Optima - RedTop's

[1Tufdsl]

Just bought a pair of Optima RedTop's yesterday ($120 p/battery). As an FYI for those that are interested in getting a pair, the 3rd gens take model # 34 and need a Group 65 adapter/plate that goes on the bottom of the battery that basically makes the bottom square so the hold down clamp will work properly. Most places don't know about or carry the adapter. I got mine at Batteries Plus. I planned on doing it myself but they offered to put them in for me for $7. 00... can't beet that.



They fit great with no movement in the tray. In my opinion, they're a perfect battery for our trucks as they resist heat and cold very well and handle vibration even better. My neighbor has had the same set on his truck for 7 years in the Phx heat... not bad at all. Oo.



Karl

 

[Jim McCarty]

I agree, they seem to be a good battery for our trucks. I got mine at Costco for $99 each. They came with the adapter plate but I didn't use it. I cut my holddown bolts shorter so I could lower the batteries about 1" or so so and keep the terminals a little less exposed. Besides that, the cables were barely long enough to reach with the plates installed.

 

[1Tufdsl]

Ya, Costco had them for $99 here as well but we haven't renewed our membership becuase we just don't shop there enough.



I've heard the same thing about the 2nd gen's... the battery tray setup is a bit different then the 3rd gens.

 

[klenger]

Why did you need new batteries on an '04 already?

 

[EEdmondson]

1tufdsl, the savings on those 2 batteries would have paid for your Costco membership.

 

[JeepinDoug]

Be carefull, the ones at Cosco are minis, I'm not sure the group size. Full size Optimas are a group 24 IIRC. The minis don't have the CCAs or reserve of the full size, hence the price. I've been running the same two in my Jeep for almost 10 years and that includes cooking one of them twice due to a faulty voltage regulator.

 

[jsimpson]

I've been running the same two in my Jeep for almost 10 years and that includes cooking one of them twice due to a faulty voltage regulator.

I've cooked three of them. They hate an overcharge!

 

[1Tufdsl]

Klenger, I figured I would eventually be asked that. More for the piece of mind and for their durability (we go to Col every year and run various trails as well as AZ trails). The final decision maker for me was during the last month my neighbors battery exploded on his Ford PS and a coworkers exploded in his 2003 Dodge, both stock factory batteries. That was the first I've ever heard of batteries exploding but apparently both cases were due to the internal plates breaking and creating an internal spark. I did a search on various forums and this was more common than I certainly would have thought.

 

[Tim]

Optimas and other AGM batteries in my experience have been far less dependable than plate type batteries.

 

[Buffalo]

I've been using the Costco Optima's, lately, in my 91. 5 W-250. I get 4 years out of them, which is double what I got out of traditional water-fill batteries.



I live in the desert (Phoenix, AZ) which is really hard on batteries.



The nice thing about the Optima's is that they don't seem to just "drop dead". They have a tendency to start fading-away, which, gives you some warning that you are going to have to replace the battery. The water-fill batteries, in my experience, just die, instantaniously. No warning! I had one "croak" way down a mountain trail in northern AZ over the 4th of July Holiday, one year. Regular automotive batteries won't start the diesel, so I had to have someone take me around the area trying to find someone with another diesel to jump start me. Once I got it started, I had to drive 45 miles to a town trying to find a proper battery, on a Holiday.



That's when I started buying Optima's.



This last Optima I bought from the Optima distributor, here in Phoenix. It was more expensive ($130. 00+) but, is more powerful than the ones sold by Costco.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[BHolm]

I personally think Optimas are overpriced and not nearly as great as people seem to think. If you want a dry type battery the Odyssey line by Hawker is the way to go. They are a military design and are even offered in steel cases for abusive applications. In my experience they last longer, charge better and offer a combination deep cycle and high amp starting in the same battery, unlike Optima, and do it for the same price.

 

[Tim]

An Optima is not a dry battery. It is a lead acid type battery, the acid is just absorbed into the mat between the coils.

 

[PLohr]

BHolm, perhaps the Odyssey Hawker uses the same AGM system that Optima uses? See the FAQ on this page titled "Are these a gel cell? What's the difference?" on the Odyssey website: http://www.odysseyfactory.com/odyfaq.htm#6

The two systems in that simple explanation are very similar.