yellow or red top battery?
Better link: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...tive+Batteries
Remember you need the Red/Positive terminal inboard-aft, as this Group 35.
Remember you need the Red/Positive terminal inboard-aft, as this Group 35.
Better link: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...tive+Batteries
Remember you need the Red/Positive terminal inboard-aft, as this Group 35.
Remember you need the Red/Positive terminal inboard-aft, as this Group 35.
That seems to be a pretty good battery, It cost a bit much, 170 bux. but it has 4 yr free replacement 100 month prorate. so why not ?
Hmm, one more thing I wanna put an update here, its about my Optima Yellow that I mentioned earlier.
After Autozone's test said the battery is "bad." I dont believe it. I know, the Optima Yellow has been off the car for months then I left it in the basement so it enjoyed a whole icy cold winter. We all know what cold will do to a battery. so I was like hmm, I might as well go buy a battery charger and see what happens !
So this morning at 9am, I look at Sears battery charger. I picked the one with 2a slow/12a fast/30amp rapid/80a Starting Battery charger with Alternator test build in. 80 bux + tax. no biggie, I got Sears gift card
Got home, Connect it, battery test shows 10.9 V. believe it or not, I can still run the radio with it on my rx-7 ! ROFL ! Crank? nah, too slow. For the record, Optima said if it hits 10.5 V it means its "completely discharged"
close enough.
Its a DEEP CYCLE BATTERY DAMN IT !
so I start charging it, at first I left it at 12a "Fast" charge. cuz I dont want to go too fast on such weak battery.
Guess what, it is holding charge. About an hour later, I disconnected it cuz I gotta have lunch (didnt have time for breakfast, mad hungry, LOL)
Came back, test battery, Hey, it has about 11.4 v !!! voila !
So I was like, its time to give it some "kick" and try some Rapid Charge on this sucker. I know pushing 30amp to a battery will make it "hot hot hot", so I put it on my stack of fc's tires, turn the fan on, and charrrgggEEeeee ! ...
3 hours later (I was busy trying to put the cat back together for my FC), I walk back and check, hey, its 90% and holding 12.8v !!
So the Optima still works after a deeeeeep deeeep discharge.
I was about to try to crank my FC with it, but my smart *** brother put my FC's keys into his pocket and he went out with it ... grrr
I wanna see how fast I can crank with it
Hmm, one more thing I wanna put an update here, its about my Optima Yellow that I mentioned earlier.
After Autozone's test said the battery is "bad." I dont believe it. I know, the Optima Yellow has been off the car for months then I left it in the basement so it enjoyed a whole icy cold winter. We all know what cold will do to a battery. so I was like hmm, I might as well go buy a battery charger and see what happens !
So this morning at 9am, I look at Sears battery charger. I picked the one with 2a slow/12a fast/30amp rapid/80a Starting Battery charger with Alternator test build in. 80 bux + tax. no biggie, I got Sears gift card
Got home, Connect it, battery test shows 10.9 V. believe it or not, I can still run the radio with it on my rx-7 ! ROFL ! Crank? nah, too slow. For the record, Optima said if it hits 10.5 V it means its "completely discharged"
close enough.
Its a DEEP CYCLE BATTERY DAMN IT !
so I start charging it, at first I left it at 12a "Fast" charge. cuz I dont want to go too fast on such weak battery.
Guess what, it is holding charge. About an hour later, I disconnected it cuz I gotta have lunch (didnt have time for breakfast, mad hungry, LOL)
Came back, test battery, Hey, it has about 11.4 v !!! voila !
So I was like, its time to give it some "kick" and try some Rapid Charge on this sucker. I know pushing 30amp to a battery will make it "hot hot hot", so I put it on my stack of fc's tires, turn the fan on, and charrrgggEEeeee ! ...
3 hours later (I was busy trying to put the cat back together for my FC), I walk back and check, hey, its 90% and holding 12.8v !!
So the Optima still works after a deeeeeep deeeep discharge.
I was about to try to crank my FC with it, but my smart *** brother put my FC's keys into his pocket and he went out with it ... grrr
I wanna see how fast I can crank with it
Last edited by nycgps; Jul 20, 2009 at 04:22 PM.
Yes, I have read too many reports of Optima (specifically their deep-cycle versions) having lackluster quality control since they were bought out by Johnson Controls.
I got 4 years out of my Yellow-Top, and it performed well during that period, including a flood recovery and the de-carbon procedure. However I would have hoped for more longevity.
Based on the negative reviews, I decided to change to a Hawker Oddyssey. These get high ratings from the DIY electric vehicle community.
Fortunately, this battery is available through Sears, re-branded as the DieHard Platinum-Plus P5, group 35. It's a heck of a battery, more capacity and deep-cycle ability. It's an AGM type battery like Optima, so has the same leakproof and non-corrosion advantages. And the Sears warranty puts the Optima Yellow-Top warranty to complete shame. But, do not buy if you are looking to save weight.
I got 4 years out of my Yellow-Top, and it performed well during that period, including a flood recovery and the de-carbon procedure. However I would have hoped for more longevity.
Based on the negative reviews, I decided to change to a Hawker Oddyssey. These get high ratings from the DIY electric vehicle community.
Fortunately, this battery is available through Sears, re-branded as the DieHard Platinum-Plus P5, group 35. It's a heck of a battery, more capacity and deep-cycle ability. It's an AGM type battery like Optima, so has the same leakproof and non-corrosion advantages. And the Sears warranty puts the Optima Yellow-Top warranty to complete shame. But, do not buy if you are looking to save weight.
Its just sad that Optima got such great reputation, decided to change their warranty from 3yr free replacement/72 month prorate for the yellow top to 1 yr free replacement only
I mean Optima battery is still good (my yellow top is a good example), but hmm if Im going to buy another battery, I might not get Optima, for around the same price, I would get Die Hard (I find the name funny tho, Die Hard ...)
Another update :
Bro came back with my keys,
car start right up, but Alternator might be getting old, its not charging well. 13.8 volt when head light is on
w00t.
So yeah, Optima is good. but if you have a Sears around u, get Die Hard instead
Bro came back with my keys,
car start right up
, but Alternator might be getting old, its not charging well. 13.8 volt when head light is on w00t.
So yeah, Optima is good. but if you have a Sears around u, get Die Hard instead
13.8 vlts should be fine. On all the cars I use my scangauge on they run anywhere from 13.6-14.2 sitting/driving, and this is on a couple older cars as well as newer ones.
so yeah ... Im at the bare minimum
RX-8 has a 100 amp alternator, and it charges at around 14.2 +/- 0.2 v all the time.
FC comes with pathetic 80amp Alternator ...
gonna swap it with FD ones ... 100 amp ...
but yeah ... the battery still works
, but I've seen the 100 amps too.
how much is Costco selling them for ?
I think the cheapest is Amazon. 138.55 includes free shipping. but it has no warranty.
if I need another one in the future (not for a long while ... but ...) I probably take the chance and get it from Amazon.
I think the cheapest is Amazon. 138.55 includes free shipping. but it has no warranty.
if I need another one in the future (not for a long while ... but ...) I probably take the chance and get it from Amazon.
As I continue to consider a replacement battery prior to Winter hybernation I seem to be less sure than ever. The Optima series consumer ratings have slipped and so have the DieHard Platinum. Perhaps I should just stick with tried and true Interstate. Current thoughts?
at least with DieHard Platinum you have 4 yr free replacement (assume Sears is still in business by then ...
)Just "Kill" the battery at your 3.99 th year .... *cough*
The Angry Wheelchair
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Installed Diehard Platinium P-5 a month ago after buying the car 2 months ago used; started right up and idled for a few minutes without not a single problem. 4 yr warranty, can't go wrong with it. Yellow top just for the same price with 1 yr warranty is a no brainer to chose Diehard (both are deep cycle). Read too many cases of people having the Red top Optima pull a WTF on them and not even turn over, just die.
I'd suggest Diehard, not exactly light (around 50lbs) but then again you can always easily lose that weight with aftermarket stuff upgrading your car. Unless you track your car then it doesn't matter anyhow generally. If you plan to, buy a lightweight one and switch it for the races, then switch the Diehard back in afterward.
This is my summary of normal sized batteries based of majority of reviews I've seen:
Optima Red - Possibly starts up a little quicker than other batteries and looks purdy with a 2 or 3 yr (too lazy to check) warranty. However when it goes, it's gone. No recharging and at times, no warning and can ruin your day. Weighs around mid 30 lbs
Optima Yellow - Deep cycle, looks purdy, warranty sucks (1 yr). So if you have parasite loss in the electric system, overuse your electronics with car off or just have a lemon after a year, cough up another 150-180 bucks for another. Weighs around mid 30 lbs
Diehard - Deep cycle, plain looking, best warranty (4 yrs). I've yet to see any real legit complaints out of the very very few I've managed to even find that call a negative on these batteries. Personal opinion; best warranty, least amount of complaints and a longer robust reputation than Optima. Weighs around 50 lbs.
Also, don't forget if you have stock terminal connectors to clean them out with a brass brush or replace them as I did to connectors with corrosion resistance on them so they don't eat your terminals up.
I'd suggest Diehard, not exactly light (around 50lbs) but then again you can always easily lose that weight with aftermarket stuff upgrading your car. Unless you track your car then it doesn't matter anyhow generally. If you plan to, buy a lightweight one and switch it for the races, then switch the Diehard back in afterward.
This is my summary of normal sized batteries based of majority of reviews I've seen:
Optima Red - Possibly starts up a little quicker than other batteries and looks purdy with a 2 or 3 yr (too lazy to check) warranty. However when it goes, it's gone. No recharging and at times, no warning and can ruin your day. Weighs around mid 30 lbs
Optima Yellow - Deep cycle, looks purdy, warranty sucks (1 yr). So if you have parasite loss in the electric system, overuse your electronics with car off or just have a lemon after a year, cough up another 150-180 bucks for another. Weighs around mid 30 lbs
Diehard - Deep cycle, plain looking, best warranty (4 yrs). I've yet to see any real legit complaints out of the very very few I've managed to even find that call a negative on these batteries. Personal opinion; best warranty, least amount of complaints and a longer robust reputation than Optima. Weighs around 50 lbs.
Also, don't forget if you have stock terminal connectors to clean them out with a brass brush or replace them as I did to connectors with corrosion resistance on them so they don't eat your terminals up.
Last edited by Vlaze; Aug 13, 2009 at 09:48 AM.
Red top has 3 yr warranty, got it for a year something, work like new.
Yellow top, works for over 3 yrs. well, it got deep deep discharged couple of times, It still works, but Im sure the capacity has decreased. Same thing for any other battery so no biggie. Now using it for my FC. works fine.
Dunno about Diehard --- never used them before, will give it a try in the future.
Yellow top, works for over 3 yrs. well, it got deep deep discharged couple of times, It still works, but Im sure the capacity has decreased. Same thing for any other battery so no biggie. Now using it for my FC. works fine.
Dunno about Diehard --- never used them before, will give it a try in the future.
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I kept the yellow top. It's been working great and no sloshing sounds or spewed acid out the top like the ValueCraft pos that was in there before. I feel that the yellow top is a good choice for the 8 in case of flooding, for decarb, and in case of accidental trunk left open. I didn't realize the Diehard was 67% heavier, that makes me really glad that I went with the optima since the battery is right up at the very front of the car.
How do these batteries fit? I had to place a small piece of wood under my Autozone batter to get it to fit right. But this POS (second one under warranty) battery is always spewing out a little bit of acid and it annoys me.
The Optima comes with a height adapter, don't know about the Diehard.
