which battery to choose?

N

no-nos

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2003
need a little help trying to decide, i fouund this web-site which have a list of batteries. if you notice the

gold duralast -model #75dt-dlg has dual terminal 700 cold cranking amps and 875 cranking amps. and cost $89.99


the other is the Optima Battery / Battery Part Number: D75-25 ( yellow top -i wish it was blue to match the engine bay :D ) this battery has Dual terminal *** 650 Cold cranking Amps (810 Cranking Amps) *** -> both have 3yr
free replacement but this one cost $209..00

but cost less, is there a reason the yellow top cost that much more? :confused: thanks in advance

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ca...e=16400175&itemId=prod10865&parentId=cat10019
 
optima ..... bad luck

Hi currently have owned three optima Red tops, 1st. one had to be replaced due to a defect,side post spun out, now I am replacing the other 2 Red tops after storage..... both batteries were on maintenance mode with a CTEK battery charger/conditioners.... actually Optima recommends this specific charger for storage..... anyways just put my original wet cell battery... 2 yrs old sitting on the floor and without a pre charge the Buick starts right up..... in my opinion going through 3 Optimas on 2 different cars....THEY SUCK $HIT !!!!!! stick with a AC DELCO..... none of that fancy $HIT gell spiral cell...... use the KISS theory.
L8r
Rob
 
had a redtop on my shelf for 3 years. charged it up w no problems yet. i had diehard gold in the past. now, i'm leaning towards INTERSTATE Batteries. Currently seems to be the most reliable fr what the reputable shop owner said. just my experience.
 
wow!, thanks guys , i almost made a big mistake buying the optima, i guess i will check with interstate and the duralast, oh forgot to mention the duralast actually comes with an 8yr warrenty. thanks guys
 
My Redtop Optima had to be replaced (6) months later. Junk imo. People seem to have good luck with the yellowtop tho.
 
I have put Diehard Gold's in my cars for as long as I can remember, with no problems whatsoever. I put a Diehard Gold in my GN on the day I brought it home.

FYI, Diehard batteries and Interstate batteries are both made by Johnson Controls......

John
 
My first red top Optima went dead dead. Like Old Testament dead. Would not recharge even by an Optima/Interstate dealer. My new red top is working pretty good. I like it. I do have a trickle charger though (Battery Tender). It went pretty dead and the charger brought it back.

If you are going to buy a wet cell battery, I would ONLY buy an interstate Mega-tron. They are pretty much bullit-proof and last very long. I drove for 2 days with no alternator on one and then I charged it up and it is OK. They are really good batteries.
 
I have a 2002 Sebring convertible with the original battery:eek: I bought the car with 4000 miles on it and now it has about 45,000 miles. Interstate dealer told me Interstate makes the batteries for Chrysler. I don't know for sure if that was the case in 2002 but if anybody knows who made them in 2002 for Chrysler, I would buy from that company! Car starts right up in the summer or winter. One thing to note- the battery is located somewhere outside of the engine compartment, behind the front driver side wheel. I think keeping the battery away from the engine heat probably helps big time.
 
I have the autozone duralast gold and it has worked great for the past 5 years with 3 more years left on the warranty. Most of all they are available in store and are close by if needed.

I like the autozone warranties and they don't complain when i do bring something back like some places do.

I do perform basic maintenance on the battery like putting it on a slow trickle charge evey once in awhile and keep the terminals clean and tight and also keep the acid level full and if it does get low i don't add water to the cells i add acid.


John :smile:
 
SPOOLN6 said:
had a redtop on my shelf for 3 years. charged it up w no problems yet. i had diehard gold in the past. now, i'm leaning towards INTERSTATE Batteries. Currently seems to be the most reliable fr what the reputable shop owner said. just my experience.
Click to expand...
I worked at autozone a few years and autozone duralast batteries are pretty reliable also interstate ,duralast ,and diehard are all manufactured in the same plant :eek: at least thats what i was told....;)
 
Historically, battery discussions on this board almost seem endless at times. However, changing technologies sometimes require issues (although heavily discussed) to be re-examined. I ran into this exact scenario when preparing for the race season earlier this year.

To make a long story short, I eventually traced a prolonging and irritating intermittent ignition problem experienced in 2008 to my 32 month old Red Top Optima. I have another Red Top that is five years old and it is still working fine in my truck. Therefore, the younger one in my GN was the last suspect in looking to resolve my problem.

After reading through many other posts on this board about which battery works for whom, the most positive remarks were from those who switched to AGM (Absorbed Gas Mat) batteries. Unfortunately, the drawbacks of these types of batteries were cost, charging requirements and availability. These costs were the major reason I decided to just go out and grab a basic Die Hard from Sears for the season.

As it turns out, Sears has began to carry an AGM battery under their own "Platinum" Die Hard label. The full replacement warranty is 4 years and it is then prorated from there for another 100 months thereafter. Nobody has a warranty even close to that as far as I know of. Not only that, you can go to any Sears in the country no matter where you are and get a replacement if needed. Another plus is that it comes in the correct group size for our cars so that no modifications are necessary to use it. Unlike some other high performance batteries, this Die Hard is designed to work with our engine's charging system. The out the door price is even less than the Yellow Top's shelf price. There are a number of performance factors that would take to long to list here concerning the advertised advantages of using an AGM battery design. There is a wealth of information on the net for that now.

So far this season, it has improved my 1320 performance, cranks faster and seems just as powerful as the day I bought it. It is also noteworthy that my GN is not a daily and only gets out for racing a couple of times a month. Battery drain has not been a problem. Take it for what it is worth; I am impressed so far. This is comming from someone who swore off Die Hards ten years ago.

Link: DieHard Automotive Battery, Platinum P-3 - Group Size 75/86DT - Model P-3 at Sears.com
 
Granted that this is in a daily driver but if you don't maintain the battery from the start then all you'll get is a dead battery. I worked for AZ for 5 years and my last batt was the step down from the gold and it lasted for 8 years instead of the warranted 7. Make sure that the water level is maintained and there's no crap on the top. Put some plain old grease on the terminals to prevent corrosion and charge it with a trickle charger and you should be good.
 
I just ordered a Braille battery from Jegs. It weighs 21 lbs with 550 cold cranking amps and 892 cranking amps. My old battery weighs almost 38 lbs. It is an AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) battery part number 147-B3121. I hope it turns out to be a good choice, it sure is a lot lighter.
 
buy the most expensive battery you can buy. get the warranty. worry them to death if it fails.
 
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