Optima Battery? Any input
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,619
Likes: 1
From: Salem Oregon
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11
Why buy a foreign made battery while the majority are still made here in the US?From my understanding, the company closed the Colorado plant, and moved the factory to Mexico, so when you buy one of these, you are supporting another country, but if you buy almost any other battery, they are still produced by two major companies here in the US.
I know which one I would buy.
BUY AMERICAN!!!
Laura
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 3,966
Likes: 4
From: Made In America
St. Jude Donor '10-'11
Why buy a foreign made battery while the majority are still made here in the US?From my understanding, the company closed the Colorado plant, and moved the factory to Mexico, so when you buy one of these, you are supporting another country, but if you buy almost any other battery, they are still produced by two major companies here in the US.
I know which one I would buy.
BUY AMERICAN!!!
Laura
What battery do you suggest?
I want an American made one! I will be helping a person feed there family AND get a reliable batter. Can't get better than that.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 313
Likes: 0
From: Macomb MI
I have found out it is more important where you buy your batteries. The link below is about my dealings with Interstate. A lot of folks on this forum recommended Wallmart simply because of their return policy They will replace on the spot with no BS.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...ry-update.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...ry-update.html
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,619
Likes: 1
From: Salem Oregon
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11
From what he has told me, buy the most expensive with the longest shelf life that you can afford.
It doesn't matter if its a walmart, interstate, or ac delco brand as they are all made by the same manufacturer, just different labels.
They are all made the same way in the same plant, by the same process and the same people.
He also said that no matter which one you buy, you could have a bad one pop up in any of the above brands, just like when you purchase a car, sometimes they are just lemons.
A lot of times if you have a lot of trouble with a battery, its after it leaves the manufacturer, as they DO HAVE A SHELF LIFE, and if its one that sits on the shelf for a long period of time, they loose strength.
Laura
200+
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 117
Likes: 0
From: Argyle TX
http://www.odysseybatteries.com/
i run odyssey in everything i own my truck and vette and i promise i am harder on them than most and i have never had a issue with any odyssey product
i run odyssey in everything i own my truck and vette and i promise i am harder on them than most and i have never had a issue with any odyssey product
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,949
Likes: 23
From: Bowling Green KY
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 363
Likes: 8
From: Pikeville KY
Great feed back, I had no idea Optima had outsourced. I was in Hi Perf biz when they came out many years ago and we always had exceptional luck, and used with high end stereo installs. Charged the delco in the car now and it seems like it is still strong. I have a door switch that was allowing interior light to come on. So i pulled fuses and ordered the switch. Battery has not failed in days and shows proper voltage so looks like it is still hanging on. Thanks for the as always excellent input.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,949
Likes: 23
From: Bowling Green KY
You mean if it's already touching? Then yeah - maybe due to tolerances it would touch on some folks cars? No way on my car - so I was surprised to see folks worry about the posts on the Optima touching.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 34,988
Likes: 515
From: Riverside County Southern California
Co-winner 2020 C4 of the Year - Modified
2018 Corvette of Year Finalist
2017 C4 of Year
2016 C7 of Year Finalist
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '20
I used a dremmel and I was done in less than 3 minutes.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 13,685
Likes: 61
In the past eight years I've installed three Red Tops in three Chevrolet vehicles, from 1963to 2004. They were manufactured at two or three year intervals, and not one has needed replacing yet. Purty good in my book.
PS Costco sells 'em everyday for about $130. Once in a while they have a sale around $105, and the shelves are emptied in a couple of days.
PS Costco sells 'em everyday for about $130. Once in a while they have a sale around $105, and the shelves are emptied in a couple of days.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 623
Likes: 0
From: BGM NY
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
I have a red top that I've been running in my '94 for about 4-5 years with no problems. This is the first battery that hasn't left me stranded. All other batteries I've had managed to completely drain a few times a year even when fairly new (1-2 years).
