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Which battery?

Which one would you buy?

  • Total voters
    58
  • Poll closed .
T

tch777

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Well it appears the cheapo Pep Boys battery is toast.
I thought this time I would drop some more money and get a really good battery.

So I thought about a Red top Optima.
They are going for 120 at 4WP.
But then I noticed they have a Pro Comp battery for 120.
And Advance Auto has the Exide Orbitals for 134.00

They all have about the same specs give or take 50 Amps:
770CCA and 950 CA.
They also seem to be basically the same battery just a different case? Are these all made by the same company?

I am kind of leaning towards the Exide from Advance Auto since there are quite a few of them around where we travel so replacement would be easier just in case.

Thanks

Tim

Went back and checked again the Optima is 120 at 4WP
 
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Optima all the way. You will not be dissapointed.
Don't know about the other, but Optima is owned by JCI (Johnson Controls), they are not marketed under any other name.
 
the exide is available at rocklogic4x4.com alot cheaper I got checker to match their price I think it was around $90. I have one in my k5 and my 97 and have had great luck with them both
 
you can find optimas cheaper than that. call and find an interstate dealer near you and have them ask about what blems are available. Im an interstate dealer and I got two optima commercial "blems" for 50.00 each, they really arent blems but good returned as defects. same warranty ect.
gabe
 
If you can get a good sales clerk at Advance Auto, Autozone, etc., you can get a better price than what they list for.

I recently purchased a new Yellow top Optima for $125 and got a returned red top that had tested good at the same time for another $20!

$120 new yellow + $20 used red = Score!
 
Well I called around, my Advance Auto store has "issues" getting the Optimas in and Auto Zone's reply was all we carry is Dura-whatever.
So I called Checker and Pep Boys. They had them in stock and Pep Boys was 119.99 for the group 78 battery with dual terminals and 800 CCA or 1000 CA. Checker was more 139 ish?
So I went to Pep Boys and got the Red Top from them. I don't have a winch nor a bunch of lights so I can't see spending for a Yellow Top as the Suburban in my wifes DD and our family camping and off road rig.

Thanks for the input it helped me to just go for the Optima.

Tim
 
from what I am hearing now... I asked someone at a local car stereo shop about optima batteries.. since these guys are running serious amps and stuff... they laughed and said... optima used to be a good battery... however they are starting to see them go in the toilet.... they said that they are not as good as they used to be. So I just bought 2 autozone gold batteries... 1000ca each.... since im running duals....

now my father just hooked me up with 2 batteries that im going to mount in the bed...

Ferd L8000 Dump Truck batteries
11" wide, 19 1/2" long and 9" high.... not sure on the CA however the reserve minutes has to be awesome!!! and these are BRAND NEW....
so my winch should do good with them... :haha:

personally I dont like pepboys batteries.. however since I stopped buying from pepboys all together.... I recommend the autozone gold series batteries.. I have had good luck with them....

or if you have a Sams club (like bj's and cosco) try there... a friend picked up a blue top gel for $70..... :crazy:


oh yeah.. how long did you get out of your pepboys battery? batteries are only good for about 6 years... in my camaro I got from 1996 to 2004 and the guys were shocked... they told me 6 years is a good life of a battery and that is stretching it...
 
I run the Duralast Gold batteries (dual setup) in my Blazer. I just replaced the last set which were 8-9 years old.......still worked okay but were getting a little weak for starting the diesel in the winter and I stripped a side terminal post out. They were replaced with another set of Duralast Gold's. Can't beat the 3 year free replacement, 8 year pro-rated warranty, as much or more capacity of the Optima's, and almost half the price............
 
I just put an Optima red top in my DD.. so far so good. But I agree, that's a bit high on the price. I think I paid around 120 at the zone for mine. They were just a tad cheaper at costco.. but were sold out.
 
I run a red top and cannot kill it and that is after bringing it back from near death. I respect the orbit battery also, I have a wheelin buddy in a Toy that cannot kill his, he has been running it for years now.
 
The record holder in my "fleet" for longevity so far is the lowly factory "Mopar" battery that came in my moms 1993 Caravan..van had only 60,000 miles on it when the battery finally almost couldn't start it one night while shopping,about a year and a half ago!..my mom panicked,and had me buy a new one(I got a Duralast Gold for 50 bucks)..

I took the Mopar battery out,washed 11 years of crud off it,charged it on a low charge for 2 days,and threw it in my 79 C10--and kept the battery that WAS in it with me,just in case..it stared up fine for weeks,so I decided it was still ok...

I got nearly another year out of it!..but when I swapped in the 305 in place of the 250 six,it finally croaked for good!..I've NEVER seen ANY OEM battery last that long...usually they croak within 2 years.:ooo: ...I was beginning to think it was haunted...:eek1: ...
 
my diehard gold was 6 years old, and still working fine, but was leaking all over my truck so i decided to replace it. i heard diehard's quality has gone in the ****ter ever since exide has been making them.
i really wanted side post and top post. i didnt want another neverstart, so i got a red top optima from O'rilley's for $110.
 
I am happy with my yellow top. It has survived a lot of time sitting between trips, heavy winching and at least one time it was totally drained when my son left the CB on for weeks. It's been in the Jeep for at least six years, still going strong. I use it in the boat too. I have been hearing about warranty issues with Optimas for some time now, so I wonder if they have cheapened them up recently? The only problem with mine is that the side post studs are loose and spin freely. I have all connections on the top posts now.
 
i just bought one of NAPA'a nascar series batteries....they told me that they got huge "rods" and stuff...(i suppose thats good and all:haha: )

i just barely turn the key and blahhhh....:bow:
 
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