you guys can get the better yellow top at Super Autobacs for 130!!!!! =) group that fits the 8, we only sell usual one at Pep boys =/ if i use the yellow top, will it stop the dimming of my head lights while my bass hits? have a capacitor too! helps alot but still dims a little.

 

I'm a battery newbie.. what's the difference between the Red/Yellow tops? More juice? One for stereo stuff?

Recap GRP 35 works great .. but needs the height adapter.. cool. Need to get one soon. My battery sounds like it's dieing.

 

Red top Optimas are designed to be used as a starter battery in which provides all the cranking amps. A few discharge should be ok. Yellow top is better because it can handle multiple deep discharges specially if you have Hi power audio system. Also the voltage discharge curve is more even and hold longer than the red top. So, you can run your audio system a full blast without starting your car at longer time than the stock battery.

 

I actually saw an 34R Orange top (model #OT34R), I guess its a combination of yellow/red , may be worth investigating!

 

The 34R (R= reverse; orange top) is basically a red top from group 34. The only difference is the reverse post. Optima made this version to satisfy customers that has this configuration and has the room to use 75 and 34 group way before the group 35 became a standard option for some applications (mostly import vehicles).
I hope that this clears things some comfusions.
Edit: I found out that Optima got rid of the Orange top to avoid confusions. They are still make 34R but is red top.
cheers

 

I've installed the yellow-top version of the 35. Like the red-top 35, it's a good fit and has the terminals in the correct locations. I chose the yellow because it's supposed to better accomodate deep discharges. Since I sometimes leave the car sit for periods, that's a good thing. Also I suspect it might have a bit more "courage" in the event I ever have to go through a serious "deflood" attempt. It's supposed to hold voltage better through the discharge curve. It's got more than enough cranking amps to serve as a starting battery. Plus, it's yellow!

Purchased from Batteryweb.com. Delivery was quick.

Here it is in comparison to the stock. It's about as wide, but a bit longer. It's also a bit shorter, but the included adapter plate makes up the difference almost exactly.

 

There are a number of plastic bits that can be left on or removed depending on your application. Here they are, separated. The 2 gray ones of the bottom ends I left off to promote better airflow around the case. The thicker yellow one is the height adapter. The thin yellow piece can snap onto the other yellow piece. I left it off, again in the interest of maximum airflow, in deference to the Mazda battery tsb.

 

topplate info

edit - that's a 1-year replacement warranty as opposed to the 3-year warranty for the red-top. I imagine that's just due to the abusive nature of the applications that the yellow-top is designed for.

 

And the "installed" pic. Since it matches my "decor" it was a shame to have to put the cover back on. But it's needed to direct the cooling air and protect against shorts. The carrying strap is easily removed and so I did, for aesthetics (geeky, eh?). I put it somewhere in the garage where it's sure to be un-findable when the time comes. :D

This is probably about as big as you'd want to get and still fit the guidelines for allowing room for the cooling air to circulate. The only dimension in which there'd be room for more "battery" would be height, since the adapter plate was needed. But we're way past stock capacity already. It's hard to see in the pic because of the angles, but the front edge does fit to the midpoint of the "white paint" on the box. Due to the cylindrical construction of the Optima, it probably has better cooling properties than a regular box-shaped battery -- a better surface-area to volume ratio.

I can vouch that the "cooling airflow" thing is not a sham. There were a number of bugs and high-speed bug-parts in the bottom of the battery box. Might not be a bad idea to lift the battery once a year and clean them out of the air-channels that are built into the bottom of the battery box.

Sorry, I can't answer the question about dimming headlights and bass hits; I just have the stock stereo. Offhand I'd say the solution to that would be bigger capacitor, several caps in parallel, or modification to have a 2nd dedicated circuit for audio, with its own battery. The yellow-top would be a good choice in that application. You'd need to take some care with selecting and designing a safe and secure location for the 2nd battery. Try the audio forum for better answers

I think the yellow top was a good choice for me. Time will tell. I've had a few sluggish starts off the stock battery, but no floods. Want to keep it that way.

 

Good review Nubo!

 

Anyone else use the Yellow D35? I wanted to get some feedback on how it's going for them and if they needed to do any work to get it to fit? (eg.. extending cables, etc)

My stock batt is dead, I cant drive, and need to get one ASAP. I cant seem to find one in Hawaii so I will need to SUPER AIR EXPRESS that puppy so I wanna be sure I get the right one.

 

well my battery died today and while i was picking up a new one at autozone the guy behind the counter says, "i can hook you up with a optima red top if you pay with cash." first thing i notice is that the positive terminal is on opposite side of the battery. i ended up getting the battery anyways because he only charged me $80 and the battery was marked as $129. got home and did a search for "optima red top" and this diy thread came up. followed the instructions and intall was less than 10 minutes. this forum rocks!

 

hmmm...$80 if you pay cash, did he sell it to you out of the back of his trunk? Or did he slide it across the counter and make sure no one else was looking when he did it?

Anyway, my question is this - I've read through the entire thread and got fairly mixed messages. I have slow starts on occasions which is more embareassing than anything else because I'm sitting in a car with less than 10,000 miles on it and it sounds like a '84 choking for life tring to start up. I have a 650 watt amp that starts with the engine, but I never just let the audio run, nor do I want to. I just want strong starts and a long life. I'm thinking the red is for me or should I go with the yellow? The numbers also confuse me, I just want plug and play, no "mods" needed. So do I want the 35 series? I'm a n00b, pardon my ignorance...

 

Have you had the No-start work done on your car? If not, head for your dealer and tell them you are having problems with slow starts. They should replace your battery, starter motor and plugs with upgraded units under warranty. It makes a huge difference in starting the car.

See the service bulletin at the link below:
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...4-05-1448e.pdf

 

No, I mentioned it to them and they said that "it's the nature of the beast" type answer, that rotaries are like that. It's getting worse actually, the guy who changed my oil (I was lazy) wasn't able to start it and almost flooded it today which would have sucked. I'll try taking it to a northern VA dealer this week since I'll be heading out of town for a while. Thanks.

 

You might want to print out the service bulletin and take it with you.

 

Are they going to give me **** since I have an Amp installed into my battery. That's what I'm worried about the most I geuss.

 

Hard to say. One dealer is not necessarily the same as any other so you can't predict how they will view something like that. If the dealership is customer friendly, they probably will do the service without question. If they don't, take it to another dealer.

 

Well, I dropped it off this morning as I plan on going to a wedding (leaving tommorow) so they have time to do it. Also I asked them to fix the rotor rust which is quite bad on my car that many people have commented on it. So here's keeping my fingers crossed I'll get both jobs done as they are both questionable.

 

Since we're on the topic of Batteries, do folks here who've changed out their batteries performed the Idle learning procedure afterwards?? As these cars have got tons of electronic/computerized components, I would think that it may be significant...

 

"Idle learning procedure" Huh?
Are you referring to the DSC calibration procedure?

 

... or whatever it's called. I think it's different for every car and maker - basically, it's allowing the car's computerized & electronic system to "re-learn" after a change in battery, removal of old dead battery, etc.
This is normally done by Idling for a period of time, or slightly revving while idling, and turning on the radio, A/C full blast, etc. & basically let everything calibrate again. Every car does this slightly differently, but above description just about covers the basics.
Don't know, but maybe not even doing any of this makes no difference since I think most modern cars eventually re-calibrates itself eventually anyway.

 

If you are just replacing the battery, i.e., disconnecting/reconnecting, you will not erase the Keep Alive Memory which I believe contains the information you are referring to. There is a way to clear KAM, but a specific procedure must be run. See the following thread for more information:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/ecu-clear-reset-27548/

 

Just as a sort of thanks I geuss, I dropped the car off Wednesday and they just gave me a call saying they finished all the work. I was surprised I didn't get treated like crap because I had a 650W amp hooked into the battery, but the replaced the works with the battery and spark plugs and on top of that I had asked for them to do the rotor cleaning (because mine were rusty as hell, and they replaced them. Where's one of those questionnare thingies because that kicks ***!!

 

Did they replace the starter motor? That's the biggy.

As far as the brake rotors go, don't be surprised if they rust up again. The paint the manufacturer uses is not suitable for the environment these rotors experience. Best approach is to paint them yourself with a high-quality, high-temp caliper paint like G2. Like this: