Just for general discussion: I see a lot of posts about how great the Optima battery is. For daily and recreational driving (not racing), what's the advantage of buying an Optima battery with a 3 year warranty, for $165.00 as opposed to just buying an Interstate, etc., with a 6-7 yr warranty for $60-$70 ?

 

Ok, First of allIts a Gel type battery meaning it wont leak down through the batter box and onto your BCM which is directly under the battery box

Secondly, your shopping in the wrong place I bought my RedTop at Costco for 99 bucks. it is well worth the peace of mind to spend the extra 30 or 40 bucks...IMHO

 

 

Can I assume that the 7-year rated AC Delco battery that was fitted to my car in 2002 should be removed and replaced as soon as possible? Or were the leaking problems confined to earlier year batteries?

 

I agree as well. That being said, the Optima will be more likely to leave you stranded than others unless you regularly drive the car. Yuo can't leave an optima laying around forever. I checked mine out before buying, and if I don't drive for 10 days it'll be dead every time.

 

Buy the Interstate and save the money. It will last longer. The leak issue was cleared up with the 2002 model year. There are over 16 million cars sold every year that don't have Gel types. A modern battery is so unlikely to leak, it's not worth the worry.

 

There are people here on this forum who have had battery leaks, even TINY acid vapor leaks, and have suffered severe damage to wires and the Body Control Module computer, which is just under the battery. You many NEVER have a problem, but if you do, its really expensive to fix, and that is why I converted to an Optima early in my Corvette ownership.Risk avoidance. The Interstate battery the pervious owner installed, and that I pulled out, was only 18 months old according to the date punch-outs. It was giving me trouble with charge retention and uneven voltage so it had to go. I was not interested in replacing it with another Interstate, even if free or low cost.

It is my personal opinion that if you wish to use a liquid elecrolyte battery in a C5, the battery cables should be changed to fit a top-terminal battery, rather that side-terminal type, which are more prone to leak. I have a '98 that has the cables for side terminals....I am told that later C5s have longer cables terminated for top terminal batteries, but I have not confirmed this. Anyone who knows should chime in here now.....

 

i got my optima for like 100 bucks....

 

Swtiched out origional from my 98 - with the red top/

Did you know they make fake battery tops for the "red top" -- you can get one to look like gramps battery from the 50's -

 

For the record the Optima is Not a Gel type battery. It is a Spiral Cell design that utilizes Lead Acid just like the Delco. It will be much less prone to leaks than traditional Lead acid batteries, but it is not a gel. That is popular mis-information found everywhere here on the forum. That's what I though as well and was corrected. It can leak and under the right circumstances, will leak. With that said, I have never had a problem with Optima Red Top's and will continue to use them in my car. I have let the car sit all winter without a trickle charger and it started just fine in the spring so I'm not sure why the other poster has had this issue but it is the exception, not the rule.

As far as the price I agree with corvettebob, you are shopping in the wrong place. I paid $99 for my Redtop. Here is a link to the Optima FAQ so you can reach your own conclusions.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publi...ology/faq.html

Paul

 

First of all----they're not all that great. If you do some searching, you'll find many members (myself included) who have complained about premature cell failure w/ Optima batteries. Me, I wouldn't have one if you gave it to me free.

After 3 of these duds failing on me, I bought a Sears Diehard Gold battery... I've bought car batteries for many, many years. I've never experienced battery failure as I had w/ the Red Tops.

 

Optima is not a gel battery. Neither is the Exide Orbital. They are both AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries, as is the Delco utilized by GM from 2001 - 2003. The Delco AGM was discontinued due to complaints of premature failures, and a conventional top terminal lead acid Delco was used in 2004. As Paul and Jennifer indicated, the top terminal batteries were less prone to leaks.

This is a topic that has literally had hundreds of discussions - and the search will reveal most of them - search for BATTERIES or OPTIMA.

Also - both Optima and Excide have very robust and informative web sites that explain the differences between batteries and why their AGM design is desireable. You also might try a GOOGLE search on absorbed glass mat batteries.

Those of you that want to use an Interstate or a Die Hard - just remember that they are conventional lead acid batteries. They might have a longer warranty, but if it leaks, I doubt if your two or three or four years of extra warranty are going to do anything for you on your damaged PCM or wiring harness. Here's a pic of what's underneath the battery.



That silver colored thing on edge that looks like a laptop is the PCM. The black thing with the shielding is the wiring harness. Notice that it sits right under the battery tray. If your Interstate or Die Hard leaks, it's going to drip right on these things. Buy the battery that makes you feel safe and secure - I did. I bought an Optima.

I might add that I've had my optima over two years and it has been totally trouble free. Another interesting item to note that most of the battery problems with the side terminals can be traced back to overtightening the bolt that holds the terminal.

Oh yeah - Interstate does not own Optima. Johnson Controls owns both of them.

 

Red Topsd going bad quickly may be the exception, but just search for "optima" here or on any and you'll find MANY stories of guys who have issues with poor charge retention. I just purchased it for weight reduction.

 

I have an early 2001, built in June of 2000. The 2001 models were the first year that GM installed the Delco Absorbed Glass Mat Battery (AGM). My car came with the AGM battery. For the first 4 1/2 years I owned the car, it was not a daily driver. I kept the battery connected to a Battery Tender most of the time the car was parked in my garage. I never had a problem with the original Delco AGM battery.

That being said, be advised that there are many computers in the Corvettes that are running all the time. The owners manual advise you to disconnect the battery if the car is going to sit for 21 days or longer without being driven. Instead of disconnecting the battery, I used a Battery Tender to keep my battery fully charged.

We were going to be moving to Florida last June. A friend of mine that lives in Florida and also owns a 2001 Vette told me that the summer heat in Florida in rough on battery life. Therefore, since my Delco was 4 1/2 years old, I decided to replace it before our move, even though it always worked just fine.

After a lot of research on this and other forums, I replaced the Delco with an Optima Red Top 34/78. I had planned to purchase it from Sears because thay have stores all over the country. However, my local Sears was out of stock, so I purchased the Optima from a local autoparts store that also sells Interstate batteries.

My Corvette is now sort of a daily driver. It usually gets driven 2 or 3 times a week, some short trips and a few 25-30 mile drives. In August, when the Optima was only 3 months old, I started having battery troubles. I had my car and battery tested at a Sears Automotive shop and the battery tested defective, but since I did not buy it from Sears they would not replace it. After several calls to Optima, they had me take the battery to an Interstate distributor, 30 miles away, who also distributes Optimas (I think Optima may be owned by Interstate). The distributor would not replace the battery based on the test done at Sears. They said that they had to test it for three days. After 3 days, they called me and said my battery was good - it only need a long slow charge.

I picked up my Optima battery and reinstalled it. After about 10 days I began having starting trouble again. I went back to keeping the Battery Tender connected whenever the car was parked. Finally, one day the car would not start immediately after disconnecting the Battery Tender. The battery just would not hold a charge.

Another call to Optima Customer Service. This time they asked me to take the battery to a local auto parts store that sold Optimas and have it tested again and get a copy of the test results. The battery again tested defective. I told them that I was not going to drive 30 miles each way to the Interstate distributor and again wait for three days for another test. I had already driven 120 miles and wound up with my same defective battery.

I faxed them a copy of the test results and they agreed to ship me a new battery, but that would have taken a week or more for it to arrive. After more discussion they finally arranged for me exchange mine for a new battery at no charge at a Batteries Plus Store.

Some of you might ask (my wife also asked) why I did not just give up and buy another battery. Well, I paid $140, including tax for my Optima and I was not going to give Optima or the Interstate distributor the satisfaction of screwing me by selling me a battery that failed in 3 months and not replacing it under warranty. It was a matter of principle.

So far the replacement Optima is working just fine. I doubt that I will ever buy another Optima battery. However, if I do change my mind and decide to give Optima another try, I will buy it at Sears. They stand behind the products they sell.

If you plan to buy an Optima over the internet, be sure to find out all the details as to how to have the battery replaced if it fails under warranty. You should not have to go through the hassles I went through to get my defective battery replaced.

 

That's why you spend an extra $10 and buy the YELLOW top - should be standard for all vetts.

 

The Red Top should not be that high. Got mine for $109 shipped. Shop elsewhere. And, the peace of mind knowing that it doesn't leak is worth a fortune.

 

The OEM battery in my '00 lasted until 11/05. I went with an Optima Red Top from Costco for $109. If it lasts then I made the right decision. If it doesn't, then I'll know better next time. Lots of other things to worry about in life.

 

2 cents - i just bought another optima for my 92! i even had to midify my cruise contol bracket to get it to fit!

i have optimas in ALL my vehicles - the reason - well i live in Arizona - and we all know how heat kills a battery - you'd be lucky to get 2 years out of a battery here in AZ - that being said, i had the optima in my truck for 7 years - and i had run it dead several times cuz i'm an idiot and left my lights on and such - with a jump, and my 50 mile commute home, the battery was charged and ready to go and started up under its own power - no external charger necessary.

not to mention - on any vehicle i have had an optima, i have never had to replace a battery cable due to corrosion (that green powdery substance that overtakes the positive cable on conventional lead acid batteries) - i had to replace a battery cable on my mustang due to corrosion - $200+ for a cable - dealer only item -
so with that in mind - ask again what battery i swear by!

and as mentioned - buy them at costco - i paid i think $109 just 2 days ago for a red top!

 

Get an Exide they call the Orbital. They have a WAY better warranty and cost less. I went through a couple Optima and am not a fan at all. The exide has lasted a couple years and not one problem. I have one in my truck that has been there for 5 years and is still fine.

 

FYI I had a 1995 Bonneville that the DELCO battery leaked acid while under warrenty. I use an Excide AGM in my C5.