So I see that there are several styles of Optima battery, each with their own specific qualities. Which one would be best for a daily driven vehicle, which will need to be started on occasion in subzero temps? My battery needs to be replaced, so I figured I would go with a trunk mounted Optima to clear up the engine bay. TIA.
Optima Battery Question..
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I've got a friend who works at a local parts store and he showed me the number of warranteed Optima batteris in a months time. They sold 6 one month and warranteed 6 the next month all within the replacement period. Get the parts store brand in my opinion. duralast batteries are good ones. FWIW
Do you actually have to go through Interstate to get one, or are there localized vendors that carry them?Interstate has good batteries at a good price, I paid $110 for a 84 month 1000ca 880cca.
Dave
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4,607 Posts
They are buying the wrong Optima batteries if you ask me. I run the great big yellow one in a truck with no alt., charge it once a month. The present one is on it's 4th season with no problems.
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4,607 Posts
Don't buy the yellow one that the parts stores have on the shelf, it's not the same battery. The part # for the good battery is D31A-1125.
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120 Posts
Save yourself the money and get a Motorcraft battery. Have one in my truck for about 6-7 years now and still going strong. It'll sit outside in the winter and not get started for a couple of weeks at times, but turns it right over, no matter how cold. I got the 800 cca one.
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I used to work for a parts store about 5 years ago and I saw a great number of these batteries that were going bad within 1 and 2 years old.
I do live in Texas and it hit 105 for a couple of days last week which is perfectly normal, so maybe that has something to do with it. FWIW I have been running a 65 series Duralast Gold battery for about 5 years now with no problems, and my folks have been running a pair of them in their Superduty for about the same amount of time. I do top off the water every year, because I have noticed that the majority of batteries that die in the summer heat are low, and many of them are sealed factory batteries such as the AC Delco "maintenance free" side post garbage that has no caps, where water can evaporate out but you have no way of replenishing it.
Anyhow, would I buy an Optima? Hell no, I saw way too many red and yellow top batteries of all sizes fail prematurely, even compared to factory sealed lead acid batteries. I'm not sure what causes the failure, but if you live in a hot climate I would not recommend it.
Your mileage may vary, as has been said above some folks seem to have really good luck with them.
I do live in Texas and it hit 105 for a couple of days last week which is perfectly normal, so maybe that has something to do with it. FWIW I have been running a 65 series Duralast Gold battery for about 5 years now with no problems, and my folks have been running a pair of them in their Superduty for about the same amount of time. I do top off the water every year, because I have noticed that the majority of batteries that die in the summer heat are low, and many of them are sealed factory batteries such as the AC Delco "maintenance free" side post garbage that has no caps, where water can evaporate out but you have no way of replenishing it.
Anyhow, would I buy an Optima? Hell no, I saw way too many red and yellow top batteries of all sizes fail prematurely, even compared to factory sealed lead acid batteries. I'm not sure what causes the failure, but if you live in a hot climate I would not recommend it.
Your mileage may vary, as has been said above some folks seem to have really good luck with them.
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31 Posts
The first Optima I bought was a red top to put in my 69 Mach 1 street/strip/cruiser in 1995 or 6, took car off the road in 99 and battery sat on floor for a couple years, then on shelf, got buried....Forgot it was there.
Last year I needed a battery for my trailer winch, happened to be moving some stuff and saw it, figured what the heck.......checked it and still had almost 12V, was sitting for 9 years plus???
Charged and have been using it in my trailer, have pulled it a couple times to jump the kids cars.........crazy. (I am gonna go look and see if I punched the date tag on it)
I have since used a couple red tops and a couple Yellow tops in my race car and NO issues.
Also, I needed to add weight for class rules and I think the red top was 33lbs ea and the yellow Like 65lb each!! So I use them for ballast also.
If ya gotta add weight, might as well make it useful.
Last year I needed a battery for my trailer winch, happened to be moving some stuff and saw it, figured what the heck.......checked it and still had almost 12V, was sitting for 9 years plus???
Charged and have been using it in my trailer, have pulled it a couple times to jump the kids cars.........crazy. (I am gonna go look and see if I punched the date tag on it)
I have since used a couple red tops and a couple Yellow tops in my race car and NO issues.
Also, I needed to add weight for class rules and I think the red top was 33lbs ea and the yellow Like 65lb each!! So I use them for ballast also.
If ya gotta add weight, might as well make it useful.
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260 Posts
I have a red top one that I got from a parts store that said it was junk. I took it home and put it on a slow charger for about a week or two and I have used it in 2 different cars. over the past 7 years. when it starts to get low then I put it on the slow charger and it is as good as new. so far good luck with it.
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I had a red top in my Mach 1 race car for 4 years. I didnt run an alternator at all.
I went back to the pits and charged it while I was waiting for the next round.
I had no problems out of it and the car sat in cold storage all winter long without being started. I just unhooked the battery, put the car in the storage for the off season, and then in the spring, I hooked the battery back up, started the car, and drove it onto the trailer.
I had good luck with mine.
I went back to the pits and charged it while I was waiting for the next round.
I had no problems out of it and the car sat in cold storage all winter long without being started. I just unhooked the battery, put the car in the storage for the off season, and then in the spring, I hooked the battery back up, started the car, and drove it onto the trailer.
I had good luck with mine.
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5,231 Posts
I have no experience with Optima's but I do want to say something about the other batteries; Through some research I have found that most batteries are only made by 2 or 3 manufacturers and by far the best one is Johnson Controls. Most good brands are just distributed as XXXX brand but are honestly made by Johnson Controls. A few brands that use JC are Duralast, Farm and Fleet, Energizer, Motrorcraft and AC Delco are all made by them. I did some research on this a few years ago when having issues with Ever-start batteries and that is what I found.
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209 Posts
I've had an Optima in my Jeep for 6 years, never had a problem. I just put an Optima in my 95 GT and my Fastback has an optima too. Red tops.
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