What battery do you have under your hood?

[phrostbyte0311 10+ year member]

Just switched from Yellow Top to an XS Power D3400 and have so far noticed a decent performance bump. Headlights are much brighter too.

 

[ChevyRidinLow]

pcking upa khc2400 nxt week for 140 1 year old, that will b under the hood and im puttin 2 stinger spv44s on the amp with a 270 amp alt. should power 3k watts with no hiccups....currently i have a duralast or some crap, maybe its an energizer im not sure but i just got the car and it had horrible electrical. bad grounds coming out my arse

 

[OptimaJim 10+ year member]

phrsotbyte0311, why do you feel replacing your battery has made your headlights brighter or that your previous battery was responsible for your headlights being dimmer?

Jim McIlvaine

eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.

Optima Batteries - Automobiles and Parts - Milwaukee, WI | Facebook

 

[kramer_212 10+ year member]

Kinetik hc1800, i also have 2 2400s in my trunk

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

 

[akheathen Premium Member]

sorry to dog on your batteries, but i've been running, and many years even standing behind the performance of an optima, since they came out...but plain and simple, i have not seen real severe service reliability. honestly, the best batteries ever for relibility i have seen are the old acdelco batteries. no, it's not over-charging, that kills most of them, and a chrage of 10a overnight can keep them warm enough to keep ticking, but i should not need to do that to a battery. even the wall-mart everstart maxx batteries have kept, or exceeded them.... as a standard, even the cheapest of batteries can be expected to make it through at least 13 full discharge cycles, and maintain charge at sub-zero temps. your batteries are expensive roulette in this matter. i'm evaluating this x2 power as my new battery of choice, and it seems that it may be what will power my show truck in the bed. slightly cheaper, and seems to be doing the "yellow-top" job just fine. i still belive that the specific yellow-top from almost a decade ago out-performed any other single battery i have ever seen, once. but the way i see it, optima has cost me about 3k, including the 3 blown amps that resulted, and i do not have any, as my last yellow-top is finished, as of last month. would be more, if i did not know how to repair electronics. tell me you have made big durability changes, and i may change my mind on current products, perhaps try another. as for right now, i'm looking at how much can be saved and spent on the other goodies. just being blunt here

 

[6thpinned]

Optima is way overhyped, very well marketed, way overrated, WAY overpriced junk. Went through 4 yellow top batteries last year, add to that, a single redtop, and even more in the past. The yellows never saw below 50% DOD, never sat uncharged, never abused. Also had a friend go through 2 blue tops and a red in the same time span. I had bad voltage drop with Optima which made me want to try something different, instead of wasting my $ again and again. We both did some research, came to the conclusion that there is way better AMERICAN made, quality batts out there. Most all options are more robust, in specs, weight, longevity and build quality. I have RELIABLE Deka power now, and the difference is night and day. I will now never recommend an Optima to anyone.

Just throwin this out there...

We did some very heavy load testing on the Sears Diehard Platinum g31, which is in his wifes Jeep now, and it did even better than the g31 Deka's we have. Lil spendy, but MUCH less than XS power, and every bit as good. They are rebadged Odyssey with a slightly shorter warranty. I would recommend the Platinums from my experience if you want the best, and if your budget is tight, go Deka. I'm more than happy with mine.

Sorry Jim, not to thrash the company you work for, but the truth is the truth, and it is what it is.

 

[Sleeklsc 5,000+ posts]

A Big Duralast gold, 1000ca/850cca, dual post.

 

[OptimaJim 10+ year member]

akheathen & 6thpinned, I appreciate your feedback. akheathen, since you live in Alaska, I should mention that fully-charged, our YellowTops are only protected from freezing down to -30 degrees. “Fully-charged” is the key to that statement, as many batteries are not fully-charged and when any battery is in a partially-discharged state and exposed to extremely cold temperatures, their protection from freezing and subsequent damage is diminished significantly. While the quality of our batteries has always been excellent, the batteries we are manufacturing today are the best we have ever made.

While I normally recommend that anyone considering a battery purchase closely review the warranty terms and conditions of any battery they are considering, that would be especially true for people using batteries in car audio applications. You can view our warranty here. Some manufacturers have special terms and exclusions, like batteries discharged below a specific voltage level. If you find yourself going through multiple batteries of any brand in a single year, your best option might be the cheapest battery with the longest warranty and the most-liberal return policy.

Jim McIlvaine

eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.

Optima Batteries - Automobiles and Parts - Milwaukee, WI | Facebook

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

Even those companies/stores who were once very liberal on return policy are cracking down. If you over discharge or leave a battery in a low state of charge you are rolling the dice as I have yet to see a lead acid battery not sulfate into really bad condition. I also seen first hand batteries with 7 and 8 year warranties get ONLY a core charge in return for a less than a year old dead battery that was undercharged. That was the loudest non Christmas time argument I have heard at a big box store counter. Also if you do not drive your car often at least disconnect and fully charge up your battery most every modern car has a parasitic drain even when the car is off. It might not be a big deal over a few days but a few days that turn into 60 or 100+ days tend to ruin batteries if not properly cared for.

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

Hello, I noticed your conversation regarding our batteries and wanted to offer some assistance. porksoda, as Imtjnotu suggested, given the electrical demands of your truck, a YellowTop would be a more appropriate choice. An appropriately-sized RedTop will offer plenty of cranking amps, but it is not designed for deep-cycle use, which would include car audio applications. Both batteries do come with three-year, free replacement warranties, while our BlueTops come with two-year, free replacement warranties. Internally, BlueTops are identical to their YellowTops counterparts, except for the 34M BlueTop, which is the marine equivalent of our Group 34 RedTop starting battery.
Since you mentioned the “g” word, I should clarify that Optima batteries are not “gel” batteries, but Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries. They can be treated and charged just like normal lead-acid batteries, but “gel” or even “gel/AGM” charger settings should be avoided, as they may not fully-charge an Optima and could damage it over time. If your truck sits for long periods of time, either a quality maintenance charger or a quick disconnect (for a fully-charged battery) would be a good idea.

Our batteries shouldn't be charged at a rate higher than 10 amps and when any battery swells or vents during charging, it is typically due to overcharging or sulfation that has built up because the battery was deeply-discharged and left sitting in that state for an extended period of time. Many of the “bad” batteries returned to us now are just deeply-discharged and work fine, when properly recharged. My truck starts every day on one such “dead” YellowTop that was returned to us under warranty.

Proper voltage maintenance is the key to long battery life, regardless of manufacturer. When batteries are discharged below 12.4 volts and allowed to sit, sulfation will diminish both performance and lifespan. That makes a quality battery maintainer a good investment for any vehicle that doesn't see regular use or vehicles that may significantly discharge their batteries during use. Fully-charged, our RedTops will measure about 12.6-12.8 volts and our YellowTops will measure about 13.0-13.2 volts. Fully-charged voltage ranges will vary from one manufacturer to the next and some manufacturers will void your warranty if your battery has been discharged below a specific minimum voltage level, so it's a good idea to check that information out before making a purchase. You can read our warranty information here.

Jim McIlvaine

eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.

Optima Batteries - Automobiles and Parts - Milwaukee, WI | Facebook

Simply can-not agree with this statement more. Oh and I run Yellow-Tops, never had a problem with a battery from ANY manufacturer that wasn't due to overly discharging, lack of water, freezing, corrosion ETC I've never had a battery being used and maintained properly have any kind of issues. Sulfication will happen over time but this process is extremely sped up by not keeping the battery properly charged. If you are having that many issues with batteries dieing then it is likely you do not have the proper charging capacity.

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

akheathen & 6thpinned, I appreciate your feedback. akheathen, since you live in Alaska, I should mention that fully-charged, our YellowTops are only protected from freezing down to -30 degrees. “Fully-charged” is the key to that statement, as many batteries are not fully-charged and when any battery is in a partially-discharged state and exposed to extremely cold temperatures, their protection from freezing and subsequent damage is diminished significantly. While the quality of our batteries has always been excellent, the batteries we are manufacturing today are the best we have ever made.
While I normally recommend that anyone considering a battery purchase closely review the warranty terms and conditions of any battery they are considering, that would be especially true for people using batteries in car audio applications. You can view our warranty here. Some manufacturers have special terms and exclusions, like batteries discharged below a specific voltage level. If you find yourself going through multiple batteries of any brand in a single year, your best option might be the cheapest battery with the longest warranty and the most-liberal return policy.

Jim McIlvaine

eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.

Optima Batteries - Automobiles and Parts - Milwaukee, WI | Facebook

Yep, if it is cold outside and your battery isn't fully charged you're gonna see some expansion and your battery will lose some if not all of it's usefulness

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

I had to swap my battery because mine was causing my car not to start. I replaced my OEM with an AutoValue battery because I have a work account there. I paid $85 and no core charge for a battery with 72 month warranty, 720CCA, 860CA, and 100 min reserve.