Optima Red Top or Yellow Top battery - 2003 Mazda Protoge' 5

[Latina33 10+ year member]

I'm going to be installing a set of components in my front stage this weekend, and a 12" sub in a sealed box in my hatchback. I will be using an Alpine 5 channel amp that will be putting out 200X2W RMS bridged to the components, and 300-350W RMS on the fifth channel to the sub.

I already have a 2 Farad capacitor that I was thinking on installing, but I'm not even sure if it's worth it. I've got a buddy helping me do the install, and he has recommended that I replace my stock battery with a red top Optima. He says that I could also put in a Yellow Top, although he's not sure what the difference is.

So with 700-800W RMS being pushed to my system (through 4 gauge wiring), would you guys recommend the red top or the yellow top Optima battery??

Any suggestions??

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[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

yellow top if i had to get one of the 2

 

[NoLimit 10+ year member]

red top under the hood, should be fine.

Dont put a yellow under the hood, trust me, use yellow as a back up. But, get a red first, and if you have probs, get a yellow in the back.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

dual purpose yellow

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/optima/americas0/en/config/product_info/automotive/deep_cycle.html

now its warranty...

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/optima/americas0/en/config/product_info/automotive/deep_cycle/warranty_info.html

now lets look at the red...

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/optima/americas0/en/config/product_info/automotive/starter.html

and now its waranty...

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/optima/americas0/en/config/product_info/automotive/starter/warranty_info.html

reason it isnt under waranty isnt because they want to be mean...its because the chances of it failing under those conditions goes up greatly.....

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

the red top will be better for the demand of power on the spot. the plates in the red top are thinner and can transfer the energy faster and charge faster as well, but the plates will degrade faster than a yellow top.. the yellow top is a deep cycle battery(thicker plates, so it wont degrade with the power drainage fast) But the tradeoff is slower energy transfer & charge. Both batteries are great but are you plannin on draining your battery completely everytime? or are you listening to music while driving, with alternator active to keep up with the demand of charging power?

 

[PSturmer 10+ year member]

at autozone they offer a 3 year warrenty for red and yellowtop. i just put a yellowtop in and i have no problems

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

You probably won't even need an upgraded battery with that amount of power. Try it out first and see how bad it is. BIG 3 would be next on my list....

 

[Latina33 10+ year member]

dual purpose yellowhttp://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/optima/americas0/en/config/product_info/automotive/deep_cycle.html

now its warranty...

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/optima/americas0/en/config/product_info/automotive/deep_cycle/warranty_info.html

now lets look at the red...

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/optima/americas0/en/config/product_info/automotive/starter.html

and now its waranty...

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/optima/americas0/en/config/product_info/automotive/starter/warranty_info.html

reason it isnt under waranty isnt because they want to be mean...its because the chances of it failing under those conditions goes up greatly.....

Thanks for the links, audiolife. Those were VERY helpful! Just from looking at those, I'm thinking I'd go with the Yellow top, just to have the warranty for 'car audio', even if I don't end up having to use it, it's nice to know that it'll be covered.

Reading the info about both red and yellow, I don't see much of a difference.

 

[Latina33 10+ year member]

the red top will be better for the demand of power on the spot. the plates in the red top are thinner and can transfer the energy faster and charge faster as well, but the plates will degrade faster than a yellow top.. the yellow top is a deep cycle battery(thicker plates, so it wont degrade with the power drainage fast) But the tradeoff is slower energy transfer & charge. Both batteries are great but are you plannin on draining your battery completely everytime? or are you listening to music while driving, with alternator active to keep up with the demand of charging power?

No, not planning on draining the battery at all, man. My car is just going to be a daily driver....but when I'm on the highway, I want to be able to crank it up.

So to answer your question, yes, I'd have the alternator pretty much all the time when my system is on, so it would be charging continuous.

So the power transfer is effectively quicker in the red top due to thinner plates? That's good info, too. I didn't know that.

 

[Latina33 10+ year member]

red top under the hood, should be fine.
Dont put a yellow under the hood, trust me, use yellow as a back up. But, get a red first, and if you have probs, get a yellow in the back.

Yellow as a backup, eh? Why would you recommend that, NoLimit? Any specific reason to go with the red top first?