7SpringsMisfit

yellow top FTW!

John64

From my pic above. Thats for the whole car and stereo system.

sly-sa22c

im running an oddyssey bat atm (need to have dry cell cos its in car) and its farkin ****. upgrading to a yellowtop as soon as i have the funds. i have mates who work at a car audio shop that deals in optima so mad mates rates for me!

(they used to deal in oddyssey and the reckoned he got about 3/5 back with dead cells.. very **** and very overpriced)

OneRotor

iTrader: (3)

I had a red top in my FB, and the damn thing died within 6 months of owning it. Took it back to the Murray's that I bought it from and they said that they stopped carrying them because they were getting more bad batches than good batches from Optima. I got another deep cycle gel cell from them (I can't remember who makes it), but it's much, much better than the Optima.

steve84GS TII

Back before the Optimas got really mainstream,I tried a dry cell Hawker Odyssey battery in the RX.It wasnt one of those tiny little ones,but it was 20-30% smaller than an Optima.Was suppossed to be rated pretty high in amps and storage sitting capacity.......didnt even last a year.
Seemed odd since they have been around a while too, and seem to be well enough respected,especially since the millitary uses them.
But still,the Optima's track record and warantee speaks for itself.

mikewoodkozar

Just an FYI, check craigslist, you can find them locally on the cheap all the time

bugman1973

i haven't had a problem out of mine yet at all. still perfect charge on it. i guess i just got lucky or something and i got a 7 year warranty on it.

BlackWorksInc

Hype? What hype? :wconfused

I am going to nab a Red Top from Costco when I allocate some spending cash.

I was under the impression that the Optima Batteries were AGM Batteries with rolled cells not Gel Type...

steve84GS TII

They are not gel.
They use rolled cells and recumbent gas sealing to recapture vapors.Although there is liquid acid,its held within the pourus lead plates instead of just sloshing around.

dbragg

iTrader: (7)

i know when we test them at advance we have to set the machine to AGM

rearviewmirror

Odyssey > Optima

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/

Odyssey batteries are the real deal. Sorry to keep raining on the Optima parade, but it's unfortunate what I've learned about them in the past 5 years. They do have great marketing though. I love all the stories about how people's cars start because they have an Optima, I'd bet ya a $50 Sears battery would perform exactly the same, and the Sears battery will have a longer warranty. (BTW, you can swap any brand name with Sears, I just used them as an example.) The only review you can find on-line that says Optima is better is the Optima website itself, nowhere else is there such a comparison. Again, no need to flame, I've done my homework on this for years, I'm just stating my opinion. I don't flame people for liking Optima so much, so there's no need to flame me for not liking them.

mar3

iTrader: (8)

...the problem is that you've 'researched' for years, found no 'on-line' reviews yet can say that another battery is better without any direct comparisons and also say that the Optima is hype without any reviews....so what is it based on? Hearsay? What is your first person experience with the Optima line? THIS is the problem with your 'testimony' and opinion, the 'research' aspect.

How could your 'research' possibly have missed the Car Craft comparo? At the very beginning when Optima was trying to get their word out, that magazine took all of the aftermarket batteries that racers and street machiners were using for a direct comparison. The Optima by design and innovative, cutting edge thinking placed high in the pack. They, too, had problems with the cost, but CC has always tried to maintain a low buck attitude after the Dobbertin days.

And now, you can add all of this to your 'research' if that 'research' was truly objective...put 'em in the WIN column... I put the last two quotes out of sequence because of something I experienced first hand with the 'Odyssey' type battery. At the time I got one, it was called a Black Panther battery (yes, I'm that old...lol) before they sold out to Odyssey. It looked EXACTLY like this but the case was black except for the top and label...

Battery pic link from Jeg's, a preferred supplier for CBird's mainstream parts...

Even way back when, these were expensive batteries...strengths? First of the non-gassing batteries with any guts besides the ultra-expensive high end car audio batteries at that size, so it was perfect for a stereo battery for the RX-7. I got one, installed it in the bin but never got around to running a battery splitter, so it basically got charged every week to run the Orion 4 channel amplifier. It would last about a week and then it started getting shorter and shorter time intervals until it simply wouldn't hold a charge and became a new doorstop after 8 months. I got a yellow top Optima from 'Hollywood' (aka. SingleTurboRx7...) that was reconditioned and then that Optima battery went into the RX-7 to endure the same routine...I destroyed that car altogether in May 2003 and then that same Optima battery from the crash went into my '68 'vert Firebird where it resides today...even after not having run for a year and a half (I really need to start cracking on Bryon at Sputnic Motorsports to finish my car.....), there's no doubt in my mind that yellow top will spin the 400 until it cranks back to life.

Mind you, all of the above testimonials were on this ONE THREAD on this ONE website...there is no doubt in my mind that this type of thread exists in every car forum now on the Internet...how could you possibly have missed all of that 'researching'? TRUE scientific research is objective. You put an idea together, you research it, you formulate your hypothesis, you test it by seeing if it can be replicated, you LIVE WITH THE RESULTS.

You have your opinion, that's perfectly fine...you don't like Optima or its batteries...but your 'research' backing that opinion is severely flawed and invalid from my simple research proving conclusively from primary resources of first hand experiences that the Optima battery is not all hype.

Worse, from my own personal experience, I abandoned the Odyssey-type battery because it couldn't get the job done. That experience drove me to the Optima battery folks and I've never wasted my money on another battery company since. Further, a primary source is referenced above of a shop dropping 'oddysey' for very similar reasons.

The reason you're getting flamed is because you're espousing an invalid opinion as FACT claiming 'research' when that 'research' done 'in the past 5 years' seems to have missed a ton of positive info about Optima...I mean, just how valid can any 'research' be when it depends solely on 'on-line' material??...Go on-line, hot dog, and go through all the archived Car Craft articles and add that material to your 'research', I've no desire to dig through my mountain of old Car Crafts trying to find that ancient primary non-on-line material for a scan....ooof...if you truly are objective, you'll find you have been sorely mistaken these 5 long lonely years in the dark...

876portturbo

iTrader: (4)

I rarely start my BP, so my battery does not get charged often. My autozone battery in my pickup just failed from sitting a couple of months. The Optima has never even had a slow start. Performs great even after sitting six months at a time. It looks purty too

mar3

iTrader: (8)

And there's another one from a serious hitter, he's even got a Brian Cain tune on his rex...

bugman1973

^now thats what i call research^

1983GSP

all of this is fine and dandy, but ill stick with my 50.00 battery that i got from autosone thats been through 3 of my cars for the last 5 years. ive never had to jump it off or charge it. proper vehicle maintnence and servicing have kept all of my vehicles running like a top. and for the record, i worked at an elecrtical shop for 2 years fixing electrical problems on all makes of cars. when a battery goes, it goes.

ive seen gel cell, dry cell, wet cell all fail in a solid mount 88 ci harley davidson after only 1 1/2 years. it all has to do with heat, vibration, and how long you discharge/charge it, or treat it. no one battery is greater than another. the sole purpose of a battery is to store enough energy to crank the vehicle when it needs to start. thats it.

all newer vehicles, 88- and up, have a computer that pulls amperage while the vehicle is turned off. if this draw is more than 80 milliamps something is wrong. get it checked. thats why when you let a car sit for an extended period of time (over 3 months) it may or may not start. no battery, i dont care who makes it, can hold a charge with over 80 milliamps of draw for over 1 month. keep in mind , a glove box light pulls 2-3 amps.

choose whatever battery you want. as long as it starts your vehicles, and does its job, what more could you ask for?

BlackWorksInc

Currently I am using Costco Batteries.

They have a 100 Month Warranty no questions asked, my battery dies I go to Costco, "hey My battery is dead, refund?" I get the refund and use it to buy the same battery.

Went through a ton of batteries that way when I had a bad electrical problem.

rearviewmirror

Your comments are far from fact.. but I digress. Don't show me, I LIKE IT.. Show me facts. People love their Kia cars, does that make them better? The facts show otherwise. ^Not so objective either.


Of course they work. But they do not work 3x better than a regular name brand battery to justify 3x the cost.

So yes, you will find people to say they work, of course they work, they wouldn't be in business if they didn't work. But, it's marketing hype that's driven the price to ~$200. My comment on reviews meant real tests, by engineers in labs saying this battery is 3x better than most at 3x the price. No need to make personal comments about me being mistaken, show me the goods. Show me a real un-biased test. Not a paid advertisement in a magazine. Ever wonder why most US publications don't say disparaging remarks about cars? Because those cars being reviewed put up big advertising dollars.

Lastly, we've got 2 generations of engineers in our family, with over 30 years experience in the battery industry. I'm not going to say any more because people obviously have an emotional attachment to their Optima and/or Optima must be paying them to use their product. So again, I put it to you to show me an unbiased review that states with Optima you get 3x the performance over a regular battery. I guarantee you can't, because no lab worth their degrees would put that out there. Think about it, there are products all around us that cost more due to marketing hype. Crown Royal... it costs 3x more than many lesser known brands. Does that make it 3x better? Nope. Again, no need to flame me, these are my thoughts and experience.

John64

^^ Show us your research!

kmonto85

Now you crossed the line. It's one thing to attack batteries and frankly I just switched to the Optima due to various reasons mainly gonna try them to see if they can survive on the RX7 before they go into my K20. HOWEVER, you attacked the smooth and refined Crown Royal. Shame on you. Taste for taste, it's better... You need to go to the penalty box for that comment.

What I do is simple - I research and take in everyone's comments, then if I feel that it's time for a change I purchase said product. If I don't like it, I voice my opinion. Does it work?!? I'd say about 80% of the time. My tastes and the way I think products should work is different then others. Frankly a wrench is a wrench so I buy the cheapest ones possible. However, when it comes to power tools - you truly get what you pay for... I can get a 18V drill for 19.95 or spend much more for a Rigid. Guess what, After building two decks, one 30x40 garage, and a boat house - the Rigid survived and still exists today. The 19.95 version, well - it lasted one day putting down the deck boards around the pool before the motor went limp.

I see that you seem to just buy the cheapest product no matter what anyone else says about that product.

Do you get what you pay for, I'd say about 70% of the time. But the net-net of my post is... I'm tired of having batteries go bye-bye so I'm trying the Optima based on feedback here and other forums. But I don't knock it till I try it...

rearviewmirror

I'm not saying to always go cheap... but there are times when things get priced out of control, more price doesn't always equal a better product. I think the only real advantage of the Optima is the mounting location and it can take a roll over. I don't mean a collision rollover, but more in a rock crawler/off-roader sense. If that feature is worth $100 then maybe the Optima is price correctly. I'm guessing that 100% of the cars on this forum remain upright, on all 4 wheels, and if they're not, I think the least of the worries for the owner is the battery.

smoothrx7

I have a red top that works great. It is very usefull for fresh rebuilds because it turns the engine over much faster.

recklesskru

iTrader: (1)

I didn't really read the past posts but just wanted to give another option for you guys when it comes to batteries.
I have been running a sealed odyssey, I think its an odyssey, I'll have to double check, in my ls1 fd. its probably 3/4 maybe 3/5 the size of a red top and fits in the storage bin behind the seats with out cutting anything. it has not let me down once. starts the v8, no problem everytime. I don't have a crazy sound system or anything and it rarely gets colder than 30 degrees here so I am not sure how that will work out for some of you.
I actually think they use them in those scooters for the elderly. My buddy uses it in his 240sx also.

Just some FYI

Hades12

What about

http://www.kinetikaudio.com/powercells.asp


?

bugman1973

well in this case it is a better product. you are just talking out of a big hole in your rear end. if they were not good batteries people wouldn't pay the price for them. the fact is that they do last longer take more abuse that regular batteries. if i were you I'd forget about this tread and just leave it alone because if you continue one day your going to need help with something and people are going to remember this and not want to help you and i wouldn't blame them. people like you are the reason we have stalkers and murderers. just leave it alone. you did no research admit it. you just wanted to bash something good. and we are not going to take lightly to this.