Optima...Red or Yellow?

[INEEDAGN]

One of the mechanics at work was telling me a story about how the jeep liberty diesels came with optima's in them, and how there's some reflash procedure that can't be performed without replacing the battery with a regular type battery first. I don't remember the exact details but it seemed really odd.

Anyway, the GN got a delco just for the clean black look, everything else, well I got a source for blem batteries of any size or shape for $28 each no core needed. Can almost make money on them selling them as cores. Dad's an interstate dealer and over the long course of his sales, the interstates seem to be darn good batteries.

The Odyssey Genesis is "the" way to go if price is not an issue.

 

[garyk1970]

reds are good,yellows are better. i use red tops mostly (99%).

my red tops (one in camper,one i use in every car Ive had) are over 10 years old ...still going strong.

HERES SOME GOOD ADVICE FOR YOU, DON'T BUY A OPTIMA FROM AUTOZONE,ADVANCE ,ORILEYS,ETC........they are NOT the same battery a specialists sells IE; stereo shop,starter/alt shop,etc.........ive heard bad things about the cheaper optimas made for a price point for these stores only.......im willing to bet 99% of the bad batteries our Buick brothers have here on TB.COM were bought unknowingly at a discount parts house.....compare the part and performance numbers for yourself.......
just bought a van last week.....dead battery this morning (first dead battery for me in too many years to count) off to put a red top in it right now.....HTH>>>>>

 

[TurboDave]

The one's I was trying to get to work (two), were purchased at Sears.

 

[garyk1970]

The one's I was trying to get to work (two), were purchased at Sears.

im not sure about Sears. i heard advance was selling red tops $40 cheaper than me.....i had to go see for myself.......looked at the reserve,cca's,etc and i realized how/why they were less.....

my red top (gm style sc34u-h8) has a "true" cca (cold cranking amps) of 800a.
the reserve is 100.ca 1000.

the "others" have simular numbers,but ive seen alot of them fail....

 

[Roger]

Sears no longer sells Optima, too many returns.

I'm trying Sears platnum, will see if it holds a charge, so far so good.

Buddies here are into Chineese - oops Walmart.

 

[Boost231]

i have run a red top in my gn for about 4 years now. i have had no problems with it. i do however keep it on a battery tender at all times. i have drained it all the way once and it charged right back up. anyways i really like red tops

 

[Carr]

I had a yellow top in one in my old park ave that lasted 1 month, one of the cells was bad, got a free replacement that still works after about 3 years.

 

[affordablegn]

Battery

Chris,
I have an Optima Yellow Top in my too slow too hang street car.
I haven't had any trouble since putting the yellow top in.
I always had trouble with other batteries dying over the winter.
The yellow top has outlasted any of them I have had.
I would love to drive my car but the Great Lakes snow prevents it.
It doesn't like the salt/sand mix they put down on the roads.
It was nice meeting you in Reynolds.
I hope your car is ready for next year.
Take Care,
Jason M
AffordableGN

 

[Keller]

Optima? Don't be foolish. Been there, done that. Repeatedly.

Odyssey Batteries

AGM dry cell. No fluid at all. Able to be discharged to flat zero up to 400 times with no consequences. A friend who races SCCA turned me on to these.

The one I put on my T is "rated" at 925 and is maybe 75% of the size of what was in there. Just be careful and order with the proper terminals and proper +/- orientation. I picked up a polished aluminum mount from a source off the 'net and developed a bracket that holds it in the existing battery tray with no holes drilled. I'll have plans all up on Turbo Regal Web Site eventually. I believe they have ones that are made to suit cars better now. A 1200 is very similar to a classic car sized battery.

Most TRs could get away with a much smaller and lighter battery of this type. Something that would easily fit in the glovebox.

Just don't buy one from the Summit/Jegs/Battery Plus sources and you'll get away for a reasonable price. And use appropriate AGM rated chargers, etc. Yes, its more than a KMart battery. However, it gives a *lot* more amps. And doesn't die beyond recharge when it goes below 7V like an Optima.

 

[8AV8]

Chris,
I have an Optima Yellow Top in my too slow too hang street car.
I haven't had any trouble since putting the yellow top in.
I always had trouble with other batteries dying over the winter.
The yellow top has outlasted any of them I have had.
I would love to drive my car but the Great Lakes snow prevents it.
It doesn't like the salt/sand mix they put down on the roads.
It was nice meeting you in Reynolds.
I hope your car is ready for next year.
Take Care,
Jason M
AffordableGN

What's up dude. I hope to have her ready. She's undergoing major reconstructive surgery at this very moment. I can pop my hood and see the trunk latch. I need a rear end and a tranny. Got the rest. I should be beatin that b itch before long. Should be fun at BG this year. Cya.

 

[Roger]

Red couldn't hold a charge more than 2 days. Even a cheap Chinese battery did better.

No troubles YET with the Sears platnum, hope it remains trouble free (it was expensive enough, they should throw in free road service}

 

[Blown&Injected]

Year after year I find another reason love my Optima Red Top.

Left the lights on in my truck and days later (yesterday) I find a totally dead battery - not even an LED would light. Hookup jumper cables, truck starts in just two minutes and after maybe five minutes of idle time I had to turn it off but the battery would start the truck.

That battery has been in several cars over many years, has been drained and not discovered for sometimes weeks at a time, sat in the GN while it was down for over a year and it keeps going.

I will not likely even consider anything other then another Optima battery next time I need a battery.

 

[ANDYS87]

I've had an Optima Red for 4 years and no problems. And it hasn't had the most ideal life....car's been in storage for 4 years. I start the car and let run for a little bit maybe once a month. When the battery gets weak I charge and do over. Always charges up no problem, and lasts for about 4-6 months of sitting around. What I like about any totally sealed battery is that they don't vent acid or fumes. Twice, I had cars in storage with regular acid batteries...to open the hood and the battery was wet on top and so was the hood liner with acid!!!!! NOT good for metal parts! I also had a sears deep cycle-wet acid battery in storage for a year...wouldn't take a charge the next year, so I popped the tops off...and the cells were completely dry! Just think of all of those acid fumes eating away the underhood area of a nice car! A lot of people hate optimas, but I've never had any problems with them and dont have to worry about the acid evaporating away. If you have a regular battery, run your finger across the top and touch to your tongue...bet its tastes acidy.

 

[Mike70gtx]

Just thought I'd add my last experience. I have replaced my red optima from Advance Auto as many as 5 times. When they go dead a regular charger won't do it. I think it took Advance awhile to figure that out. They would just give me a new one. I had one go out about 7 months ago and I was 2 weeks out of full warranty. They still prorated it and I got it for 1/2 price. The good thing is that my warranty started over. This weekend my power seat was stuck and it drained the battery. It took me awhile to jump it but it started and drove 10 minutes to town. The alternator was not getting enough charge in it. It threw a code 42 and about died. Tried to start after couple hours and totally dead. I put it on a trickle charger and it showed up bad. Same with my sears charger. At first Advance Auto wanted to try to charge it but eventually just gave me a new one. We will see how long it lasts. I'll see how many I go threw in the next 3 years.

 

[salvageV6]

Going for 12 years on the yellow top, not so sure about this winter though.

I'll keep a charged spare in the trunk for ballast, it helps with the snow tires for traction. :smile:

 

[Rubicon 327]

Dura Last Gold 3 years free replacement-8years prorated just bought it on Saturday $85.00 after core.......The duralast gold has a yellow top.:biggrin:

Replaced a Advanced Auto autocraft titanium with a sticker that said it was purchased on 7/08....(not my purchase)

 

[2QUIK6]

I currently have a RED and a YELLOW in my boat.
The Red is about 3 years old and is only used for starting/engine op. The Yellow is used to power the stereo with a 120W amp and 6 6" round speakers. I've drained the Yellow top repeatedly for 2 summers now and it will still play the stereo for 6-8 hours at a time rocking it fairly loud to be heard out in the water while everyone longues...

I have REDs in 3 of my cars and 2 of them have been replaced within 1-2 years. The price has went up significantly for RED tops in the last year or 2, I won't be putting a red top back in due to the price/reliability as the other 3 batteries in use in my 3 other cars are 8 years, 7 years and 6 years old with out a prob and they have been drained a few times...all 3 are Sears Die Hards and the DH in the '79 TA has to crank for 10-15 secs everytime to start...gotta love fuel injection nowdays
I do have a battery cut off on each of 4 cars so there's nothing connected when they sit up...and no need for a trickle charger in that case either.

 

[Danno]

I never had too many problems with optimas. I've seen a couple get sent back for warranty and thats about it. I have a red top in my regal and it sit's for a couple months before I move it at all (been too busy to work on it) and it fires right up every time.

 

[rob350]

My dad had a red top in his vette that lasted 10+ years. Were they better way back then?

 

[2QUIK6]

My dad had a red top in his vette that lasted 10+ years. Were they better way back then?

I heard they changed manufacturing plants/locations a few years back, have no idea how much truth there is in that, but something changed as 5-6 years ago these were the ultimate battery to get for something not driven much.