DieHard Platinum here. Hasn't let me down since I got it several years ago, even after extended periods of sitting dormant in the driveway while I drive around my summertime DD.

 

ok guys...toss up empirical evidence that Optimas are crap and die hards are the shizzle. My anecdotal evidence of having 3 optimas in my three vehicles contradicts yours that they are crap. IN fact I've left my blue top sitting on the work bench for over a year, then put it in the toy to charge it and it started the truck just fine. So where does that leave the original poster? More or less in a quandry. Help him out by supplying independent test results, industry sales data or comparisons that show why you think one battery is better than the other, THEN add your experience with the products. That will help the guy out a lot more then just someone on the internet saying these batteries are crap and these are better.

 

The thing that I think about is cost not that I don`t mind spending the money. But it seems as I replace batteries every year .In my daily drivers and the other vehicles get the used but working batteries .

There is no real reason to spend the extra money for the optima for the so called extra gains. I was told by my interstate battery sales person that alot of the bed rep for optimas is using the wrong battery for your needs .

As we were both pressed for time we did not get into a real long debate. I sometimes wonder how much is just sales hype to sell a over priced battery.

 

For what it's worth. I had my first red last 8 yrs couldn't get an ansr how long they could go for. SO i took it out. Got another red had no problems. Just this week my son's batt went. i took my fisrt red put it in his car and off we went.i did't want to grt rid of it the batt was still good.I am glad i didn't turn it in for 5 $ return.I hope the new one lasts as long as the first one When i get home i always open the hood and lrt the heat out . Not practicle all the time.But when you can it helps keep belts hoses time belt from drying out andbatt from baking for hours in the summer maybe this helped the batt last.SoI like the optima they now give you aspacer with the batt so it will fit just fine

 

FWIW, i bought my first red top in 1992'ish to 93..

this was back then it was so silly to spend $100+ on a battery. but i was into car audio and i kept hearing about this optima.

FF to 2009. after like 3-4 diff optimas, including a trial time with the yellow, i bought my last optima batt. this one was to replace another red top that i got around 2004/05 and i notice it wont hold charge anymore.

so off to pepboys where i last bought it. came home. installed it. no problems.

now it's late 2009 and this optima wont hold a charge. even when hooked up to a battery charger.

now i heard that the platinum was a rebadge odyssey.

i ditched that optima faster than i could run to my local sears...

so far... so good.

optima batts are not the optima batts i first used more than a decade ago. they have changed owners 2-3 times. until i hear something has changed, see ya optima...

 

Ok did not mane to take over any one post but my 87 4runner has a red one it it ran good yesterday and the day before that well I was running the 4 runner today and when I went to start it seems like everything died I hook up some jumpers cables and it would barley turn over do you think it's the battery or something else

 

I do have to agree with GenXr... there are always lots of opinions on the Web and little to back them up.

Although I don't have any hard facts, I will share my experience with Optima which I hope will be more helpful than saying, "it sucks". I was big into mobile electronics and Optima was the hot battery. They looked good and due to their gel in place of the water/acid, they could be mounted in any position.

I liked them an really had no issues with my red or yellow tops in vehicles I drove regularly. Then I put a yellow top in my bagged '78 Hilux project truck. It sat a lot and the battery was always dead. Sure, that is to be expected, but after only a few uses/recharges, the battery went bad and wouldn't hold or take a charge. I got a couple through warranty and they all did the same thing.

Between the price and life expectancy issues, I switched to mid to upper quality batteries from Checker. I was told this is a good idea because A) Checker/O'reilly are everywhere and B) they offer a 3 year pro-rated warranty on the better batteries. So when the battery dies due to the AZ heat (and it will) all you have to do is swap it out at the nearest Checker.

This has worked great for me so far and been very cost affective.

 

turn out the starter got stuck and took all the juice so i need a new starter

 

Just check consumer reports.

 

Owner of a yellow top and a red top in two different vehicles. I bought a yellow top for my old jeep, and the battery would die after a few days. I had it tested by an optima dealer, told the problem was in my jeep. Traded the jeep in (not because of the dead battery issue), and put the battery into our new nissan suv, seeing as how a 200 dollar battery must have plenty of life left in it. WRONG, a cell finally failed after 14 months of ownership leaving my wife stranded in a not to great area. Yellow top only had a one year PRORATED warranty so even if it was covered it was only covered for miniscule amount. Thanks optima for really ripping me off. Red top was in the yota when I bought it, and it works well, ill give it that, but I don't trust it for a second.

 

I think my redtop is starting to die... or i have electrical draw..

 

from what I read and experienced with friends, red tops last a long time if they are kept charged. If they are run down or severely discharged more than once or twice at best it kills them. Red tops are starting batteries and are designed to give you all their current up front for cold cranking. They are most happy when continually charged.

Yellow/Blue tops are deep cycle and designed to give you a steady current (discharge) over a longer period of time versus the starting batteries. These type of batteries can handle many cycles of extreme charge/discharge and storage. They are not so good for starting big diesel engines with massive starters.

Hopefully, that explanation will help folks understand what could kill their red tops (and other brand starting batteries) prematurely. If you run lots of hi electrical demand devices, you might consider replacing your starting battery with a deep cycle unit or adding one to your vehicle.

 

My yellow top had no demand (never got a winch) besides running a factory stereo and starting. It failed miserably, i've had a 40 dollar walmart battery last longer and be more reliable. And yes, I gave optima a chance to rectify the problem, and the told me the problem was in the jeep, which I later comfirmed it was not. Not bitter, I just don't want someone to waste their money like I did.

 

have any of you guys,heard about the kirkland battery.being better..
than the optima...all around....price-crank-value..and they give u a new one,if the one u have takes a crap.(no prorate)

 

I just bought a new red top to replace old on. I cut a 2x6 treated board then used aftermarket j hooks that I bought for 2.99 to hold down with a 1x1 flat slat iron drilled 2 holes for j hooks didnt use the wing nuts I used lock nuts. This is Year #2 how ever I cant say if the reds any better than anything else only had TOYOTA for 3 months it came with a red top.Hope this is something you can use.

 

I've also had bad luck with optima's. I kept red tops in my Trans Am for years. Ended up replacing them about every two years until I got a Platinum. Now they're all I'll put in my vehicles. Just my .02!

 

Got a link to add to the thread?



Seems like a number of folks have had issues with their optimas, that is obvious. On the other hand, I can't explain why my batteries have done so well. They were all bought in different years so I can't say that I happen to buy all of them during a particularly good production run or something to that effect. I bought them red- 2007, blue - 2008, red - 2009 and all seems to work fine. The Blue top is still sitting on the work bench waiting to go back in the samurai.

I don't have any reason to not recommend them. It does pay to shop around and research what's out there.

 

I got my 34R Redtop on 10/16/2007, for the past few days it had hard time starting the truck, especially first time in the morning. After driven on freeway for a while, it will be fine. Went to the shop to get it looked, the guy told me the charge is low. So my Optima won't hold a charge. Nothing has changed on my truck, only the weather gets colder lately, but I am in SoCal!

Optima claims:
Up to 2x longer life
Maintenance free
Optimal starting power, regardless of temperature

I think I need to get a new battery soon before I get stranded, definitely not an Optima!!!!

 

My redtop is great. No issues at all. It just works which is all I want from a battery.

Have it installed in this box. It can NOT go anywhere!!

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/...ox_p_1624.html

 

looks like you got your money's worth in the red top.

but at this point, i'd seriously look at the sear die hard platinums...