ETHYL

I have to buy a battery this weekend. Whats the recommendation and why? Does the Optima have a service life better then the AC Delco?

I can get a 6 yr AC battery for around $78 and a 7 yr Optima battery for $109. My present battery is an AC Delco 75-6yr model and it will not hold a charge.

------------------------
94 Admiral Blue Coupe
Daily Driver

Oh My

I'd stay away from Ac-Delco batteries. The quality really has gone done with their batteries. The only issue with Optima is space..I believe they only offer their batteries as dual post appilications. But..they will last you a long time.

ETHYL

The model Optima I saw for the Corvette ( 75/35) had side terminals and top terminals. The top terminals had plastic protective covers that stay on when using the side terminal connections. The cable connection should not be a problem.

Mr Mojo

AC Delco batteries suck. Stay away from them, they fall apart, my car has had at least three replacements before I got it.

CowboyNVette

Go to WalMart and get a cheap one. With the warranty that they have you can't go wrong. Thats what I did 2 years ago, not intentially, when my battery died on a road trip during the middle of the night. Only thing I could find open was a 24 hr WalMart and the only battery they had to fit the Vette was the cheapest one they offered. I figured it was just a temp fix since it was a cheap battery but that was 2 years ago...lol :cheers:

jfb

Consumers Report tested auto batteries in November and the Optima battery costs twice the typical car battery and its CCA measured less than the manufacturer stated. All the other batteries met their claimed ratings. Its your money.

HWoods

I have gone thru several optima batteries. They don't last any longer than a conventional battery so unless you need to mount your battery sideways or upside down, which you can do with an optima battery, don't waste your money. Walmart has the only replacement battery that has the OEM CCA of the Corvette. No other battery I looked at does, not die hard, Ac or any other.

CoolVette86

I was choosing between an Optima (never had one, but heard good things) and the Diehard from Sears. I've had Diehards in my other cars and they've been great so I went with Diehard Gold. The thing is, there's always a Sears around you if you need to bring stuff back for warranty replacement! :cheers: Besides, it's Diehard $80 vs. Optima $130+. I'd use the money I saved on mods.

VetteWave

I got my red top Optima battery for $114 shipped. It fit in the battery tray without a major problem (I had to snip a small piece of plastic). It looks good and I don't have to worry about any battery acid leaks!

cerby

Optima is way overrated for the money. Good Looks mean nothing in a battery. I have read consumer reports that say Optima is no better than the average battery in terms of length of service. I would go with convenience because they all fail when you least need the problem. Wallmart for low price and long warrantys plus free installation. and Sears or NTW for Die hard gold and long warranty. ($80.00 or less). Sears has started to charge for battery installation so you might also look for others that traditionally do not charge for this service.

carter200

A/C Delco Professional! :cool: :yesnod: :yesnod: :seeya

Bill Reid

I got my Optima Red top at Cosco for $99. I bought it because I HATE lead acid batteries and the mess they leave after dying. I don't consider my Redtop to be any better than lead acid batteries... and probably won't last any longer. But I won't have a mess to clean up when it dies.

FYI and IMHO, if you stick with lead acid the cheaper it is the better. Their lead plates are further apart and less likely to short as they age.

scorp508

Same here! I just dropped the redtop in a couple weeks ago. A couple small snips of plastic and she dropped in like a dream.

Thud

Sears DieHard Gold.
3-year replacement warranty if it goes bad. My last ACDelco battery lost voltage and started leaking after about a year.

However, the El-cheapo WalMart battery (Everstart) in my truck is 2 years old and strong as ever.

CowboyNVette

The only advantage you get with the Optima battery is, like someone else stated, that you can lay it on its side or even upside down. We use them on all of our remote electronic transmitters in the field only because they can be laid down on their side, but they don't last as long as the average lead acid battery. At least with the records we kept on each location where we had battery powered remotes, the gell cell batteries, Optima, were only lasting from 50 to 65 % of the time of a Lead Acid battery. We had over 120 locations with about half gell cell and the other half lead acid. We still got corrosion on our battery connections either way though, not sure why but I would have thought the gell cell would have eliminated terminal corrosion.

Nathan Plemons

I have the optima, it fit right in with Zero modifications. My Die Hard just quit on me one day. It didn't give me ANY warning whatsoever, it worked that morning, it worked at lunch, at quitting time I was getting a jump start. It wouldn't take a charge at all, and no I didn't leave something on.

What I know about the Optima, it does fit. It is VERY clean because it doesn't leak. You are supposed to be able to puncture it and it not leak. It is also supposed to be very vibration resistant. Some of the really big autoX guys will tell you that they have gone through many a standard battery just because they vibrate apart and short out inside. CCA's not up to what the car came with? Well maybe not, but it starts the car doesn't it? I've had my car in 12 degree weather and it still cranks over as if it was 90 degrees.

I can't say yet how long it will last, but so far it's been a very good battery.

CowboyNVette

Nathan I didn't mean to suggest that they were bad batteries, I just said in the enviroment that we were using them, closed metal boxes with very little ventalation and out in the open. During the summer those boxes would heat up to approx 180 - 200 degrees. Your right about them being a clean battery, much cleaner than the lead acid battery but you will still get some corrosion on your terminals. Most people think that since it is a gell battery you will not get any of the corrosion associated with the lead acid batteries but you will get some. It could be only a galvanic corrosion though, I am not really sure on that point. But all in all the gell cells operated well within acceptable levels and proved to be quite valuable in the locations that we had to use them in. :yesnod:

Nathan Plemons

No flames taken, no flames intended. Just posting my thoughts on the subject. I'll draw my own conclusion about the optima if it quits on me for some reason, until then I've never seen anything die faster than my Die Hard.

Every other battery I've ever seen go bad will at least give some warning, slow cranking, or something. Nada on this one, just from 100% cool to stone cold dead. I won't be getting another Die Hard. I've actually had real good experience from "Deka" batteries. The only reason I bought the optima instead of a Deka is that at 8 p.m. when I needed a battery, my only option was an Advance brand or the Optima. Given the choice I went with the Optima. I'd wanted to try on out, here was my excuse, I had to drive it the next day.

NavyVet

I'd like the Optima, but I haven't seen any reason to think they'll outlast a traditional battery here. You have to replace batteries in Phoenix every 2 years no matter how expensive they are new, so I just buy the best CCA rating I can find on sale for a "non-top-of-the-line" battery. I now replace on a 2-year schedule too - beats being stranded when they fail with no warning (always). The heat is just about as bad on rubber components too - we have to change wiper blades more often than it rains!

VetteNoob

How come no one has mentioned the Interstate batteries? I've had one on all my cars and have never had a problem with them. Is there something different about Vettes that would prevent the Interstate to be used? BTW, there is a reason why the DieHard batteries are named that......hope no one ever has to find out why.