don't know if this has been posted before, need to replace my battery ,, what are your thoughts on Optima , i know there pricey!

 

Sounds like they are not what they used to be. There are other AGM batteries.
just posted this in another thread. Take a look.
https://redirect.viglink.com/?format...txt=You%20Tube

 

IMHO they are a POS

VS

 

In my opinion they are excellent. Mine was over 12yrs when I traded it in for another Red Top. The old one was still good. (I had a solenoid issue not a bad battery)

Optima had some questionable quality issues when the plant was moved out of the USA. All those have been addressed and they are good to go.

Do not buy the yellow top. That is a deep cycle battery meaning you can run it down to almost dead and recharge numerous times. Those are for trolling motors, camper units and other situations where a alternator is not used.

Regardless of which brand you chose, you have to take care of the battery. Your daily driver may start & stop a dozen times a day, always recharging.
Your Vette may sit for weeks without charging. If its going to be a month or so in storage, by all means put a Battery Tender on it. Take care of it.

 

I found yellow tops years ago the best for frequent drain & recharge. example: sitting all winter, or using accy with power on for sound system etc. Red tops better for instant 1 shot turn over / starting power.
Recently the quality has sunk below sea level since moving operations to MEXICO. No more Optimas for me. Have since moved to ODYSSEY AGM for both my Vette & Wrangler. A bit pricy, but a better non prorated, full replacement warranty. So far so good !

 

I also agree that the Optimas are great batteries in general (I have one in a car that is over 10 years old), but I also have standard lead acid batteries that are just as old, and they have lasted just as long. The key is using a smart battery charger/conditioner, and always having them on said charger when not in use. Try not to go any amount of time, especially in winter in the Midwest and East, whilst sitting in the garage without having those batteries connected to a smart charger, either inside or out of the car.

My M5 is still running the OEM battery as shipped from the factory in 2010, and it's still going strong (knock on wood).

Neglected Optimas, just like conventional lead acid batteries, will generally not go the distance. It's all in how you maintain your battery.

 

If you are a Costco member, get an Interstate battery there. Otherwise, buy one at Walmart.

Install a battery disconnect, and don't overthink it.

 

I do the same Bj's sells Interstate now, all my cars when the battery hits 5 years just swap it out, cheap insurance vs. getting stuck. Any car that is not a daily is on a trickle charger.

 

Walmart, why pay more all you need is 12V and some cranking amps. Brand doesn't matter as all of them are made by just a few manufacturers.

 

True. But the internal parts are different. Not all internal plates are created equal.
Hence the vast differences in CCA, warranty and price, given the same size plastic case.

The money you saved at Walmart can be put towards some "jumper cables".

 

No one wants to be stranded, but most of these cars aren't daily drivers, and we all should have AAA and we ALL have cell phones, so the chances of that happening is pretty low. Respectfully - this is not such great advise, but if you want to throw money away like that, then have at it. Batteries aren't cheap. Why would you replace a perfectly good battery after 5 years when, if taken care of, can generally last a decade or more? That just doesn't make a lot of sense.

It's all in how you take care of your batteries (place them on smart chargers/conditioners when not in use - not using dumb trickle chargers - smart chargers). Most every battery I have has lasted about 10 years and still going strong (some approaching 12 years). I'm either very lucky when it comes to batteries, or it works. YMMV, but that's been my experience since I started buying smart chargers more than 10 years ago.

I've had two year old batteries fail on me back in the day when I wasn't taking care of them like I do now.

 

These battery threads are about as bad as OIL threads........and again.....MOST of all these batteries, whomever sells them are made by a few manufacturers, and are the same except for the sticker. I wouldn't waste any big money on any battery......by a battery...replace it ever couple years. What is the most hard on all these batteries is the never ending sitting around that most Corvettes do.....fi you used them all the time, they last longer. Sitting kills them. As for battery tenders.....whatever. I just think that TOO MUCH thought goes into this subject,....when the reality is there is little difference except what people sell them for. NOT worth any money....especially the OPtima line.....its about as ridiculous as "ceramic coating"......made for the rich guys to spend money to think they are actually making a difference, when they are not.

All absolute nonsense.

 

I own four optima’s, two red tops & two blues. All are kept on battery minders, or battery tenders. Daily drivers have parts store or Walmart batteries. If those vehicles sit they are also put on minders/tenders. Oldest Optima is ~14 & still does the job firing a BBC in a Jag. Second Red top will go in the ‘73 Vette.
And yes, there only a few battery manufactures left.

 

The other nice thing about Optima's is they're compact and they won't leak. You can mount them sideways. I've always had yellowtops in Optima, I buy the dual terminal batteries (top & side) so I can use on other non-GM vehicles if the need arises. But a buddy has has several red tops. I have a lot of FLA batteries too. If you've never owned one, give one a try. Maybe you'll like it. Least you can say you tried one. Yeah, they're a lot more $ ...but so are a lot of things...

 

This is where you are wrong, OPTIMA Yellow tops are designed specifically to drain & recharge with out damage. NON AGM type batteries can only handle this for so long before they crap out. Warranties are longer, some even have non prorated "FULL REPLACEMENT" warranties for many more yrs then a standard battery. They are NOT all the same with different labels. That statement couldn't be more incorrect !!!
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE / TRUST ME !

 

For nearly $300-, and Optima battery would have to last 15 years to beat a $100- Costco battery. And I've gotten many more than 5 years out of Costco batteries before. Not having the battery leak is nice, though, but that's why charge outside the car if I need to charge.

I will say that the deep-cycle Optima (blue top) batteries are legit. I had a second battery set up for camping, and it would run a fridge for as long as it could handle, then recharge from well past dead the next day or a few days later.

While I agree with the rest, I'm curious why you think ceramic coating isn't real. I've DIYed it on my cars, and it really works. Most bugs just rinse off, and maintenance washes are much easier.

 

Well......I guess I have no scientific answer or proof.......its more about the cost versus reward, and a bit of the "snake oil" aspect of it. Maybe it works....but local place wanted over $1500 to do my F150.....No f***** way was I wasting money on that. I keep my vehicles clean by washing them, using Carnuba wax.....and bugs just wash off....too. What I think it most funny is this local place normally has high end exotic cars sitting out front waiting for ceramic coating.....owned of course by rich guys,........and these would be the cars that would LEAST need to have some special coating, given they spend 99.9 percent of the time sitting in a garage,....and never driven.

As for the snake oil comment...yeah.....I think the people who sell it love to tell you all the benefits of it,.....and then hand you a big price quote to do it. The local place is trying to sell it for use on airplanes....and proclaim you will get faster speeds....which makes me laugh. Science or not, right or wrong......I call it all BS. And thats all I got to say about that.

 

Whatever......I am not wasting money on a battery like that. I could have three batteries for the price of one of those....and IMO those three batteries will last longer than one Optima. But...we all spend money on whatever we choose.

 

Yes, you are correct about buying three batteries for the price of an Optima.
And that's exactly what usually happens. Three cheap battery replacements to one good battery replacement. To each there own.

Its not snake oil. Its called quality made. Like I stated earlier, its quality you can't see. Its the internal plates of the battery that count regardless of what sticker is on the case or what color the case is.

Never heard of battery faults because of sitting around. In some stores those batteries sit for up to a year. Thats not what kills them.
Its cranking an engine at 30 below zero. Its cranking an engine in 115 degree heat. Its running accessories like phone chargers, huge bass amps for the stereo.

Its stop, park and then crank, all day / every day long that what taxes the battery. If a battery dies in five yrs its not from sitting on a shelf. Its from being abused.

 

Engines blocks are designed to contain thousands of violent explosions an hour, tires are designed for hundreds of rotations per minute with constant contact on a variety of surfaces-hot, cold, freezing, wet, dry, sand, dirt, rock, salt, snow, ice, etc, etc. Those, by definition, are abusive scenarios - but again, ones which they are designed to withstand. Otherwise, why not cast engine blocks out of plastic, or manufacture tires out of cardboard or tissue paper?

Batteries are designed to take the abuse in the variety of ways that you mentioned, and normal use is not what kills them - at least, not an untimely death - I mean eventually, all batteries will die no matter how well you take care of them. It's what you do to them when they are NOT in use that counts, and in what temperature they are stored - namely putting them on a smart charger/conditioner either in or out of the car (preferably stored in a climate controlled area). Not a simple tender, but a smart charger (like a Noco Genius, for example) External environmental variables are a factor, but not nearly as much as both short and long term storage (again - preferably in a climate controlled garage).

I have an Optima battery in one of my cars that is about 10 years old. I have a conventional lead acid battery that is older than that and still going strong. If anyone is buying three conventional batteries to one Optima battery, then they are NOT taking care of their batteries. If I'm not getting at least 8 years out of a conventional battery, then I'm probably doing something wrong.

Cars that are driven in the summer in nice weather only (like many of the C3 Corvettes here), and stored away for the winter are prime examples of the importance of using a smart charger. Even when a car is not in use, the car ITSELF can and generally will put a small drain on the battery. That is amplified when the weather drops to or below freezing.