Battery

Back from long desert vacation. Need a battery asap. Which is best. Optima yellow top? Didn't have time to research threads. Thanks

 

 

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the yellow top is their deep cycle battery - the red top is the more typical SLI battery. Folks seem to indicate that the quality of Optima batteries has fallen off a bit. I'm running a Bosch AGM battery. Deka is also a good brand for AGM batteries.

A lot of batteries are made by the same few manufacturers like Deka and Johnson Controls, then give different packaging and brand names for sale. The Deka batteries seem to be better made overall.

I have good experiences from Tudor/Exide, and as long as you keep to well-known brands from a good vendor you should be safe. It's a pretty well-proven technology these days for normal use.

The less than 3 year old Exide AGM in the GT shit the bed last week when I put the charger on it and I checked it last night and it's totally dead. Gonna order a Yellow Top or a Deka AGM.

The best battery I have ever had was a GS Yuasa power series ultra, it has lasted 12 years and in fact was still working fine when I swapped it, its now my emergency jumper battery and its still working.

 

In part it comes down to the weight of the battery, the lighter it is the worse the performance/life.

 

Worst battery I had lasted 18 months, it was a AA emergency roadside fit when when failed in my girlfriends car. Pulled it out of the car and I thought this thing doesn't have any lead in it.

Dunno if you have a Napa near you, but their AGM batteries are (or were, at least) made by Deka. I bought the group 34 75-month Napa Legend (Napa p/n 9834), which appears to be a rebadged Deka Intimidator (Deka p/n 9A34). No problems with it over the last 2-ish years. You might be able to get a better deal elsewhere, but the coupon I had (and the fact that I only had the one car at the time) made it worth the local purchase.

Kinda pricey but I've had no issues so far. They have one that a little cheaper in the group 34 size.

https://shop.odysseybattery.com/p/34-pc1500t?pp=12&mobile=0

Dunno if you have a Napa near you, but their AGM batteries are (or were, at least) made by Deka. I bought the group 34 75-month Napa Legend (Napa p/n 9834), which appears to be a rebadged Deka Intimidator (Deka p/n 9A34). No problems with it over the last 2-ish years. You might be able to get a better deal elsewhere, but the coupon I had (and the fact that I only had the one car at the time) made it worth the local purchase.

Yeah, there is a Napa just down the road a mile. I had a Deka Intimidator in the Forester and I liked it, especially go the price. I will look at the Napa Legend

Joe - did you ever get an Alt-S fuse mod on the LGT or only the Forester?

 

In general for others: Alt-S fuse mod + decent capacity AGM + battery kill switch (if garage queen or weekend warrior) + quarterly or semi-annual trickle charge to top off the battery, and the AGM should last 5-6 years easy.

 

Else, even with a good/great battery, the stock charging system and vampire drain from even the most basic accessories (let alone say an AP or Tactrix, OBD dongle, dashcam, etc.) will make short work of the state of charge and effective capacity of a new battery.

Yes, HBK Electronics MK3 is installed on the GT. Fault lies with the Exide AGM, which started having widespread failure issues around the time I purchased it for the GT. Had one die in the Fozz after only 2 months.

go straight to dekka do not past go

go straight to dekka do not past go

Ordered a Napa Legend 9834 which is a rebadged Deka Intimidator 9A34. It will be installed later today.

This guy?

 

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBP9834

This guy?

 

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBP9834

Yup!

I’ve long been an Optima fanboy. But, last moth the 2.5 year old red top in my GT lost about half its CCA, still at 12v but car was cranking slow. Luckily Optima has a 3 year exchange warranty. Of note this battery was two years old (NOS) when I bought it, frustrating at the time but the only one the local Advance had in stock. Anyway, last month Advance exchanged the battery for a new one and restarted the 3 year warranty.