Optima Red Top vs. Stock

[Evo Mike]

i was wondering what the difference was between the Optima Red Top Series batterys and a stock car battery. Is there a difference in performance? worth the 100$?

[sperry]

I've got them in both my cars....

...however, I'm thinking the one in the WRX is overkill.

Pros:

Since it's a dry cell, it
- won't leak
- can be oriented in any direction
- resists vibration better
Also, it
- lasts longer
- puts out a higher voltage right until it dies, instead of getting weaker and weaker.

Cons:
- It's heavier than regular batteries
- It costs twice as much

I originally went to the Optima because I used to crank the stereo in the WRX while I was working on the car. I figured since I've got a battery charger, it wasn't too big a deal if I drained the battery every now and again while wrenching. Unfortunately, I did it so often that eventualy my battery wouldn't keep a charge. So I upgraded to the better Optima. They're excellent for cars with big power usage (like stereos and amps, etc) and for people like me that use the battery w/ the car off a lot. (In fact the deep-cycle Yellow Top is even better for that... lots of people use them for winches and the like.)

I'm thinking about getting a lightweight racing battery for the WRX, since I don't need the power like I used to, and a tiny battery up front would really help the weight on the car. If the EVO and the WRX use the same battery, I'd be willing to sell it to ya as soon as I can find a decent race battery.

[AtomicLabMonkey]

If you relocate your battery to the rear of the car it's also a safety issue to have a battery that leaks or outgasses hydrogen, thus Optimas or an equivalent dry cell are pretty much required.

[MikeSTI]

here you go!!!

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publi...utomotive.html

as far as wieght and size, I know about 10 years ago they had a 3 cell battery that put out 850 amps. I dont know if they still sell them though, might be something to look into if wieght is a problem

[MikeSTI]

ohh yah and I always have these in all of my cars. the biggest pro being: my battery wont die at random

I have never had one die when I needed power and even when my altinater went out I was still able to drive on the battery for more then 50 miles to get to the shop and the car was still going

if it does lose its charge you can recharge them 100's of times where a normal battery would need to be replaced after a few charges

[Dean]

I am going with a smaler lighter SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) or Motorcycle wet cell for autocross, but stick to normal wet cells for the street. I have an Optima in the Stealth, but it is overkill, but it was free.

Costco batteries for the street are probbably the best deal in town unless Khail can get us a deal.

The Optimas will sulfate, just like wet cells over time, but slower. There are actual cool puilse desulfators, but unless you want to build one from parts, they cost about $200, and only work on wet cells.

[khail19]

We have the Exide Orbital, which is the same thing as the Optima. They still run about $125 or so retail, I could sell them to you guys for $95 or so.

[Dean]

Can you get us deals on normal wet cells?

[khail19]

Originally Posted by Dean

Can you get us deals on normal wet cells?

A little bit, but the markup on batteries is fairly low to start with. Example: Group 25 battery with a 75 month warranty retails at $60, I could sell it around $50 or so.