Battery Brand?

[supercrackerbox]

The reality is all car batteries sold in the US are made by only two or three manufacturers, and re-labeled for each retailer. The most important part of installing a battery is not the battery itself, but making sure everything else in your charging system is in good condition. All connections and grounds at the battery, starter, alternator, and all points between need to be clean, tight, and free of corrosion. Redundant grounds and heavier gauge cables are a great idea whenever possible. Use quality shrink wrap and a good soldering iron for all wiring repairs, and use soldered lug terminals for all heavy cables whenever possible. This is also important for getting the most life out of your alternator and starter. My Daytona has a quarter million miles on the factory installed starter, and has never given me a hint of trouble. And electrical tape has absolutely no business under the hood of a car.

Beyond that, regular maintenence is key. Inspect those connections at every oil change, and clean/repair/replace as needed. Also, if your battery is a maintenence type (meaning you have to check the fluid), then check that as well. Use distilled water if needed.

I've run everything from Wal-mart to Optima, and have never had a battery fail within it's warranty period- in fact, most last 2-3 years past.

 

[85GPLef41]

I have had my Interstate for about 9yrs and countless vehicles and it still works!!

 

[pontiacgp]

Optima.....last summer while working on my exhaust I grounded the positive connecting on the starter with the vise grips that was holding a stud. I was under the car and didn't notice it. The negative side post on the battery melted off and all I did was to attach the top post and used the battery for another 6 months. I didn't even have to charge it. In cooler weather the strength of battery seemed to be lacking so I bought another Optima.... the burnt up battery now has a new life in a race car....

 

[shotgun]

I Prefer the NAPA/Exide Orbital 6, thier gel type battey.

They last forever and take a beating.

Never had luck with Optima.

Do educate your self about the battery type you buy. Charging/recharging a gel battery is not the same as old lead plate styles. Gels don't like to be hit hard with voltage.

I bring a gel battery up at only 2 amps and never hit them with my 40 amp charger.

supercracketbox is right about having the rest of the system up tp snuff.

I don't 100% agree with this statement, "The reality is all car batteries sold in the US are made by only two or three manufacturers, and re-labeled for each retailer. "

While it is true there are a few manfacturers, they build the battery to the spec the final retailer wants.

So "good" and "not so good" batteries can come out of the same plant.

 

[[email protected]]

Interstate!
My interstate is 10 years old, and is still far more reliable than my optimas.

I don't recommend optima's anymore, I've had 5, 2 that I still have. Expect your optima to fail right around the 3 year warranty. They are extremely overrated. They are really only good for bragging, and project cars, ones that have voltage loss problems...they can be drained dead & frozen, then thawed and charged again(but they will never be the same as new again, meaning I swear that each time they are frozen that's like one more tenth of a volt they will never charge up to again, as in the their voltage capabilities become limited with repeated freezing). The only other real benefit that keeps me coming back is the low-flammability factor, It's nice on projects that move to be able to just disconnect the a battery terminal and start welding, versus a standard battery that should be removed entirely for safety(due to it giving off flammable gas).

I have also had a Champion Vortex dry cell, and a Exide Orbital dry cell, and they are fairly comparable.

If the best never rest...then the best is definitely not an optima.

Or then again maybe they just can't handle Wisconsin...indexing to -40 below in the winter and then heat waves of 100+ with 99% humidity in the summer! Yes 99% humidity! Air so hot and thick you can almost cut it with a knife. :evil:

 

[pokertramp]

I would never buy an Optima. I almost did ut the car audio guy would not sell it to me. He said that even though they have a warranty, I think 1 year. That goes from the day he purchases it, not when a consumer does. If he gets them on the show room floor and doesn't sell it for 11 months, you only get a 1 month warranty, assuming it's a 1 year warranty.

He sold another kind of battery about the same price that had 2 years on it. Was about $175 but worth it in my opinion, would be nice if I could remember the name, it was black and purple.

 

[jrm81bu]

I don't know what was up with that car audio guy but that's not exactly right with the warranty, unless he was not an authorized dealer for them. You go to Advance and buy one you will get a 3 year free replacement warrant with 84 month pro-rated warranty. At least for the red top. The yellow top has a 1 year/24 month pro-rated warranty.

 

[outsider_27]

I have 3 Optimas with no complaints. I have also had very good luck with Interstate. Die Hard and AC Delco both have gone down in quality. I would never buy another one of either. I have seen many Delcos corrode off the positive side post being only a year old.

 

[86inthemakin]

what's the difference between the red top and yellow top?

 

[adumb]

i am using an optima. my friend worked at autozone and he would test the 'bad' optimas that people brought back to the store when swapping for a new one. he would throw them on the tester to see if they hold a charge. i got my red top from him for $20 and he got himself a couple for the same price. i've had mine since Dec. 2007. still works good.