Optima Batteries

Jasper

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2005
Location
Ophir Township, Uwharrie NF, USA
Red top vs. Yellow top. I've had both. Can't really tell any difference. They both work well enough, I do most of my winch use here on the property. And the thing they have in common is they eventually die.
Is there really any difference between two and is there a better battery?
Need to buy another battery tomorrow, this yellow top is trashed.
 
I stopped buying Optimas about 7-8 years ago(?)... went the whole Exide, DieHard, blah, blah, blah route and have settled on the AGMs from O'reilly (5 year warranty vs. 2 years from the rest)...
 
Just run old cheap duralast batteries now I keep my receipt and in 2 years I go trade it in for nothing.
 
Odyssey FTW.

Also heard good things about the AGMs from Batteries Plus.
 
Red top and yellow top: The difference is that one is a starting battery, and one is a deep cycle battery. Different things for different tasks. If you don't have a reason to need a deep cycle battery, get a starting battery. I've used red tops for years, because I have no reason to use a yellow top.
I probably won't buy another one, with all the other choices on the market.
 
I think the yellow tops last longer. There for a while the optimas went to crap but it sounds like their quality is back now.

FYI, 4wp is going to have a sale on the red tops. I want to say they were $139 on Oct 8th only. Deleted the email.
 
Crawler Nut said:
Blue tops are marine.
Red tops for cranking.
Yellow is Deep cycle.
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Thanks. I got the yellow top because I was running a lot ofor accessories plus a winch. Like I said before I've been rocking it for almost 10 years and I'd buy another. It's lasted through some pretty rough abuse.
 
i haven't been able to keep an optima battery for moe than 2 years...

only good thing about them is i get a free new one every 2 years
 
Blue tops are marine but they also come in light gray and dark gray. One is deep cycle/starting the other is just starting.
 
obullfish said:
Put a red top in my old TJ in 2003 and is still going strong. Put another red top in my truck in 2010 and lasted less than 2 years.
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Mine is a 2001ish model redtop and its still kicking. Though it does now require a refresher charge if the jeep sits more than a month or two.
 
Usually I just buy the biggest thing I can afford at the parts store. But I bought a yellow top from a buddy for $50 for my Bronco, he said he put 3-4 years of use on it. So it's probably 5-6 years old now. But I'm not overly picky when it comes to batteries. My criteria, will it start my vehicle and can I expect it to last for more than a couple years.
 
Hey, it's like hiding WMD's in Iraq. One day (10 or 20 years from now) it will show up. (and still have under 100k miles)
 
Odyssey AGMs. Had a Yellow Top for six years, won't buy another.
 
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