I'm about to buy a new battery but something confused me. I bought the car with an Advanced Auto Parts Battery in it and it looks like it's been with the car for several years. I want an Optima Red Top Battery but I noticed that the posts where on opposite ends if I installed the battery the same way the old battery is positioned. If I install the Optima, the positive post is on the bottome where as the Battery thats already in it, is on top. The postive terminal from my car doesn't look like it can move because of the fuses that are connected to it. Don't know if this is a retarded question and if it is, I'm sorry, but do I have to do anything different to install the Optima?

 

Usually they have the same battery model with an 'R' on there for reverse posts (i.e. flipping the positive and the negative terminals around).

 

red ones fail, spend the extra cash and get a yellow top.

 

I have had great success with my red top. I left my fans running for 3 hours one day and when I came back out to my car......what do you know it started right up!!!!

great battery IMO.

-josh

 

Are the yellows being made again?

 

Hey Flynn, I have a yellow top and I think it's great! Got it Costco for like $140 but really any decent battery is fine if you're going to put it in the stock location. I got the regular battery with the default terminal placement, but my car's been modified(long battery cables) to use the regular batteries.

 

I got an 80 dollar red top off of ebay and it has been sitting behind the passenger seat for a year, does everything a battery should no problems.

 

Frankly I haven't seen the advantages of the Optima batteries. Optima primarily makes a "one size fits all" battery without the terminals reversed. Don't try and hack one into the car, it just ends up looking ghetto.

The Duralast batteries from Autozone (ones with the red case) are the Consumer Reports best buy for cost and long life. Get a proper-fitting battery and be done with it.

Dale

 

^ + 1 with Dale...

 

weren't some of the napa batteries also rated very well? IIRC diehard were some of the worst

 

duh, you can shoot it and it won't leak

 

The Optima yellow series is a deep cycle battery, meaning it can be drained and then recharged over and over. If you do this with a normal battery from say Advanced, you'll kill it. The red series is just an extra beefy battery however, IIRC, it's not a deep cycle battery.

 

Never had a regular battery leak. Never drain a battery over and over. So I guess you need to ask yourself why its better?

What I would be more interested in is the weight, is it lighter? Does it last longer? Does it fit without post alignment problems? I guess I just can't get too excited about a battery.

 

It's for people with large stereo systems really. The speakers they put in have such a large draw that it's required. Not really intended for normal every day use.

 

Last I heard Optima Yellow top was discontinued because of all the problems/failures they had. I had purchased one new from Advanced Auto and it failed within the first month. It had a 2-yr warranty but Optima refused to replace the battery and only would offer a full cash refund. I just returned it to the store; by that time they had already pulled the other batteries off the shelf. This goes for the yellow top 51R not sure about other models or the red top.

The parts guy was saying that the red tops are not that great either though due to the number of returns they've had. I just ended up using a regular 51R battery from Interstate Batteries.

 

The Red Tops are extremely heavy. No thanks.

I've been running a Costco brand 51R battery for 3 years now with zero issues, including running the fans for several minutes after shut-down dozens of times. No leaks or other issues even with tracking the car in 100F heat.

It has a 7-year warranty and cost me <$50. I can replace three of them for the cost of an Optima. Not that I would ever have to in the first place.

Oh, and running a TurboJeff 51R battery tray...highly recommended, if Jeff still has any available. Haven't seen him on the forum in months.

 

If you want an upgraded battery go with a Hawker Odyssey dry cell. Not a perfect fit though so expect to do some work. Do a search or visit my site for more on them. As for Red Tops most people don't have problems but you really are paying for the name. I'd sooner do as rynberg suggested.

I got 6 years of use out of my Hawker, which included many complete discharges due to owner stupidity.

 

Oh and while it may not be as asthetically pleasing, if you have any electrical equipment that may drain the battery quicker, you want to get the deep cycle aka yellow top.

~Ramy

 

I have an Optima with an orange top and the poles are reversed. Advanced auto had it in a wharehouse somewhere. Still going strong after two years. Part number is R34-980

Terry7

 

I'm happy that I finally saw a post here that agreed with me on battery choice. I normally just pick up a battery at Advance, Pep Boys, etc. for any vehicle that I need a battery for.

I can see advantages to the other ones, definately. But for normal driving purposes, with the battery in stock location? Hell, you wanna save weight, string together a few 9 volts and try to find the right amperage. The weight of the battery is not negligable, especially when you talk about moving it around in a lightened car. But for a stock car, with stock systems, a Pep Boys/Autozone Battery will serve any purpose you want it to and more. Those companies don't make batteries just to start cars. If so, it would just be a 2 lb, 800 cold cranking amp monster.