i have 4 and the oldest one is 4 years old and the other 3 are 2 years old no problems at all 
Thinking about an Optima...DON'T!
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 54,204
Likes: 180
From: S.W. Ohio. . . . . . NRA Life Member
What happened to the Optimas??? When I first started on CF... they were the rave and everyone was having good luck with them.
Then around 2004 they started dropping like dead flies. Most people weren't all that concerned as the warranty was great. But if the warranty has changed making it more difficult to get one replaced - then they just shot themselves in the foot... during a time of bad reports.
I purchased their competitors spiral-wound battery (Exide Orbital) and it's been as flawless as the Optimas once were.
Then around 2004 they started dropping like dead flies. Most people weren't all that concerned as the warranty was great. But if the warranty has changed making it more difficult to get one replaced - then they just shot themselves in the foot... during a time of bad reports.
I purchased their competitors spiral-wound battery (Exide Orbital) and it's been as flawless as the Optimas once were.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 10,554
Likes: 33
From: Not on either liberal coast.
My longest lasting OPTIMA red top was 7 years, always on a BATTERY TENDER PLUS during prolonged storage. The new owner of that car said the battery was still going strong 2 years later. I gave him the BATTERY TENDER PLUS when he bought the car. 
Three of our four vehicles have OPTIMA batteries in them now. My Z16 is always on a BATTERY TENDER PLUS, the other two are daily drivers. When the DELCO is 4 years old on my '07 Silverado LTZ crew cab, it'll get an OPTIMA no matter what.
There's to much electronics in the new vehicles for any battery to be expected to stay fully charged unless driven daily or maintained on a charger.
Three of our four vehicles have OPTIMA batteries in them now. My Z16 is always on a BATTERY TENDER PLUS, the other two are daily drivers. When the DELCO is 4 years old on my '07 Silverado LTZ crew cab, it'll get an OPTIMA no matter what.
There's to much electronics in the new vehicles for any battery to be expected to stay fully charged unless driven daily or maintained on a charger.
Lifetime Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 10,702
Likes: 76
From: New Jersey
St. Jude Donor '05, '12-'13, '15-'16, '21
I got to agree. I read all the good comments about the Optima and bought a yellow top, due to the amount of time my C5 spends in storage. Huge disappointment.....I had problems even keeping the Optima charged with a Battery Tender.
Went with the Sears Platinum....pricey but again, given my storage needs I went that route.
Went with the Sears Platinum....pricey but again, given my storage needs I went that route.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 238
Likes: 0
From: Buckeye/ Glendale AZ
I was having problem with different batteries while in Alaska due to the cold starts and running aux power lights. Once I got my redtop all the problems went away. I have had nothing but luck with them. 
I probably will buy one again.
I probably will buy one again.
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Instructor
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 122
Likes: 0
From: Forest Park Illinois
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 23,283
Likes: 906
From: Lake Elsinore, CA
Two Redtops here - one in each vette. Mine is going on 7 years but is always on a tender since it's my weekender and doesn't get driven much. I put one in the wife's C5 las t year shortly after buying the car used and it's second almost-new AC Delco AGM died. The Optima hasn't missed a beat and the car is not driven daily but often.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,369
Likes: 73
From: The line waiting to see Santa Claus stretched all the way back to Terre Haute, and I was at the end, Indiana
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18
I've found that Optimas are either crap or great, no in between.
I needed to replace the OEM on my 99 in June '03. I had access to Optima batteries through our battery distributor and ordered one. Within two weeks, it failed. They tried to give us a hard time about replacing it, but since we bought massive amounts of motorcycle batteries from them, they went ahead and swapped it. That battery is almost 5 years old and still working great. Also, if they get fully discharged, they don't recover well, so I keep mine on a Battery Tender religiously.
I needed to replace the OEM on my 99 in June '03. I had access to Optima batteries through our battery distributor and ordered one. Within two weeks, it failed. They tried to give us a hard time about replacing it, but since we bought massive amounts of motorcycle batteries from them, they went ahead and swapped it. That battery is almost 5 years old and still working great. Also, if they get fully discharged, they don't recover well, so I keep mine on a Battery Tender religiously.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,118
Likes: 0
From: Chesterfield MO
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10,'13-'14
[QUOTE=SinghZvette;1564333275]Since you will be shelling $$s to buy a Delco and losing $$s on the Optima, it would be wise to shell some more $$s and invest in a battery tender. The $70 I invested in a battery tender is paying for itself each year.[/QUOT
I use this for $15.00 no problems..
http://www.lectriclimited.com/battery-butler.htm
I use this for $15.00 no problems..
http://www.lectriclimited.com/battery-butler.htm
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,898
Likes: 0
From: Oklahoma City Oklahoma
I'm on my third Optima Red Top in as many months. I've had my car tested for issues, and found nothing. The vendor is very good with replacing them, but I''ll not be getting another one. If this one fails, it's back to Interstate or Die Hard for me.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,564
Likes: 4
From: Brookfield Wisconsin
Red Top Optimas are only for cars that are daily driven. Yellow Top Optimas are recommended for Garage queens that are not driven regularly.
When I was in the Delorean world we had this issue too. Many owners that had Garage Queens kept having dead red tops while the daily drivers never had a single issue.
Your answers are here. It is not the batterys fault 99% of the time, it is the owner who bought the wrong battery.
Taken off Optima's site....
http://www.optimabatteries.com/disco...motive_q11.php
It is necessary to consider both the application and the charging system before considering which is the correct OPTIMA battery for you. For example, if you have a Ford Expedition with an aftermarket alarm system and you drive the car every day, the OPTIMA RedTop would be the correct choice since the amperage drain will be nominal and the battery would be recharged on a daily basis. However, if you store the vehicle for long periods of time with the alarm system engaged, you should use an OPTIMA YellowTop since the amperage drain over several weeks would damage a RedTop and reduce its life.
When I was in the Delorean world we had this issue too. Many owners that had Garage Queens kept having dead red tops while the daily drivers never had a single issue.
Your answers are here. It is not the batterys fault 99% of the time, it is the owner who bought the wrong battery.
Taken off Optima's site....
http://www.optimabatteries.com/disco...motive_q11.php
It is necessary to consider both the application and the charging system before considering which is the correct OPTIMA battery for you. For example, if you have a Ford Expedition with an aftermarket alarm system and you drive the car every day, the OPTIMA RedTop would be the correct choice since the amperage drain will be nominal and the battery would be recharged on a daily basis. However, if you store the vehicle for long periods of time with the alarm system engaged, you should use an OPTIMA YellowTop since the amperage drain over several weeks would damage a RedTop and reduce its life.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 4,487
Likes: 5
From: Naples Florida
Don't buy a Delco! I bought a new one and it started the car twic`e and that was it. No good. I have a red top now and really have got good service from it. If you go to the drag strip and look under the hood or trunk it seems like 90% of the cars run Optima's