Well, my Optima red top went south on me yesterday.
The battery guy couldn't believe it was over 5 years old. He said he rarely sees one more than 3 years old.
I told him I use a Battery Tender religiously, and as expensive as they are, they ought to outlive cockroaches.
We'll see...

 

Mine went 7 years before it died.

 

Optimas change mfgs a few years back and suck now... I'm on my 3rd just because they keep giving me a new one under warranty.

All this working on my car wasn't good for it and it's barely start tonight. I have it on a slow charge tongiht and will see if it helps.

 

I have a standard battery on my 78 and I keep a battery conditioner attached most of the time. You probably wont believe me, but I have owned the car and battery for ten years.

 

Optima stands for:

Over
Priced
Trash
In
My
Automobile



Save your money and get a Delco or Napa.

 

not much ambiguity there

 

I believe they are now marketed with Energizer...
just the thought of that pink bunny under my hood gives me the shudders...

 

The red top in my last car was 6.5 years old when I sold the car and was still providing good service. I too kept it on a battery tender when the car was sitting in the garage.

 

 

I've got 4 years and going strong, with no problems on my Red Top. In the winter when stored I keep it on a Battery Tender, but not in the summer and occasionally in the summer it will go 3 weeks or more without being started and it fires right up. I'm completely happy and when it finally does quit, I'll buy another.

Bashing Optima batteries seem like a pretty popular thing to do on this forum. It seem that you either love them or hate them, and there isn't always 1st hand knowledge that leads to these conclusions. I see many people post, "they're junk, my friend had one and it died in X months and they gave him 2 or 3 more in the next X number of months. They are garbage don't waste your money"

I think they're great batteries, but you cannot let them sit to long (it depends on the car and how much current draw you have when the car isn't being used, for alarms, memory ect. but in general I'd say 3 or 4 weeks) without a charge or you will have problems with the Optima batteries. Just keep them on a float charger when not being used, and start the car every couple of weeks when not on the charger and you won't have any problems.

 

I hear what you're saying . . . but if a battery can't hold a charge for 3-4 weeks, is marketed to be better than lead acid, AND costs more - than it should come with it's own freakin' trickle charger - AND instructions for the user for the absolute NEED to use said charger. Mine went south in only 11 months. It's a piece of ****. Period.

 

Mine also went over 7 yrs. guess it goes by how many times you use it

 

My first hand knowledge is:

I used them and they died premature

I guess it is hit or miss or the luck of the draw

 

with all the comments. You need to know what use you're going to make of your Vette. If you dont look after a Red Top (an AGM battery) the drain from the C5 will kill it without regular use.

For a DD, use any battery. For a weekend car: dont use an AGM. Anyone with an old AC Delco lead acid battery, change it NOW because they will leak.

 

For $99, the AC Delco Professional battery (7YR) is one of the best out there. It has a 50 minth FREE replacement warranty - best in the business).
Yes, AC Delco stopped selling AGM batteries because they cannot sit for as long as a lead acid battery can, without dying a premature death. Yellow Tops can sit and be (deep) recharged, but you won't get 6+ years out of one. BTW, leakage of lead acid batteries, even side-terminal versions is a thing of the past. Their cases have been significantly strengthened, especially at the terminals.

 

Ok, well when my Red Top took a steamy dump, I put my ACDelco back in. ( Sat for 11 months, and started the car right back up, BTW ) Assuming I don't have the original battery from 1998, is there a way I could tell if I have an updated design?

 

Its the pre 2001 batteries made by Delphi that are the problem batteries. Most manufactured after that date are OK.

Corvette Forum Member timd38 pointed out that “The [early] AC Delco batteries were made by Delphi, thus the leak issue. Since that time Delphi abandoned the battery business and they are now made to GM specification by Johnson Controls. You can tell the new one ones because they have a different cover on the battery that has service caps that are not to be opened.”

Overtightening the side post terminals is normally what cracks the case and causes the leak.

In the case of my AC Delco (on the Camaro) there was no obvious reason as it leaked around the base and it hadn't been over clamped. I guess it was 6 years old and just gave up the ghost. At least I caught it before it dumped acid on the car. The 02 AC delco on the Vert just died after 8 months without warning.

My Red Top sat on a ship en route for England for 8 weeks so I knew what killed that.

 

^ Cool, thanks. I'll check it out.

 

I bought my 04 new in Jan of 04, by June of 04 the Delco it came with would no longer hold a charge, and there are numerous documented cases of Delco's leaking and ruining the computer below it, so using your logic "Delco's are a piece of ****. Period." But seriously Delco has made some bad batteries, but to label all Delco batteries as pieces of **** is a little rediculous and Optima has made some batteries that have died prematurly, I sure every battery manufacture out there has produced some batteries that died prematurly but I would be willing to bet that most problems with the Optima red top is caused by allowing it to discharge to much. The red top is designed to be able to take more abuse (vibration ect.) than other batteries, and because it is an AGM battery it is less likely to leak than a normal battery (the reason I bought it) The Yellow Top is designed to go longer periods without charge and to be able to take deep discharges (this battery is more suited to a Corvette that is not a DD than the red top), but will not last as long as a red top. As I said in my first post when my red top does quit on my I'll buy another Optima, but it will probably be a yellow top. I don't know for sure, I pretty happy with the red top. Michigan is pretty hard on batteries, many days below freezing in the winter (there are usually a couple of weeks of below zero weather) and then you have the summer days of 90 and above. So if you get more than 5 years out of a battery you are doing good. I've got over 4 years and it shows no signs of becoming weak.

 

Guess who makes the Optima along with several other batteries?

Johnson Controls!

The Optima has never been marketed as a better battery other than to say that the case is more impact resistant, and as an AGM battery, can be installed in almost any position, as it will not spill.

I agree with Dee Gee in his first post - AGM batteries do not like being left to slowly discharge. I got three years out of my first one, and when it began to show signs that it wouldn't hold a charge, Costco gave me a free replacement....no questions asked.

Since my car is not really a daily driver, I put it on a CTEK charger when it is going to sit for a couple of days. I live in the Desert Southwest. Heat is the biggest enemy of any battery, regardless of whether it's an AGM or a traditional lead acid battery. Couple that with the high underhood temperatures on a Corvette, and you get a formula for premature failure.