Optima Battery

paul did pass the time by typing:

I just use the best (highest CCA, longest warranty) battery that PepBoys or AutoZone sells. That way if anything happens and it dies there is usually a store nearby where I can go get it replaced. Haven't had to pay for a battery in about ten years.

Try a local 4Wheel Parts or Sears Auto store. Both carry the Optimas and both tend to have better fitment information than you might find on the website. The red Optima is a fairly good street choice, priced just a bit higher than the Sears DieHard SUV series.

paul proclaimed:

I have an Optima Red Top in my '81 CJ5 that has been in since I bought the Jeep in '98. That's 7 years of service that I have owned the vehicle, PLUS the battery served time for the previous owner.

I recently thought the battery was on its death bed, and found that the + cable was cooking where it conntected to the starter relay. I end-for-ended the cable so that it could take advantage of the larger surface area of connection at the battery end of the cable (I have a cable that can be reversed.) This solved my problem for several months, and I had to replace the cable last Friday (01/13) because I had to get my wife to push my Jeep out of the garage two days in a row. I checked the cable connection again and found that it had deteriorated more since the previous time I checked it.

In any case, the battery is okay with coming up on 8 years of service to me, plus unknown service to the previous owner.

Get the Optima and don't look back.

Jeff Strickland proclaimed:

And the cool thing is, the Optima comes with a very good set of comfortable hiking boots for those willing to risk that many years on any battery. >:-)

I purchased a Optima Red Top to go into my '99 Sahara when purchased new, since I've never before had luck with factory batts lasting longer than about 2 yrs. I placed it in my 911 until the inevitable death of the Sahara batt. Damn DC came out with the Rubicon, so I ordered a Rubi and sold the Sahara with it's stock batt still in place.

The Red Top would remain in the 911 until the inevitable death of the '03 Rubi batt. Weeeeeeeeeell...3 years and the factory Rubi batt is still going strong, and so is the Red Top in the seldom driven, often neglected 911 (twice until the Red Top was dead and then revived).

This Red Top is still going strong after 7 years and only 3 "artificial" charges other than the alternator on the 911.

Do I believe in Optimas? You f-ing bet I do.

tw _____________________________________________________________________

"There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'."

Pronunciation: 'jEp Function: noun Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 > I am in need of a new battery and am impressed (or is it hoodwinked?) by the

I got eleven years out of the original factory battery in my Wrangler.

Earle

You must live in a mild climate... Around here in Houston, 2 years is about normal...

LOL "Mild" is a relative term. It is pretty mild here, compared to maybe Greenland.

They still fail from vibration just like a normal battery. Maybe they last a little longer, maybe not. They get dirty connections still too. The bad thing is Optima's have a shitty warranty where the cheap batteries that break easier are easy to replace 'free'.

I screwed up in my mind when I bought two. Now I had to buy a 'new' cheap battery that I will never have to spend money on again and will have to go buy another when this second one craps out.

I am 'not' impressed by Optima batteries.

Mike

You and I usually agree on most things but I guess we can agree to disagree on that point. :)

Jerry

Maybe they

I was getting about a year on the cheap batteries. I got from August

I am now running on the Optima from the Cherokee which I bought a new battery for (that came with free roadside boosts for 2 years) when the CJ's broke. I haven't been able to bounce the CJ7 like I used to, so maybe this one will last...

Mike

Jerry Bransford wrote:

My Optima Red Top finally died. My wife had to push me out to the driveway at 0630 two mornings in a row, and I had to park on the jobsite on a hill, so I broke down and got a new battery. I got another Red Top at Costco. They sell them for $105. This works out to about $1 per month. Not bad considering that it drove me off of many hillsides when I still had a carburator that resisted operating anytime it wasn't perfectly level -- which is often for me.

I like mine 'cause it doesn't empty ...