for yellow tops before and never heard anything either. I believe older optima's were Gel cells and newer ones are now all AGM as well. more and more factory batteries are AGM as well. If I even need a new battery, it might not be a Optima but it will probably be a AGM.
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i use a diehard platinum in mine i went with a group 4/78 in mine. plenty of power even with 2k watts of sound. also never has an issue sitting etc. i take it out and use it in my 62 impala when i was trouble shooting and needed it to crank for extended periods with no confirmed generator (yes generator not alternator, old school) power.
Diehard cannot beat 4 year free replacement
every optima outside of my first was garbage.
I've had to replace my first yellow top through warranty after 2 years of having it.
The one I have now, I hard wired a trickle charger and keep it plugged in while it sits.
I'm running a stupid amount of power through mine with a 12farad cap though.
I've installed remote switches on all my power sources, to prevent heavy draw during start ups.
Any battery will die a slow death if its not taken care of. Temperature, draws, hard starts, poor alternators.
I see a lot of orbital's now a days, but I never see my voltage drop excessively when I use my equipment. I paid very close attention to gauge size and fusing.
I've ran my yellow top with all my amps for a good 2 hours before. (when it was new obviously)
Not sure if that helps you any lol.
I've had one for a couple years now and it still works great...and i put mine through alot. i always have some kind of crazy sound system in my car , and its been good to me
hmmmmm, a lot of good info people thanks. I think the best thing for me is a good factory replacement. I'm always quick to upgrade or buy the best of the best for this car (ex. royal purple oil at every oil change). But for a bone stock electrical system minus an added intercooler pump I'm probably just wasting my money on a big battery. In the future I may hook up a decent 4 channel amp and run my front speakers and a 10" woofer with it, but even then it's not going to be 2000 watts rms or anything crazy like that. If diehard, or any other off the shelf brand, has a 4 year warranty I don't see how I could go wrong.
"In Oldskool we trust"
My Yellow Top died after 3 years of DD use like 3 months out of warranty. It was nice for my stereo but I wouldnt buy one again especially at twice the price of a normal 3 yearr battery.
You alternator matters more for powering amps and accessories than your battery does. Unless you sit in your car with it off and listen to the radio a lot.
I ended up going with
this. Read everywhere that its one of the best around, can't wait to get it installed. Thanks everyone for the feedback!
"In Oldskool we trust"
is used a 51 series yellow top in my car i used its becasue the yellow tops are a combo deep cylce/ starting batter. I went through 3 of them within 3 years. went back to a normal Super Start (East Penn) lead/acid battery that i got from work and no problems since. Red tops on the other hand ive had great sucess with.
Ive had 2 Optima's, red up front and a yellow in tha back , I had them since 2003 and both just died and I have to replace them, I'll probably go with Motormaster Eliminator ultra XD batteries from Canadian Tire (same as Exide just rebranded) 1050 crank , 880 cold crank , reserve capacity 133 min and 5 years replacement for $264,
Skr8 Goodz in tha hood
My Optima last exactly 8 years. Needless to say I bought the same RedTop one.
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