Need a new battery
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,938
Likes: 498
From: Fords, NJ
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 196
Likes: 0
From: Bardstown KY
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 11,117
Likes: 671
From: SE Pennsylvania
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Oldtimer
Batteries .
The funny thing is that your 2003 came with an AGM battery from the factory! Many folks mistakenly swapped out their AC Delco AGM battery for an Optima during 2001-2003. Luckily, I noticed the AGM designation on my battery. It lasted more than 7 years.
Sometime before 2004 AC Delco switched to Johnson Controls to make their non-AGM batteries. Since then, I have seen more leaky Optima posts in this forum than I have leaky AC Delcos (2004 and newer). And the few other battery manufacturers who make non-AGM batteries have stregnthened their battery cases so that leaky terminals, while rare before, are now almost non-existant.
Guys, the leaky battery scare is long gone. Don't let an old ghost make you spend far more for a battery than you have to.
$63 for a Johnson Controls battery (Kirkland) is all you need to go 5+ years. Now if you are off-roading in a rail or dune buggy, an AGM battery is a no-brainer. Also, if you like run-flats, an AGM may make you feel good as well.
Dee Gee, I never thought I'd see the day!
Sometime before 2004 AC Delco switched to Johnson Controls to make their non-AGM batteries. Since then, I have seen more leaky Optima posts in this forum than I have leaky AC Delcos (2004 and newer). And the few other battery manufacturers who make non-AGM batteries have stregnthened their battery cases so that leaky terminals, while rare before, are now almost non-existant.
Guys, the leaky battery scare is long gone. Don't let an old ghost make you spend far more for a battery than you have to.
$63 for a Johnson Controls battery (Kirkland) is all you need to go 5+ years. Now if you are off-roading in a rail or dune buggy, an AGM battery is a no-brainer. Also, if you like run-flats, an AGM may make you feel good as well.
Dee Gee, I never thought I'd see the day!
Pro
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 536
Likes: 0
From: Beavercreek Ohio
