Are Optima Batteries Worth It ??

[billt460]

The new battery is in! It wasn't too bad. I got the old one out, it was 730 Cold cranking amps. The new one, (Autozone / Duralast), is 900 CCA, with a 3 year warranty. It fit perfectly. 90% of the battle is lifting the thing out after you get the hold down loosened and out. The terminals came off easily once they were loose.

The battery was as clean as they day it rolled off the line. Zero corrosion or dirt on anything. But it tested BAD. The computer remembered everything. Radio stations. Power seat settings. Phone pairings. The works. And it drove good. No crappy shifting, or lousy idle. They must have something back up battery wise that holds that information.

I had the old battery out of the car for a good hour and a half, before I got the new one in and hooked up. So it's not such a bad deal as far as battery replacement. I won't be fearful to do it next time. Sure as hell beats paying the bandit at the dealer over $400.00 for one!

 

[UncleDave]

*Checks Prices* Wow, Optima pushing $300 now. Forget that!

Costco H8 (49) AGM $177.99 36 month replacement seems reasonable, but you'd probably have to go to Vegas for that.

There's 25 points in that battery if you can find someone that will work with you. I have a great battery guy.

I get much more than twice the life for less than double the price and have to do half the work swapping batts.

 

[dareo]

There's 25 points in that battery if you can find someone that will work with you. I have a great battery guy.

I get much more than twice the life for less than double the price and have to do half the work swapping batts.

You mean you previously have gotten twice the life. Past performance does not mean future results. They could cheapen things out at anytime in the battery space.

 

[UncleDave]

You mean you previously have gotten twice the life. Past performance does not mean future results. They could cheapen things out at anytime in the battery space.

True there are no guarantees in life.

Optima was great then when " Hecho in Mexico" hit they turned to junk.

That said - the best predictor of future performance is past performance.

 

[Chris142]

I like AGM batteries because they don't leak or gas like a flooded battery. Leaking is a real problem on rough roads or rock crawling. I got 7 years out of my last optima. My last boss had 2 cars with them and both failed under 2 years.

Many people on the jeep forums have had early failures with optima batteries.

I would consider a store brand AGM battery.

 

[billt460]

....... Optima was great then when " Hecho in Mexico" hit they turned to junk....

The Autozone by me had 2 in stock that would fit. The Duralast, (900 CCA $210.00). And the Optima, (880 CCA $320.00). I can't see paying an extra $110.00 for 20 less CCA, and the same length warranty. (Fewer reserve minutes as well. 170 Duralast vs. 154 Optima). My guess is those things are sitting around for a while.

What the hell ever happened to $85 batteries? Hell, I ain't THAT old.

https://www.autozone.com/batteries-...ttery-h8-agm-group-size-49-900-cca/319459_0_0

https://www.autozone.com/batteries-...p-battery-dh7-group-size-7-880-cca/937710_0_0

 

[billt460]

If you chopped open a AGM battery, what's inside? Is the "liquid" electrolyte like a jelly?

 

[bbhero]

The Autozone by me had 2 in stock that would fit. The Duralast, (900 CCA $210.00). And the Optima, (880 CCA $320.00). I can't see paying an extra $110.00 for 20 less CCA, and the same length warranty. (Fewer reserve minutes as well. 170 Duralast vs. 154 Optima). My guess is those things are sitting around for a while.

What the hell ever happened to $85 batteries? Hell, I ain't THAT old.

https://www.autozone.com/batteries-...ttery-h8-agm-group-size-49-900-cca/319459_0_0

https://www.autozone.com/batteries-...p-battery-dh7-group-size-7-880-cca/937710_0_0

Billt460... You are that old.,..




And yes there is a huge difference in say a Northstar TPPL, Lifeline, Trojan or Odyssey vs other batteries.

Look at battery weights for example...

Typically a Group 35 battery weighs 34-37 pounds.

A Northstar TPPL AGM weighs 47 pounds... In the sane exact battery case size. That's a huge difference.

A high end regular flooded lead acid group 24f battery weighs 44 pounds.

A Northstar TPPL AGM weighs 57 pounds... Again... A huge difference.

Having said that.. like wrxsixeight says and it's true.... How a battery is maintained will greatly help how well it performs over the long term.

The Northstar TPPL AGM has a 5 year free replacement warranty.

 

[wrcsixeight]

Northstar was ..is?...5 years free only when sold as X2 power, by Batteries +, 4 years when non relabelled.
That extra year added 30$+ both times in my locale, and despite a longer drive, I declined. The g27 made it 6 years and 1200 actual deep cycles.

Most impressive battery i ever owned, but i can charge them corrrctly and made the extra effort to do so with modified equipment that could do so.

NS requires that a battery has to fail a 200+ amp carbon pile load test, when fully charged, in order to be warrantied.

Spiral 6 pack.designs have less capacity than their rectangular equal group size counterparts.

They have stronger physical cases and likely more vibration resistance than rectangular agm.

I'd personally only ever consider one, if extreme vibrations, or likely physical stress to casing is an actual factor. Waveski...rock crawler...ect

While TPPL AGM have far lower self discharge than budget agm, their price likely means low turnover, and dust. and some weirdness when first put into service.

Both of mine would not rest over 13v when fully charged, until cycled deeply and then high amp recharged. After this, their cranking power/ speed was noticeably improved into scary fast proportions. I suspect this scary fast level requires that "lung stretching"when first put into service.

I know, without doubt, in deep cycle service it it necesssry, every 7 to 14 daily cycles depending on depth of cycle and how close to truly full charge was achieved

Id avoid them if you do not have a plug in charger capable of 25+ amps , if deep cycles are likely, intentional, or not.

If a specific vehicle, parked, and idling, attempts to achieve and then hold high voltages for 10+ minutes, when a healthy TPPL agm is well depleted, an overheated alternator is a atrong possibility.

The voltage regulator works much harder and gets way hotter the lower the rpm, too. My external regulators (controlling dual alternators feeding separate battery banks) now have additional heatsinking with 60mm computer fans attached and still get to near 120f, at idle when feeding a depleted TPPL AGM.

TPPL AGM amperage acceptance is impressive. My group 31 at 3 years still can soak up 134 amps for 5+ minutes before voltage rises from 12.03 to 14.7. And 30 minutes later is still accepting 50+ amps. My alternator idling cold only makes 75ish amps and 50 amps hot, as idle drops nearly 300 rpm when hot too. Alternator flirting with 210 degreesf in 10 minutes. At 65f ambient.
220+ f is the avoid zone.

A depleted TPPL agm far more likely to get a an alternator that hot, than budget agm, or flooded, when cabling is adequate to carry the current without excessive voltage drop.

 

[billt460]

Another thing that struck me as odd, is the Optima said in the description, "Optima Yellow Top can provide 2X longer life"... Then why don't they give it a longer warranty than the Duralast, if it's so wonderful?

 

[Ed in Tx]

Have 2 Optimas now, bought in 2013 and 2014. Still solid performers. Paid about $160 ea for them then. One's in my old '88 S10 pickup. However I highly doubt I will be buying two more at $300 ea. First one I had, paid $99 for it in 2001, was made in Aurora Colorado and it lasted 13 years.

 

[RitcheyRch]

Have 2 Optimas now, bought in 2013 and 2014. Still solid performers. Paid about $160 ea for them then. One's in my old '88 S10 pickup. However I highly doubt I will be buying two more at $300 ea. First one I had, paid $99 for it in 2001, was made in Aurora Colorado and it lasted 13 years.

I bought my first Optima Red Top at the Los Angeles Auto Show when they first came out. It lasted about 15 years and was severely drained more than once. I've not had good results with the others once they were no longer made in the USA.

 

[billt460]

.... How a battery is maintained will greatly help how well it performs over the long term....

I think that's why my original battery went 6 years out here in the desert. Having it located under the seat, as opposed to under the hood, really helps in keeping it from cooking off in just a couple of Summers. Out here that's usually about all you get out of them. Especially if they're driven daily. It's a bit like keeping a battery in an oven.

 

[UncleDave]

I think that's why my original battery went 6 years out here in the desert. Having it located under the seat, as opposed to under the hood, really helps in keeping it from cooking off in just a couple of Summers. Out here that's usually about all you get out of them. Especially if they're driven daily. It's a bit like keeping a battery in an oven.

Yeah 80 bone batteries are long gone....

Havasu/ Parker is hell on batts. For those in the East this area is routinely the hottest place in the US on any given day.
I always set my chargers to run at night at the lowest AH they could to keep them from boiling out.

On wet lead acid - I saw no diff between anything that came out of Deka, east Penn, or Johnson controls, (now Brookfield). It was all the same stuff. When guys say those or that battery treated me well something like 90% of everything on the market came from these 3 companies and was labelled differently. JCI/ Brookfield makes optimas now.

Odyssey has its own line, they manufacture in a bunch of places.

 

[Tman220]

The last good Optima Red Top I owned was made in Canada. Had two Red Tops prematurely fail which were made in Mexico. Haven't bought one since.

 

[UncleDave]

The last good Optima Red Top I owned was made in Canada. Had two Red Tops prematurely fail which were made in Mexico. Haven't bought one since.

I have no choice but try try again because of my mounting plate -
I hope the new ones are better, Im looking at a bunch of dough for the 2...

 

[Donald]

I have had excellent results with Interstate over the last 15 to 20 years in about 6 vehicles. Climate matters, I am in the Northeast.

Interstate is a brand/marketing name. They source from a few manufacturers. The main one is JCI and they they were sold and moved their manufacturing. Exide is another supplier to Interstate.

Not saying Interstate is good or bad. But again you would need to judge them on the current lineup of batteries.

And a battery will last longer in the northeast than Texas. But more salt on the roads in northeast than Texas. And in Texas you need to be wearing cowboy boots to go into auto parts store. Could be an added cost if you do not have a pair. Maybe a cowboy hat also?

 

[Nick1994]

I just did the same in my 14' Grand Cherokee. See my thread below, I upped it to an H8 and changed the battery hold down bracket.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/replacing-an-agm-with-a-flooded-lead-acid-battery.347335/

 

[meep]

I like agms. I tend to discharge batteries a bit like deep cycles here and there, charging tools off the truck, leaving lights on when working, or other outdoors or tools stuff. I’ll also shoehorn a larger case with higher AH or RC rating if possible. The AGMs seem to hold their capacity better in this kind of use. BUT, I will occasionally put a computerized charger on them to make sure they spend some time at 14.8V, which none of our vehicles do. The 6y.o. H8 in my truck is starting for the first time to turn over like a normal battery that hasn’t come straight off a tender. I’ll bet it’s got some years left in it.

 

[Jetronic]

If you chopped open a AGM battery, what's inside? Is the "liquid" electrolyte like a jelly?

Shouldn't be. They have glass matts between the plates and those hold the electrolyte like a sponge.