Optima Yellow Top, worth it?

[CBFryman2 5,000+ posts]

Im in desperate need of a new battery because today my car had to be jumped twice during emissions test (and it still passed //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif ) and ive had trouble starting lately. Tommorow i will go to Costco because it was said on this forum that its the cheapest there but im guessing it will still be $150 or so. My question is, is it worth it? The place i went to do inspection today told me they sell Interstate batteries for $90 that come with a 7 year warranty, i dont even think my car will last that long.
Anyways when it comes down to business, is the yellowtop worth it? My dad also mentioned that sometimes dry cell batteries when drained they wont recharge up. True?

Thanks

1.) Search

2.) Yellow tops are gel cell, not dry cell.

3.) Look into a red top if you want optima, as it seems you dont have any need for a deep cycle (unless I am missing something)

4.) For that matter, if it is a beater, go down to Wal-mart and get a $60 with lots of CCA and a decent RC and it will fit your needs just fine.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

1.) Search
2.) Yellow tops are gel cell, not dry cell.

3.) Look into a red top if you want optima, as it seems you dont have any need for a deep cycle (unless I am missing something)

4.) For that matter, if it is a beater, go down to Wal-mart and get a $60 with lots of CCA and a decent RC and it will fit your needs just fine.

2.yellow tops are agm cells

3. if you are hooking an amp up to it i wouldnt use a red especially if your system can draw much past 70% of your alts output.

4. better batteries do have a place in car audio...if you base things on just "if it works" then hi end audio is just as big of a waste of time/money as anything else.

 

[dvcevoblack 10+ year member]

yellow is well worth it for money

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

i like another type of battery but yellow is alot better than a red or a wal mart...especially if you live in a cold winter place and your system is a little larger unless you like cleaning terminals lol

 

[OneKrazyKeebler 10+ year member]

group 31 yt's ftw!

mhm x2 thanks to Scottie I got an almost brand new 31 for about 115 shipped to me. tough as a tank at 60lbs //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Thanks to scottie, I got 2 g31 yt myself. Turns out the guy was driving right past my house. Pickup FTW.

 

[munchies 10+ year member]

is there really THAT much of a difference between red and yellow? im using a red top under the hood and im starting to have voltage problems //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

imho red tops are garbage for audio. 1 battery set up in the car and you want to use an optima go yellow or blue. personally i would use kinetik, sure people say an optima out burps regular series kinetiks (seen it go both ways) but there is like 20-30% more battery to the kinetik and it shows up in reserve which if you dont burp and want to use it in street use thats what you want reguardless if you do or dont listen with the engine off. if you have a 2500 watt system that draws 200 amps with a 160-200 amp alt that extra power has to come from somewhere.

 

[AlpineUser 10+ year member]

interstate ftw optimas=over rated

 

[dbphelps 10+ year member]

Screw Optimas and thier overly-inflated prices...

Look at the Exide Orbital Xtreme Duty Cycle (34XCD), or the Deka Intimidator, both VERY good batteries (they both lasted longer than yellow top Optimas in different installations) and are quite a bit cheaper...

The 34XCD is the one if space is a consideration, and the Deka Intimidator if you can fit it...

Both are AGM batteries, both deep-cycle that also function well for starting, and both of them have better warranties than Optimas...

Also, the Optimas just went through a price increase.. **** greedy SOBs deserve to loose all the fleet contracts they have (a major vendor locally to me just had a client switch from yellow top Optimas to Deka Intimidators and they use, on average, 2600-3000 batteries a year, and have found the Dekas to outlast the Optimas by quite a margin)... Just a few things to think about... (I run the Exide batteries myself, both because of fitment issues, and because they have nice black accents, as a yellow top cover just won't cut it when you are looking for visual asthetics //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif )

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

wet cells typically **** as far as reserve they corrode and leak plus have a lot higher esr

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

Screw Optimas and thier overly-inflated prices...
Look at the Exide Orbital Xtreme Duty Cycle (34XCD), or the Deka Intimidator, both VERYH good batteries (they both lasted longer than yellow top Optimas in different installations) and are quite a bit cheaper...

The 34XCD is the one if space is a consideration, and the Deka Intimidator if you can fit it...

Both are AGM batteries, both deep-cycle that also function well for starting, and both of them have better warranties than Optimas...

Also, the Optimas just went through a price increase.. **** greedy SOBs deserve to loose all the fleet ocntracts they have (a major vendor locally to me just had a client switch from yellow top Optimas to Deka Intimidators and they use, on average, 2600-3000 batteries a year, and have found the Dekas to outlast the Optimas by quite a margin)... Just a few things to think about... (I run the Exide batteries myself, both because of fitment issues, and because they have nice black accents, as a yellow top cover just won't cut it when you are looking for visual asthetics //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif )

soon all batteries will go up the price of lead went up lol and when you are looking at batteries the reserve power matters. when you go smaller you get less if its a packed battery or not. i too for street use would run a intimidator over a spiral cell. the more plates you have the more reserve.

 

[munchies 10+ year member]

where's the cheapest place to get a yellow top. i think i may just have to return my red top //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

where's the cheapest place to get a yellow top. i think i may just have to return my red top //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

depends on if places hiked prices yet or not. if you are shopping with a set price look into deka intimidators. i like kinetik but then again its more expensive than what we are talking about. looks like the intimedators go for about $120

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]