After 4 months of my old battery slowly dieing it gave up the ghost yesterday morning due to the cold weather. I broke down and bought a Redtop hoping to finally havea good battery and all I can say is WOW! My car fires up and starts immediately. No hesitation, no stalling, no straining in the cold. I'm so glad I spent the money and got one.

 

I just got one yesterday too...

 

How much did you guys pay for your redtops? My battery died yesterday from the cold weather.

 

ill never buy another battery for my car or any other car i own besides an Optima

Ant

 

I got mine from WizzaMax for $90 new.

 

I need to get one pretty soon. I noticed my starting is taking longer then usual. I can't complain though, I am still on the oem battery.

 

you can have mine when I get a Red top. That is if you dont mind cleanign off the blue fuzz once a month. Then again you wont mind since you like blue things dont ya smurfy

 

 

Im surprised you didnt get the Yellow, as its more geared towards audio heads.

 

I thought you guys were ahead of the curve? Exide Select Orbital batteries blow the pants off of Optimas as far as CCA's go, oh, and they look cooler and newer too. Not only that they come in proper sizing!

But for the rest of us $40 to $60 buys the only replacement battery the car will ever need, as long as you don't keep the car over 12 years. After all, the battery is their to start the car, not to look cool.

 

Reactor batteries are the best you can get,there used in fighter planes.

 

I've been working on fighter jets for ten years now and have yet to see anything that looked like a car battery.

 

I paid $109 at Pep Boys for it. I didnt buy the Yellow just because I couldnt afford the extra $50 it costs, plus they didnt have one in stock.
And I'm sure that there are other batteries out there that are just as good, but since mine was dead, and I needed one fast, I chose a brand that I was familiar with and good buy quickly.

 

I just bought a new Optima red top for my 99 SE-L. The old battery had never failed me even on the very cold mornings but it was pretty hesitant on the first couple of turns. Costco had the red tops for $103 and being that my SE-L is the crimson blaze, the red battery looks pretty cool under the hood.

As for the performance, I must say it starts faster now then it did when I bought it brand new. That OEM battery must not have any CCA. I would estimate probably about 500 max. That is pathetic compared to the 910 CA and 720 CCA of the red top. Anyways I am very pleased with my red top purchase. Thanks to the org here for the information I found in the SEARCH to help me make the right choice in buying a battery.

Eric

 

The new red top had its first cold morning here in VA. It was 24 degrees and the car started like it was 90 degress and summer time. Thanks Optima.

 

I was talking about the company ,i wasnt trying to say they put car batteries in planes,i meant you can get the technology from them. www.racingbatteries.com

 

My OEM 7-year old battery died last week and I replaced it with a $65 "Silver" Diehard with 680 CCA, 2 year full replacement warranty, and a 5 year prorated warranty. The car starts instantly in 10-20 degree weather. The Optima might look cool to some (not me) and it will out live a liquid-based battery, but that's it. My Diehard fits exactly like OEM and I can use the battery cover.


Dave

 

Its been 12-18 degrees in NYC, and Yellow Top starts car up fine, never any problems, for 2 years now.

 

I hear ya Dave. I have used Diehard in most everything else I have owned. It is truly a great battery. I had a $20 gift certificate from Costco that I had to use and the battery seemed like a good time to use it. That cut down on the cost slightly. As for the "fit", my red top came with an adapter for the bottom of the battery and it fit in perfectly. Heightwise at least. Even the OEM did not fully fill up the tray lengthwise. But I got the red top securely mounted using the OEM j-hooks and tray. I guess we both have good cranking power in the cold now.

By the way Dave, you post some informative posts here on the org. Thanks for your patronage.

Eric

PS. Now if Budget will only come out with the Y-pipe for my 1999 SE-L with Cali emissions.

 

Anyone know the CCA an CA of Diehard Gold Battery?

 

i will be buying one soon.. for my crimson blase SE-L too..

 

I just put a 34/34R Redtop in my car last week ... I love to 'evaluate' batteries ...

Now, got to find something to raise the battery a 1/2 inch so the tie-downs will work. Hmm, got to check if custommaxima's tie downs will work on an Optima, perhaps I can just buy new tie-downs instead of finding a 1/2 inch raise.

 

Yeah it is not a bad looking combo. The battery is a brighter red than the car but it has a nice touch.

Sonicdust -- I checked the Diehard Gold. It is massive in CCA. 1000 CA and 850 CCA but unfortunately it is massive in size too. I don't think it will quite fit in the tray. Too long I believe. The Sears web site is hardly helpful though. You may be able to find the Gold in a different size I am not sure. I knew the red top would fit so I got that one.

 

I think you got wrong info man, I already got the Diehard Gold in my car with no fitment problems and I am sure its not no 1000Ca and 850 CCA. Send me the link where you found this info.

 

Dunno about life but aren't the Optima batteries lighter? A good thing when the battery is 1) on the same side as the driver and 2) hung way out in front.

 

You are right bro. I did have the wrong info. That Sears site is so confusing. The ones I saw were at least 11 inches in length which I knew were gonna be too long.

I just called my local Sears here and this is what I found out. The Diehard Gold that fits our vehicle has 640 CCA. I didn't write down the CA but that gives you an idea. The guy said that is about the most CCA we can get in a Diehard that fits.

I hope that helps man.

Later

 

I bought new hold down rods (silver) and trimmed some length off of the non-threaded end and rebent them to fit..worked like a charm and looks better IMHO.

 

I just took a look at my battery and it has 640 CCA, my guess is that the CA is around 840.

 

640 CCA huh? Well at least the Sears technician was right. I can't say much for their website. That should be plenty of CCA for even the coldest of temps. 840 CA is probably a good estimate. My red top has 190 more CA than CCA.

Later

 

I don't know if the Optimas are lighter or not. The Diehard silver battery I got was a bit smaller than my OEM battery. The Silver Diehard is listed as weighing 36lbs where as the stocker weighed 43lbs. When replacing the batteries, the stocker was a bit heavier.

Dave