Does an Optima Yellow or Red top require battery hold/down bracket mods to fit ? I remember some talk about this.....mines a 2001. Also has anyone been able to find a Pansonic / stock replacement ? I have not. Google searches on the model number only list a few hits - all foreign. I could probably order one thru a stealership - NOT.

 

No, all you need is the spacer so the battery sits right. You can still use the factory bracket.

I would recommend a 34R so you won't have to extend your battery terminals. I waited for two months and couldn't get one so I went w/ the 34/78 red top and had my terminals extended.

 

you mean extend the battery CABLES...

but yea 34R, which is the reverse terminal battery... reuse the stock bracket and put the spacer in. or you can go ghetto-fabulous like i did and stick a piece of rubber in

 

Yes Lee, that's what I meant but not what I wrote...

 

where would one go about finding one of these spacers? or what could you use in place of one like the ghetto fabulous rubber?

 

The spacer can be bought w/ the battery. They used to be free but now they're charging $10 for a plastic spacer. At least it's the same color as the battery. As far as the rubber goes, Lee should be able to help.

 

The spacer / tray has been a bone of contention among Optima buyers for a long time... Some got it free, some had to pay, others (like me...) got one only after bitching to the vendor...

I fabbed one out of some wood - serviceable but 'ghetto'. Then I fabbed one from strapped-together sheets cut out of a plastic perforated pegboard - nicer but still 'low-rent'. Then I asked at the store (Batteries Plus) and they gave me one taken off another Optima on the shelf. It works - after a fashion - but it's clearly not designed for the 34R.

Just recently I bought a custom-fabbed bracket that eliminates the spacer altogether. The builder / vendor is over at TTORA:

http://www.tacomaterritory.com/forum...ad.php?t=28012

Custom bracket to anchor the 34R once and for all: $36. Knowing I no longer need any additional parts to hold the Optima in place: Priceless!.....

 

i just had a little rubber thing left in one of my dad's "boxes of random crap"... so i stuck it in there.

see the optima link in my sig for a pic.

 

I have "custom" Optima brackets as well...complete Optima mounting kits too. On the website.

 

When I put my yellow top in all I did was bend the stock bracket and it fit like a glove, no spacer needed...

judd

 

Bending the bracket is fine for on-road use because you probably bent it by hand or with little effort. Off-road, the forces of the battery bouncing around on the trails will bend it back just as easily.