Is Optima a good brand?
 

Is Optima a good brand?
I"m considering THESE AGM for my EV conversion in the future.

WaxyChicken -

I heard that they *used* to be great, but the quality has gone down a bit.

I am sure that others will chime in with better knowledge.

When my car battery fails I am curious if an Optima would be a good replacement.

CarloSW2

For almost half the price per watt hour you can get Trojan batteries and those are for sure good batteries, the most common size is the T105 that is used in golf carts so they are also used for larger electric cars.

Go trojans.. they make good batteries.. and condoms..oh wait thats a different trojan..

Id recomend trojans over the optima, however i have a optama thats proved its self .. but from what i have heard from others experiances.. go trojan

Optimas are good but Trojans are better. Trojan's been in the traction battery business for a long time; Optima's main gig is rough-service and all-position mounting capability.

The Optima won't require any maintenance either. The Trojan's will require occasional checking to top off the water level I believe. Personally, I'd definitly go with the Trojans, but I'm don't know a ton about this kind stuff. :)

the red tops are pretty crappy, they used to be the best. Friend of mine put one in his Delorean since it is sealed.. worked great to crank the car over but after a week of sitting the battery was dead! He figured a parasitic drain... nope. Put in a regular non sealed battery and it didn't drain after a week.

Okay, I just got off the relevant websites. Trojan's and Optima's size 24s are consistent in every respect: Trojan's better. Their size 24 weighs less and delivers more amp-hours than the Optima. Move to the Marine/RV deep cycle battery and it's not just better - it's way better.

Odyssey, the last name in batteries IMHO..

Althought I bought an Optima red top, I have subs, amps, ect..

I left it on for about 8 hours solid a an excessive
volumn and my truck cranked right over with no problems..

If you do buy an optima, dont accept one thats got a date of 4 months or older, sitting for a long time is bad on red tops, yellow tops are ok for that tho..
marine blue tops are the best of both worlds..

Look into the Odyssey batteries if your going EV..
I got 13 years out of my old Optima and had lots of load on it..

A guy in my truck club SWEARS by the Odyssey and hes not a guy to BS about electronics, he works for DEI and does all sorts of stuff..

I bought an Optima Red Top for my Nissan a few years ago (car was totaled in 2006 :( ) and liked it. More CCA and about 8lbs lighter than factory unit which was notoriously unreliable.

It's sad to hear they've gone downhill ... unless that is a nonsense rumor.

Those Trojans look big and bulky. I think I saw 54lbs each. :eek:

Odyssey batteries look good. Ideally, I want as many CCA as factory (or a few more) but with less weight. :thumbup:

I purchased an optima starting battery last year, already been replaced 2 times. First time could have been me (left car stored, and it wouldn't ever recover). 2nd time was totally not me; had battery disconnected and it went dead in less than a month and hasn't recovered yet.

I may however be highly unlucky . . .

I have used both Optima Red and Yellow Tops for E.V.'s. One thing I noticed was a failure of one in fourteen batteries. I have worked with over sixty Red Tops and 20 Yellow Tops. Usually a seal blows out or a cell dies (or reverses). Also, the Optima's are sensitive to temperatures below 40F.

My Optima red top just kicked the bucket after 5+ years of 1-2x a week use. I didn't buy another one as I couldn't justify the cost vs no real upgrade in performance (it was lighter than stock, yet the same weight as my new battery).

I found this interesting:
"The majority of car batteries are created by 3 manufacturers - Delphi, Exide and Johnson Controls Industries. Delphi makes some EverStart models sold in Walmart and ACDelco. Johnson Control Industries makes Duralast seen in Autozone stores, Diehard - sold in Sears, Kirkland - the Costco brand, Motorcraft - which Ford sells, some of the EverStarts, and Interstate. Exide makes Exide batteries, Champion, Napa and even a % of the EverStart batteries."

"The majority of car batteries are created by 3 manufacturers ..."

That's true of a lot of auto parts ... oil filters, brake linings, etc ... Many are the same (or very similar) design but in a different box, with a different label, etc ...

Nope, I've had similar luck with optima batteries. I used to be a dealer for them but they would just not come back after going dead, and that is unacceptable for a high priced battery. They are great for high load applications, but every one that I ever had that went dead, was gone for good afterward. They made good on their warranty for most of them though, so I have to give them that.

Define "best battery".

Optimas are sealed and can pull lots of power quick, which is why I used them for my cycle.

A true deep cycle, such as a Trojan 6V would be better for an electric car.

If anyone wants to buy Yellow Tops, consider Blue Tops instead. According to Optimas own web site, the yellows and blues are exactly the same inside. The blue ones have threaded post, which are handy for hooking accessories straight onto. I think they are also a little less expensive, and might have a few more amp-hours on them.