Battery died today after 4 and half yrs
10-15-2007, 06:52 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Battery died today after 4 and half yrs
Optima or Duralast? I know that the Optimas are good, Duralast at Autozone are much less. Are the Optimas really any better,the specs are about the same as well as the warranty?
10-16-2007, 05:45 AM
#2
Team Owner
Member Since: May 2007
Location: In the woods so F%^$ O&&
Posts: 48,600
Received 245 Likes
on
108 Posts
St. Jude Donor '17-'18-'19
I don't know about the warranty. My Optima was on its very last warranty day after 3 years and I just did a one for one exchange at the local Advance. Free
10-16-2007, 06:22 AM
#3
Instructor
Member Since: Jul 2007
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Battery
Mine died Friday night. After many many phone calls I located an Optima for $165.00 from O'Relly & I felt lucky to get it. Not to many places stock batteries that are Corvette friendly after 7.00 P.M.
10-16-2007, 06:45 AM
#4
Team Owner
Member Since: Jul 2004
Location: NJ
Posts: 24,652
Received 297 Likes
on
94 Posts
St. Jude Donor '05-'08
Optima use to be the best, but then they had a streak of bad batteries and people were getting the same amount of time out of them.
I can attest to that since I bought 2 and they both died rather quickly. The 3rd one I have now seems to be fine though.
I have learned though that AGM batteries need to be used to be effective so on the 3rd battery I have hooked up the battery tender more often while the car sits int he garage.
If you go with the Optima the Red Top is good enough for most cars unless you are powering alot of stereo equipment then the Yellow would be better.
If you want to go with something else then you should look to enclosed batteries so that if there are any problems it will not leak on your computer.
I can attest to that since I bought 2 and they both died rather quickly. The 3rd one I have now seems to be fine though.
I have learned though that AGM batteries need to be used to be effective so on the 3rd battery I have hooked up the battery tender more often while the car sits int he garage.
If you go with the Optima the Red Top is good enough for most cars unless you are powering alot of stereo equipment then the Yellow would be better.
If you want to go with something else then you should look to enclosed batteries so that if there are any problems it will not leak on your computer.
10-16-2007, 08:00 AM
#6
My O4 was built in July of 03 and the Delco has been trouble free on the car. I don't drive it as a daily driver which does not help it but it has done well so far. When the time comes I will go back to Delco again.
10-16-2007, 08:47 AM
#7
Melting Slicks
My '04 was built in Oct. '03 and purchased in May '04. My battery died last month. I went back to the original Delco at a $115 replacement cost. The dealer stated that if it had died in May under the 3yr/36,000 mile warranty it would have been replaced by GM for free. I'm not unhappy with the Delco's I've had over the years. Then again the '04 uses a top post battery as have my other cars.
10-16-2007, 12:35 PM
#8
Administrator
Member Since: Mar 2001
Location: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
Posts: 342,953
Received 19,293 Likes
on
13,966 Posts
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-
'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
I can't complain about how my Optima Red Top has performed. It is 6 years old and still going strong. I do keep a battery tender on it which may help.
10-16-2007, 12:50 PM
#9
I've got the Exide Orbital, from our local NAPA store. Quite a bit less money, works well. Put one in my wife's Grand Prix, just this week.
The specs and info I've seen indicate that the Optimas are a bit lighter, but the Orbitals put out a bit more power. I can attest that the Grand Prix turns over noticeably faster, and I have less electrical gremlins in the Corvette. But the Grand Prix' battery was nearly four years old (car's a 2004), and the one in the Corvette was probably a bit light for the application, as these cars have a lot of electrical goodies.
Odyssey makes one I've read good reviews on, but it's expensive and not sized to fit. Light weight, meant for racing/performance apps. The reviews I'd read indicated you put it in an aluminum frame or box, and that clamped into the car.
The Orbital price is up a bit - paid about $130 for the one for my wife's car - but I tend to stay with what's worked for me. You can probably get either Orbital or Optima online cheaper. Might check with Gene Culley to see if he has the Delco AGM in stock or available, as well.
The specs and info I've seen indicate that the Optimas are a bit lighter, but the Orbitals put out a bit more power. I can attest that the Grand Prix turns over noticeably faster, and I have less electrical gremlins in the Corvette. But the Grand Prix' battery was nearly four years old (car's a 2004), and the one in the Corvette was probably a bit light for the application, as these cars have a lot of electrical goodies.
Odyssey makes one I've read good reviews on, but it's expensive and not sized to fit. Light weight, meant for racing/performance apps. The reviews I'd read indicated you put it in an aluminum frame or box, and that clamped into the car.
The Orbital price is up a bit - paid about $130 for the one for my wife's car - but I tend to stay with what's worked for me. You can probably get either Orbital or Optima online cheaper. Might check with Gene Culley to see if he has the Delco AGM in stock or available, as well.
10-16-2007, 01:14 PM
#11
Race Director
Member Since: Jul 2004
Location: Downers Grove IL
Posts: 10,295
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes
on
2 Posts
St. Jude Donor '15
After reading about the problems with the Optima, I bought a Duralast. So far it's been just fine. Plus you can peel the ugly sticker off of the top so the battery becomes a little less obtrusive.
10-16-2007, 03:25 PM
#12
Tech Contributor
Member Since: Dec 2003
Location: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
Posts: 19,384
Likes: 0
Received 79 Likes
on
61 Posts
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
I'd agree with those comments
Best advice I could give is an Optima (no leaks) and a battery tender (no premature failures). Red Tops dont like to be discharged but aYellow Top may do better.
Best advice I could give is an Optima (no leaks) and a battery tender (no premature failures). Red Tops dont like to be discharged but aYellow Top may do better.
10-16-2007, 03:47 PM
#13
Race Director
My OEM AC Delco is going on 6.5 years old! The best non-lead acid battery right now is the Sears Platinum battery, but for half the price ($90), you can get a new and improved (much more durable) AC Delco lead acid battery (Professional series) + an acid mat at Ecklers. That battery has the best free-replacement warranty in the industry at 50 months.