Thinking of getting a optima red top battery,looking for something with some serious cold cranking amps.

Who has one and how does it perform?
Would you recommend it?
What else is out there?

Thanks!

 

Optimas used to be loved by the off-road community here in Arizona. Then a few years ago manufacturing was transferred to Mexico and the quality decreased significantly, to the point that almost no one uses them any more. Interstate batteries are recommended for regular flooded acid batteries and Odyssey is the preferred AGM battery.

 

Thanks Fun! Like everything else nowadays quality goes down and the price goes up!

 

I was an Optima Red Top fan until mine crapped out on me. Just went stone cold dead. I do prefer AGM batteries so I'll look into the Odyssey.

I have a question about AGM batteries while I'm here. It's my understanding that all batteries give off hydrogen gas when charging (?). I plan to put this into my trunk on my 66 convertible. Do I need to externally vent this or is mounting it in the trunk in a nice battery tray ok? I'm not a fan of those ugly battery boxes and would prefer not to use them if possible.

 

I put a red top in my truck (1999 Chevy crewcab dually with 454) years ago when the OEM battery died and have been extremely happy with it. The first red top lasted five or six years, and I had to replace it (with another red top) a few years ago. Still no problems. The truck now has over a quarter million miles on it and this is just the third battery in it.

 

I put a red-top in last year and I've been happy with mine.

 

I think I'd find some way to vent it outside the trunk area. Even though not perfectly sealed it IS an enclosed space and H2 will collect in there. One stray spark and kablooie. You're also dealing with hydrogen sulfide which stinks.

Friend at Advance Auto told me flooded lead acid batteries are being phased out and soon AGM are all that will be available. Something to do with a new EPA regulation on lead. Also said one reason battery prices have increased so much is a surcharge the Feds are levying on them- again, to go toward some program for kids exposed to lead.

If an AGM or gel battery is all I can get I suppose I'll have to live with it, but after what a brand new set of supposedly state-of-the-art gel batteries did at the powerplant, I don't trust those things as far I can throw one.

 

I have a red top in my Chevelle since 2009, in the Cutlass since 2010 and in the Impala since 2012. All of them hooked up to the Harbor Freight trickle chargers. None of them had failed me yet.

 

Never bought one previously due to the high premium over regular batteries, but every battery is expensive now. That gap is closing and I will strongly consider one next time.

 

Can you use the factory battery hold down with an optima battery?

 

I want to say up front that I'm not an Optima hater, I have three vehicles with them and the one in the Cutlass has been working fine since 2006 (which is a long time for a battery and almost unheard of here in Arizona where batteries typically last 3-4 years).

Optima used to have (prior to 2009) a 3 year free replacement warranty followed by a 36 month pro-rated warranty. Now it is a 36 month replacement and nothing past that.

I found this out when the Red Top in my Jeep failed a couple years ago (it was 2 years old) and I tried to get a warranty replacement at Costco. The folks at Costco said they had quit carrying them due to many returns and started carrying Interstate instead. Fortunately, they refunded my purchase price and I was able to buy another Red Top from the local auto parts store. So far no issues with it, but as I stated above, so many in the off-road community have had premature failures that Optima has fallen out of favor.

 

Hey fun does the factory hold down work on the Optima's? I have the single clamp on the lower side of the battery..

 

Yes, I am using the factory hold down clamp and it works fine. The Optima is a bit shorter front-to-back than the battery tray by about 1/2" but the clamp is tight enough to prevent any movement.