Optima Red Tops

Croatan_Kid

Croatan_Kid

How's your hammer hangin'?
Joined
Nov 4, 2007
Location
New Bern
Wasn't sure where to put this, but this seemed like the best place.


I was given (FREE!!) two Optima Red Tops in 2007. So after the Cummins swap in my K30, I picked up a nice battery box from Ruff Stuff Specialties and they've been in there ever since. They're definitely been tough! The tags on top say sold in 2004, I got them in 2007, the truck was ran with no charging alternator for several months, then it would overcharge at 18 volts intermittently, and most recently they've been charged with a 136 amp one-wire conversion alternator. With the few cold days we've had and as much as I've let the truck sit in the past few months, I've really started to notice them getting weaker and weaker. The last two times I moved the truck, I had to jump it. Not bad....almost ten years old, used, abused, and most importantly....FREE. I'm not complaining.

That brings me to tonight. I'd love to have Die Hard Platinums/Odysseys, but they're expensive (like Optimas aren't), and I already have the battery box made for 34/78 group Optima batteries. Fairly certain that my battery cables would still reach/fit though.

After 10 minutes or so of searching, I found some decent deals online. They're 209 bucks each at the local Advance, but I found them for 154 at Street Side Auto. THEN, with another quick search, I came up with a coupon code and wound up with a total of 284 bucks with free shipping. That puts me at 142 bucks a piece! Not much more than an Autocraft Gold from Advance. The one I put in my mom's Envoy last week was 126 bucks.



With all that being said:

If anybody is looking for a good price (at least I think so anyway) on an Optima, they can hook you up! They were also the cheapest I found for Warn Premium 30 spline lockout hubs for a Dana 60 two years ago when I bought them.


Would it REALLY be worth it to change to Die Hard Platinums/Odysseys on the next go round? Any experiences or opinions are welcome for discussion! Obviously, my experience has been good with the Optimas, but I'm sure they're found a way to make they crappier and cheaper.
 
Everything I've read says the new Optimas are no where near as good as the 'old' ones. I have had several yellow top (and one red top) Optimas over the years and it seems like the last one I had didn't last as long. I never abused them, but they would sit for long periods of time without charging and after 3-4 years my last yellow top just wouldn't hold a charge any more. I switched over to the O'Rileys 'yellow' AGM battery probably 3 years ago after reading a bunch of good reviews on Pirate and haven't looked back. I just put it thru a major winchfest last weekend (literally 3-4 hours of winching 3 different rigs up the side of the mountain) and it did great.
 
Good luck getting it warrantied when it won't charge anymore.

We've had better luck out of the yellow tops, spend a few more and get them. Red tops suck, let them discharge and good luck getting them to charge.

Use a coupon from advance and pick it up at your local store. Get one of the ones they have in stock, so if you need to swap it out they will have it there. You will need to make 2 orders to save the most money. One of these should save you $50 on a battery, I think that's the max savings.

http://www.retailmenot.com/view/advanceautoparts.com
 
Well, when these crap out I'll have to just get a different battery box and try out a different battery.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
Well, when these crap out I'll have to just get a different battery box and try out a different battery.
Click to expand...
I'm still using my Red top from somewhere around the 2001 vintage. It's been completely dead several times in it's life. About 3 months ago, it was so dead (from sitting for 3 months) nothing even clicked when I turned the key, but it charged back up fine, and I've cranked the jeep about once a month since then with no issues.
 
Well, since I'll still have the original two, I'm thinking I'll try to charge them and see what happens! Isn't there some weird way you're supposed to charged these if they're completely dead?
 
I think you can hook the charger to a normal battery and run jumper cables to the optima to try to bring it back up.
 
I have three red tops and a yellow sitting in the floor. I have tried trickle charges, regular charging, used the charger to battery to redtop, still nothing usable. The only thing I have not tried is the new Optima charger. Would hate to spend $200 and dtill have dead batteries. Anyone had any luck or tried them? I will say the Yellow Top I am not complaining about as it lasted over 7 years before it would not hold a charge. For me it will be local batteries.
 
Take them to a auto zone we just new charger that have specific feature for the optima's. I haven't tried them yet but it may be worth a shot. I've brought a few back while at work from old cores but it's really hit n miss.
 
You just have to make sure the charger has a specific agm charge mode. Most parts stores carry a Schumacher digital charger with a agm mode for 50 bucks. The trick to an optima when charging it is to not let it get to warm. Charge for an hour and cool it for an hour. A completely dead optima can take 48 hours to get a complete charge back into it.
 
Good luck. Overwhelming evidence indicates that in recent years Optima batteries have gone completely to crap and are not worth the money. I have had a few "late models" that were done after only a season or two. I will NEVER buy another one. I read a thread years ago that was posted from an ex-employee of the company that made them. Once Johnson Controls bought out the company they cheapened the hell out of those batteries and they have been selling on name alone for years now. If I find the thread I will cross-post it.

If I ever purchase a new AGM battery it will be an Odyssey or the Die-Hard equivalent. After losing three Optimas in about the same number of years I switched back to lead-acid and have not had any issues since.
 
Like I said, I'll run these and when they crap out, I'll get something different. I could always toss two Hawkers under the hood! I'm gunna stop at Advance on my way home and check out their charger. I've got 4 of them at the house too.
 
I wouldn't of guessed that. They look just like the agms from Autozone and o reiley and advance auto. All of those are made by Johnson control except certain sizes.
 
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