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Its battery time... Optima red top?

78Suburban

78Suburban

1/2 ton status
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Hmm, I wonder if a battery that was very close to dead was contributing to my faulty ignition/ poor running.... Whatever be the case, I had to get jumped off twice at the mud bog. I got Advanced Auto to test my battery and alt today. The alt is good, battery is bad. I noticed they carried dual terminal Optima Red tops for $110. Are these worth the money? I could buy two cheapie batteries for this price, but if the optimas are worth it, I just may save up and get one. Optimas are closed cell, right? In that cause, They wouldn't leak fumes into an interior, hence, if I decide to move it to the back of the burb for weight balance issues, I could easily do that. This is one of the main selling points for the Optima to me. Who has Optimas, and is it worth it? Should I just buy a knock off battery and call it good?
thanks,
James
 
I can vouch for the optimas...now. I never could justify buying such an expensiv battery, I figured I would replace as needed and keep doing my prorated battery returns. I was having some major starting issues with my crew cab, overheating the starter, bad cables, and piss poor battery. I decided the whole system was in need of an upgrade so I ran all new 2 gauge battery cables, new starter that was heat shielded better with fiberglass wrap, and lastly (this wasnt until later) optima red top. The truck started much better but when I knew I needed a battery, so I said screw it and bought a red top. Dumbass me forgot to hook up the alternator wire...that battery ran 70 miles, before it gave me a sign that there was an issue with my charging system. This was with my lights on, windshield wipers on full, radio blasting, and doing 60 mph on my way to big bear mountains. I noticed my wipers were getting slow and very slowly my voltage was dropping. I made it to the autopart store, took a look and doh, no alternator wire! Idiot! I fixed it, waited about 15 minutes hit the ignition and I was on my way. I dont know of any battery that can do that, and rebuild a charge in such a short amount of time without needing a jump.

My friend has left his in his garage sitting for 9 months, dropped it in his truck and didnt have any charge loss.

All I know is my blazer is getting one of these when I put in my 2/0 welding/battery cable upgrade. Sorry if itsoudns like Im a prmoter for these batteries, I just cant believe how good they are. And you can put them where you want in any position too.
 
Sears has all three colors here, and does price matching (I know they do on tires, I think on batteries as well). I also think they beat the competitor by a little when they pricematch. I could be wrong though.
 
K5er4Life said:
I can vouch for the optimas...now. I never could justify buying such an expensiv battery, I figured I would replace as needed and keep doing my prorated battery returns. I was having some major starting issues with my crew cab, overheating the starter, bad cables, and piss poor battery. I decided the whole system was in need of an upgrade so I ran all new 2 gauge battery cables, new starter that was heat shielded better with fiberglass wrap, and lastly (this wasnt until later) optima red top. The truck started much better but when I knew I needed a battery, so I said screw it and bought a red top. Dumbass me forgot to hook up the alternator wire...that battery ran 70 miles, before it gave me a sign that there was an issue with my charging system. This was with my lights on, windshield wipers on full, radio blasting, and doing 60 mph on my way to big bear mountains. I noticed my wipers were getting slow and very slowly my voltage was dropping. I made it to the autopart store, took a look and doh, no alternator wire! Idiot! I fixed it, waited about 15 minutes hit the ignition and I was on my way. I dont know of any battery that can do that, and rebuild a charge in such a short amount of time without needing a jump.

My friend has left his in his garage sitting for 9 months, dropped it in his truck and didnt have any charge loss.

All I know is my blazer is getting one of these when I put in my 2/0 welding/battery cable upgrade. Sorry if itsoudns like Im a prmoter for these batteries, I just cant believe how good they are. And you can put them where you want in any position too.
Click to expand...

WOW, you've sold me.. I like the idea of one now, because if mud kills my alternator, maybe I will still be able to drive for a little while.. .lol........... anybody else got some super encouraging stories about optimas?
thanks,
James
 
i have a yellow top and i love it. I jump cars all the time with it and i dont have to start my truck. I use winches, stereos, power invertors, amplifiers, fans, lights, etc the battery does not care, it even works the winch with the whole truck upside down and engine off(obviously). I choose the yellow top because i start my truck once a month and it never gets a full charge when i drive it only around the block. Red top is best for a driver that does not sit for months at a time.
 
just make sure which ever one you get is a deep cycle battery. i dont remeber which ones are or arent but if it fully drains you won tmess up the battery
 
79k20350 said:
just make sure which ever one you get is a deep cycle battery. i dont remeber which ones are or arent but if it fully drains you won tmess up the battery
Click to expand...

The yellow top is the deep cycle, but its like 60 dollars more. All I would be able to afford is the red top, and that would almost be a stretch.. Any body else use a red top, or are there any other good brands of closed cell batteries yall reccomend?
thanks,
James
 
I put an Optima Red Top in my K5 about 5 years ago. Since then I put one in my CJ5. I also forced my dad to put on in his F350. He is now a believer too. I am a huge optima fan. I have abused mine alot and it has worked great for me.

My optima has survived several summers in the Arizona heat and several winters in the Colorado cold. It has performed very well even when winching, wheeling, etc.

Harley
 
has anyone bought these Optimas in recent years? I've read on another post that the quality has gone down the crapper. It kinda scares me away from them.
thanks,
James
 
I bought my red top last year and it is a great battery! 1 cool thing about the optimas is that you can put them anywhere if need be....like upside down or whatever.
 
im going to run 2 batts, duno if it'll be 1 yellow 1 red, or 2 yellow yet. everyone ive ever talked to that had an optima has always praised them.
 
I've had a red top in my K5 for 2 years. 1 week after installing it I didn't notice my friend left the passenger side door cracked open accidentally and the dome light drained the battery. Popped it on the charger and have been using it ever since.

I'm suprised the Optima nazi hasn't appeared yet, you know who you are :wink1:
 
I have had a redtop and 3 yellowtops. My alternator killed 3 of them until I finally fixed the alternator. Now my Yellowtop lives strong even winching up a long hill when my FI crapped out on me and my buds CJ7 didn't have the balls to pull me up the hill!

The optimas will still spit acid as did mine on Pritchett Canyon due to a bad voltage reg in the alternator. Made for a bad day and we ended up having to leave on Sunday instead of wheeling. On a good note the truck powered fine until I shut it down to tow back to the Hotel.

So needless to say they can take a beatin'!
 
stallion85 said:
I have had a redtop and 3 yellowtops. My alternator killed 3 of them until I finally fixed the alternator. Now my Yellowtop lives strong even winching up a long hill when my FI crapped out on me and my buds CJ7 didn't have the balls to pull me up the hill!

The optimas will still spit acid as did mine on Pritchett Canyon due to a bad voltage reg in the alternator. Made for a bad day and we ended up having to leave on Sunday instead of wheeling. On a good note the truck powered fine until I shut it down to tow back to the Hotel.

So needless to say they can take a beatin'!
Click to expand...
When you were killing these batteries with a dead alt, it was under sever use such as winching, right? I mean, if mud does kill my alternator, the batter won't die just trying to fire the ignition untill I realize somethings wrong, right?
thanks,
James
 
muddybuddy said:
im going to run 2 batts, duno if it'll be 1 yellow 1 red, or 2 yellow yet. everyone ive ever talked to that had an optima has always praised them.
Click to expand...

From everything I have been told you are not supposed to run 2 different kinds of batteries unless they are individual of each other.

Harley
 
Napa sells the Orbital battery. It is the same battery, is made by the same company, just has different labels on it. It is under $100 bucks as well. Just an option for you to check out James.
 
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