My die hard 575 ca battery died way to many times. and quick. like leaving my lights on for 15 minutes... so i finally gave in and went out and bought a red top 800ca. ill show my car whos got battery power!

 

how much did you paid for that optima? I got a 750cca generic type from Walmart made by johnson control for $68. I should've brought them while I was in S. Carolina, they sell them for $50 over there. It seems like a very high quality battery. It was built on the same month I purchased and works great. No problem for closed to a year now. My last one came from Napa was probably made my Exide and it only last around 4 years. What a POS.

 

O yea its a def a POS if it only lasts for 4 years and most only last for 2-3.

I haven't had a car/battery more then a year so far lol. But Im going to buy a brand new optima for my 240sx or maxima soon.

~Alex

 

So you bought a battery....And started a thread about it?

 

Pff, you dont impress me with your new battery!

See Timing/Idle Adjust Video thread and be impressed

 

The stock battery in my QX4 only lasted 4 years and I replaced it with one from Wal-Mart. It was the only place near where the truck died that had batteries and would install it for free. I was 100 miles from home with no tools on me.

I have a Champion Spiral Cell in the Maxima (similar to an Optima) and it seems to be holding up well. IIRC, the receipt for it was from 2001.

 

sorry jsut really excited. im gunna have the old bat charged and put int he trunk for audio. 2500 watts total running. woot.

 

total power FTL, RMS FTW!!! WOOO extra weight in trunk for extra bass FTL, YES!

 

Johnson Controls makes about 90% of the batteries on the market currently.
I personally run a cheap battery and run it for years with no issues, for what you paid for you optima I can buy 7-10 batteries.
Optima is a massive waste in a street driven car.

 

lol Brian is such a hater, everythings a waste of money! I've had too many cheap batteries not start on me when I had my hondas..thats specufically pointing at cheap idiotzone branded batteries, I must've warrantied that battery soo many times, oh and the g.fs maxipad (scalette) cheap battery is dead and has been since december. I would stick to Optima, DieHard, Interstate, and maybe a couple more out there but thats about it.

 

I have to strongly disagree. First off, 7-10 batteries? If you average battery cost $50-$75 that would mean optimas cost $350-$750?
I did pay $120 for mine 3 years ago, (yellow top) and I can play my radio without the engine running till the battery is completely dead while workig on my car. Then charge it up, without any ill effects, try that with your standard battery. A couple of days ago with temps here in the -10, most people I know are having a hard time cranking over their engines. Mine fires up like its summer time. I also have enough cranking amps to jump a car without my engine on.
Optimas also have the advantage of being mounted in any position (without spilling acid) and dont emit gasses, so you can mount it in your trunk without a special enclosure and hoses. This was the most important aspect for me.

 

my average battery cost is $15-$20 I've bought several for less.
most people aren't that "goofy" to run the car battery dead when working on it. and a battery in any decent shape will take a recharge even from dead.
I've been in the biz long enough to know what I'm talking about, I don't believe the hype surrounding the optima battery. I've talked to the people that do nothing but sell car batteries including the optima, they NEVER recommend it except for in boats and competition vehicles.

 

Well in the case of a $15 battery, its hard to argue with that.
I would agree the red top is useless, but the yellow top can be deep cycled again and again, and while I'm not in the "biz" i can tell you from experience (and EE knowledge) that your standard battery cannot be deep cycled more 10 times before loosing most of its power. Ive probably deep cycled my yellow top close to 70 times and it has as much power today as it did 3 years ago. Again, only a "gel cell" such as the optima can be mounted inside the car without special venting required, which was the main reason I bought one.
For most people an Optima is a waste of money, I agree with you 100% Brian. But for those certain few (such as my "goofy" self) its well worth the money to be able to deep cycle and trunk mount without special precautions.

 

Hey, you dont disrespect my red top Maxpwer!

 

I don't know why you guys would even consider paying twice as much for an optima over standard battery made by Johnson Control cuz JC makes Optima too. JC has the reputation for the being the best of the 3 major battery manufacturers, i.e. JC, Exide, and AC Delco. The only differences I see dry vs acid cells, dry cell has an advantage of not drying up but is it really worth the paying 2x the price? I think not. If high power stereo is your need then you could even get a JC built battery from wallyworld for half the price but twice the cca of an optima, approx 1000cca. I haven't seen those here in CA but back in SC and most southern states, those high cca batteries are very easy to find at those Walmart stores.

 

I don't know man my good friends had a die hard in his old Ford pickup for 11 years and still running. My neighbor had a Die Hard that last 6 years. Of course, Die Hard reputation is going down the drain nowadays but back then they were bad ***. As a matter of fact most batteries I know last an avg of 6-7 years. If yours only lasting 2-3 years then something is wrong. You must be shopping at autojunk store for batteries then? I heard all kinds of bad things about their batteries, even some of the more expensive one too.

 

well as you mentioned, JCI does make most of the batteries in the market so why would I get an optima and not a regular one? Well I think the redtop looks cool in my car, looks sexy with the valve covers and my amp power cable. Anyway yes the SpiraCell technology is cool, nice solid and no spilling like other batteries. I've left my radio on for hours with my woofer on while working on my car or the g.fs and it still turns on perfectly.

Also to mention I got my Optima redtop for 40 bucks which beats overall everything. Thats why I would choose it over any Wallyworld JCI 30000CCA anyday.

 

how in the world did you paid $40 for red top? used? clearance? massive rebates?

 

It was a returned core at my old job, the guy had it for almost 3 years and he wanted to warranty it before his 3 year warranty was over just in case it went bad. As an employee I still got warranty for it and yes I did warranty it when my Bosch alternator overcharged it at 16.75 volts. So technically I got a new $170 redtop in my car. Cant beat that...

 

The fact is most warranties are 2-3 years. Congrats you had one last 4-5. My post was mostly sarcasm BTW. both of them. In fact lots of my posts contain sarcasm.

I also haven't owned a car for more then 12 months. And Ive only bought one battery the entire time. And that was a small $15 used special like brian gets because the max sat around late summer and all fall. I am how ever about to buy an optima or odessy battery since the 240sx will be a track car and the maxima will get something as well, not sure.

Brian tell him what Diehard does with its suppliers.

Oh and one last thing, why go with an optima vs standerd battery. The sealed part is good, and they have much better durability and the actual chemistry is vastly diffrent.

The reasons have been listed please read the ENTIRE thread and its posts. I told some one to do this a few months ago and it was a good chance it was you, IIRC because I looked at that post a few days ago. Im going to have to ask John to dig it up again to see who I replied too.

~Alex

 

I don't get used batteries. I get either reconditioned (rarely) or Blemished batteries

Die hard has an issue of where they are buying the batteries from for that particular batch.

 

I have an optima red top because it came with my car...cant really comment on it otherwise because I hardly have it hooked up since I leave it unhooked while working on the car.

 

again, most batteries I knew last 6-7 years. 4 years was nothing to sneeze about. that's just plain out crap imo. your experience was *sacrastic* so it differs from mine.

....regarding die hard, they suck nowadays. read my last post. Back in the 90s, they were the best but things have changed. I refuse to touch it. I have seen many people returning it under arrantly several times before getting a proper working one. It's almost similar to buying alternators from autozone,i.e. lot of hassles.