Just so you guys know....lots of my friends have Optima's die prematurely....not sure why but they wont hold a charge. NONE of the older Optima's they own have this problem. I wonder if they have changed the way they make the batteries? Anyway. KIRKLAND SIGNATURE found at COSTCO are the best batteries on the market if you aren't mounting on its side or upside down. They are the highest rated, greatest CCA, CA, longest warranty and most importantly LOWEST PRICE. I hate Diehards because I had 4 go out on me in 2 years. Finding out about the Kirkland Signature batteries was a life saver. It ****s changing out a battery in the snow (I would know).
My yellow top is four years old. Never had a problem with it, other than wearing it down cranking the car over for a minute or two after a winter of storage without charging it. I'm happy with mine.
Have used the Red Tops and the Yellow Tops for several years now. Love the Red Tops, not so much on the Yellow Tops. Used them in drag cars as well as a daily driver. If you have a Sams Club I saw them there a while back much cheaper than alot of places that carry them. Would I buy another - Absolutely!
I had bought 1 and warranteed it 3 times in a year if you like swapping them out go for it my odyssey in the same car for 2 years no problems
I've had an optima red top for almost 5 years now. My 29 rpu was left out in the rain for 2 seasons, kinda covered but still got wet, and the battery would get drained, sometimes didn't catch it for a week. That battery charged up good as new, and this happened at least 6 times. Its also mounted sideways. I've actually dropped it from about 3 feet (walked into the charging cord) and thought it was a gonner, but it was fine! The 40 had a yellow top that I got from an old boat, about 6-8 years old, and it lasted for almost 2 years before I replaced it. Of course then found out the generator was cranking less amps then the car was using, and the yellow top (deep cycle) was covering for the deficiency! Still have it as a back-up! Don't know much about the new battery longevity ' though I have another red top thats been fine in a non-daily driver for over a year now no problems TP
http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/publish/us/en/products/power_solutions/Brands/OPTIMA.html If you do some searches you'll see just about every single auto forum has m***ive amounts of complaints on optimas. Especially over the past few years. I knew when I saw them at costco something was up.
The November 2008 issue of Consumer Reports has a test on Auto Batteries, and the DieHard Platinum AGM was rated tops in a couple of categories. Duralast, Optima, Interstate and Everstart were also rated pretty good. AGM Batteries should be maintained with a charger like the CTEK. HemiDeuce.
I've had red tops in a bunch of cars over the past ten years or so, never had a problem with them and they will continue to get my business.
I have a Red Top in my Lincoln which has a 454/425hp motor. This is the only battery I have found that will turn it over fast when it is hot. Only had it a year so can't swear by it yet. Car sits a lot too.
We have an old red top here at the shop that has been ****d and pilaged and it's still holding up real good, but it is an older one. Sounds to me like it's the NEW Optimas that are the problem. Maybe the phrase "they don't make them like they used to" applies to this battery??
john deere also sells a optima type of battery, called the spiral core. they are made by excide. iv run these and usualy get 3-5 years out of them. they also have both the top post and side post built in.
That's my experience personally and reading up and talking to folks. Old good. New bad. Mine is like 4 years old about. I threw an 800 watt stereo system at it with an underpowered alternator and its fine. Great battery. Have it mounted sideways with nothing really holding it down so it gets shook around a bit. Not a single problem. Never gone dead. Etc. Great battery but if I was to buy one now it'd be a different dry cell or just make sure I"m getting it through a local shop that will handle the trade ins ever 6 months.
I have one in my Buick, it runs the car, the air ride pumps and everything all at once without a ever running into a problem. It sat all winter with no problems either...its been in there for probably 3 or 4 years.
I have a red top in my '32 that has a flathead and generator. Zero problems so far. I have one of those cast *****in battery boxes, so I din't think anything else will fit. I hook it up to a BatteryTender when I parke the car and it usually starts blinking immediately, which means like 90% charge or better.
I've had one in my roadster for about 6 yrs. now; one in my daily driver truck for 7 years and just put one in our tent trailer this spring. I've had no problems with any of them, though I do keep the roadster and trailer batteries hooked up to Battery Tenders when not in use. Yeah, they're expensive; but NO corrosion to deal with on the truck, NO fumes or corrosion to worry about in the trunk of my roadster, and NO battery acid slopping around in the bottom of the trailers battery box when I get it home from a back-roads camping trip. All worth it to me! I wish I'd have put one in my wifes daily driver when we bought it new. I wouldn't have to mess with baking soda cleaning up the corrosion everytime I change the oil like I do now...
Anyone else here able to "revive" Optimas that were thought to be trash? I had a couple of "take outs" at my shop that had caused me quite a bit of disappointment with the Optima brand. The other day I tried charging one by starting the process VERY AGGRESSIVELY, with a start charger turned up on start until it began to show a little bit of amperage, then I charged for a few minutes more, then I clicked down to high for a few minutes, then to medium, and then to low overnight. This yellow top took a charge, then I tried a red top and it took a charge too. Neither of these batteries that would charge after a jump start, or take a traditional "slow charge" before this.... Anyone else? I have voiced my displeasure with the Optimas here in the past so it is only RIGHT that I post a positive point about them and back off my criticism some, but it would help if I had known this cure before. If Optima had included this info, I wouldn't have been such a *****....
I know this is an old thread, but I had the same experience as 39 All Ford. The optima (6 volt) in my '51 Ford was completely dead after sitting all winter; I put a regular charger on it and it wouldn't take a charge at all. I have a variable DC power supply that, unlike a regular charger, will put out power no matter what load is hooked to it. I put this on the Optima for a short time (until the battery showed some voltage), and then put a regular charger on it and it came all the way back. No problems since, and it cranks the old flathead over like crazy. I seem to remember that Optima says you should use a special charger on their batteries, and I think this is why.
mine died ... 1 year old .... do i have to deal with company or go to a dealer.... and i dont have the receipt
Had a yellow top in a dragster in '95 or so, it's now in an electric forklift as it's only motivation, and still working. Heard the new ones weren't as good, but just got another for a sprint car project. Also have a red top in a truck, it's at least 10 years old. Hope I haven't just jinxed them.
I ran them for over ten years and they were great then about three years ago they went down hill and the prices went sky high,I had one inplode in my trunk and take out a bunch of stuff in the car (it sat and boiled for a hour outa the car) when I asked the rep about what was up on a year old battery he said sorry nothing we can do!..I wouldnt take a optamia for nothing anymore.....they **** and now they are made outa the USA where they used to be made here...........
Nope, been a couple of years ago but 2 out of 3 i used had problems with. Batteries are getting expensive just got one for my 50, standard 5 yr. battery $85 bucks but Oreillys does stand behind them.
The red top I have sat for 2 years before it was touched by anyone and it works great. Thought about buying an odyssey because of the size but as mentioned above can't just replace them anywhere and nothing else fits in the same size box. I have over 700 batteries in the building I work in that I maintain and they all go bad because of any number of reasons.
I got a deal on mine on sale but it's worked just as good as any other. I did talk to there rep at the good guys about their 6V bat. I will probably get one soon.
I have had 2 optima (red and yellow)..batteries GIVEN to me from friends over the years who said they were dead and couldn't be charged back up! So with my secret charging method I brought them back to life The RED top is 6 years old and sits a lot in my dads nova only used one weekend a month in summer The yellow I gave to a friend for his truck They have an amazing reserve capacity I could leave the 2 air zenith compressors for my air ride on my impala running with the car off..and mine filled to 200psi ..and most likely drained air tanks from just hitting switches for the *****es at the shows hahaha
I like them so much I have them on ALL my cars. They seem to last forever. They are pricey but worth it for what they are.
i have a red top. kinda price but i killed the thing twice and all i did was put it on the charger for 30 min threw it in the car and drove off. never had any problems
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