Optima Batteries

[ar0ck]

http://www.milbatteries.com/optima/optima_pictures/optima.jpg

Anyone use these, worth the price, and benefit? Or just get a regular Sears Die-Hard from Big Al :lol:

[Ian]

Well you show your car, right? If you plan on showing it, I'd pony up for the red top. I dont know how much better they are than regular batteries, but the red top comes stock in the diesel Jeep Liberties. they have a little over 1000 CCA (cold cranking amps). Good batteries, but I dont know if they are worth it or not, i've never run one.

[NJSPEEDER]

if you are gonna spend money on a battery go with a drycell. they are smaller and lighter. they are small enough that it woudl be easy to hide if you felt like it.

later
tim

[ar0ck]

if you are gonna spend money on a battery go with a drycell. they are smaller and lighter. they are small enough that it woudl be easy to hide if you felt like it.

later
tim

Are you talking about those dyna-bat style batteries, that James & Craig have? I think that would be alittle to small. Im not running any crazy stereo system, just a head-unit and stock speakers, plus I'll have pulleys on the Alt & Crank. Its also a DD, with alot of stop & go traffic.

[coldkilla]

definitely go with the red top, they are the incredible hulks of the battery world. we actually switched over to them in our humvees when i was in the core. i put one in my gto and never unhooked it when i stored it for 4-6 months and it always started right up no problem. they are dry cell too if you didnt know so they are maintenance free. definitely worth the money.

[79dizZy28]

i use an optima battery. Â*when i first got the z i tried using the strongest die-hard battery i could find off the rack at sears and it didn't have enough juice (CCA) to start my car really. Â*threw in an optima and it cranked the motor over a 10x stronger. but thats just cause its CCA rating is like double that of the highest one i found at sears. Â*so for me it's really been worth it.

[bad64chevelle]

I have one in the Chevelle, and love it. Like said before regular batteries would barely crank 'er over too well and i swapped this one in and ive been using it ever since. I got mine for like $95 or somthing like that. I had the Orange top one, but my dad used it swapped the cables on his car and fried the battery. They didnt make the Orange top anylonger so i had to get the red. Swapped for free though!

Jon

[Squirrel]

matt has one and it turns the 460 over with ease, i think his is the yellow top though, not really sure...but you cant go wrong with either color

[NJSPEEDER]

if you are gonna spend money on a battery go with a drycell. they are smaller and lighter. they are small enough that it woudl be easy to hide if you felt like it.

later
tim

Are you talking about those dyna-bat style batteries, that James & Craig have? Â*I think that would be alittle to small. Â*Im not running any crazy stereo system, just a head-unit and stock speakers, plus I'll have pulleys on the Alt & Crank. Â*Its also a DD, with alot of stop & go traffic.

craig drives his everyday and still had a radio and everything else in teh car when it was installed. his car is his daily driver too, through ewing and pennignton with stop lights every few blocks.
dry cells are actually far more reliable and vibration reistant than traditional wet cell batteries.

later
tim

[camaro2you]

NOOOOOOOO do not go with the red top,we had a big discussion on a fourth gen mailing list that i belong to about how if you dont drive the car every day a week it will go dead so i would recomend the yellow top. the red tops were good back when they were first made but now they went to **** like everything usually does these days. just something i heard and though i should clue you in on.

[Savage_Messiah]

^ that's ********.... at school I had the car sitting like 5 days and I went to start it up it barely even turned over, fired RIGHT up. Also my car has been sitting since Saturday, a week from now I'll have my dad start it up and let you know how that goes just to prove you wrong. Â*

Good battery IMO, I would reccommend it Alex. Â*Mine was $125 or $130 i think? at autozone. Â*Also, next time you're showing the car we won't have to pull the courtesy lamp fuse to save your battery ;)

[coldkilla]

yeah, we used ret top optimas in the marines for a reason. most humvees will sit in the motorpool for extended periods of time without being used and with those batteries they always started right up. like i said i would keep it hooked up in my gto when i stored it and it would fire up like a champ every time. definitely worth the price.

[bad64chevelle]

NOOOOOOOO do not go with the red top,we had a big discussion on a fourth gen mailing list that i belong to about how if you dont drive the car every day a week it will go dead so i would recomend the yellow top. the red tops were good back when they were first made but now they went to **** like everything usually does these days. just something i heard and though i should clue you in on.

Umm ok whatever you say but its not true. I have a redtop in my Chevelle that will sit for a long time and the car fires right up every time. 10.5:1 compression and a high torque starter! Ill give you a little background info so i can show you what you say is not true.

Last winter I parked my chevelle in November in the garage under a cover. Didnt start it (battery connections hooked up too!) It sat there until April when I got it back out. She fired right up after a few blips of the throttle. That was about 5 months of sitting. And again tell me how that if the car wasnt driven every day it wouldnt start right up? And no the battery was not charged at any time in between!

Jon

[Ian]

yeah, we used ret top optimas in the marines for a reason. most humvees will sit in the motorpool for extended periods of time without being used and with those batteries they always started right up. Â*like i said i would keep it hooked up in my gto when i stored it and it would fire up like a champ every time. Â*definitely worth the price.

If the Marines use them, you know they're good 8)

[camaro2you]

yes but how old are these batteries?

[bad64chevelle]

about 3+ years old

[Ian]

when it comes time for me to get a new battery (probably this winter) I'm gonna pony up for a red top 8)

[bad64chevelle]

Definitely worth it

[camaro2you]

about 3+ years old
ya thats when they were still being made with quality now the yellow top is the choice to go with.

[Savage_Messiah]

Mine is what... 2-3 months old

[79dizZy28]

got mines april '04 8)

[qwikz28]

i'm goin yellow top cause of the amps. check optimas website, has good info on each batteries' main purpose.

...and for those of you too lazy like i probably would be: yellow is mostly used as a second battery for audio/other electronics install. not supposed to be used for starting the car but still does the job quite well. red top is supposed to be a OEM upgrade for those wanting the best and such.

[89 Trans Am WS6]

Yeah i read that article on the mailing list too, apparently the quality of the new ones has gone to crap.

Also having your car parked for 5 days, despite your thinkings, is not a long time, lol.

Oh and die hard batterys are junk.

Interstate all the way. :p

[qwikz28]

3 years and 2 months and 46k on my oem battery running 2 pretty powerful amps. not bad at all. it'll probably take a dump on me this winter though. i'm goin yellow top probably

[Tru2Chevy]

Oh and die hard batterys are junk.

My last Diehard 5 year battery went 7.5 years before taking a crap in the Lumina....

- Justin

[2001orangess]

i have the red top in mine, but i only got it cause my stock battery went down the crapper.
but it does have that i have something cool under hood factor.

[bad64chevelle]

I like to use two double "A" Energizers. Cause they just keep going and going.

[qwikz28]

I like to use two double "A" Energizers. Cause they just keep going and going.your a homo