For those who thought about using a Optima battery

I wouldn't bother running an Optima in the heat we have in the southeast. I had one and the heat kills them.

 

Live in Texas ..... Never a problem, got a 'Red Top' in my '09, works like a champ.

 

Red, Yellow or Blue Top?

 

I like the odysseys very much but will have to check out this Deka brand.

 

Try the deca group 31. Its a much more stout battery for not much of an increase.
I will never ever run a optima since one exploded in my friends face ( not going into it)

If you have contacts you can purchase defaced or non branded deca 31s for around 130$ in canada. Im not sure what they run in the usa but id think cheaper.

Personally i run the xs power 3100 and have put it through the paces not only with cold winter starts that drop below -50c now and then but with pulling extreme amps though it.
odyssey and xs power under extreme loads have been proven to produce similar results and the deca is a very close contender in the competition car audio world. This is even more evident in Street Class where you may only have one battery.

 

I've use Deka deep cycles for years. If their AGM is as good as those deep cycles, I'll think about getting one.

Got stung years ago on an Optima. 1 month past the warrenty and told to get lost. They lost me at that point.

 

Indeed, high underhood heat kills wet lead-acid batteries because it accelerates grid corrosion and water loss. Excessive heat will kill any battery. Spiral wound AGM batteries are generally the the most tolerant of heat and vibration. Relocating an AGM or Gel VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead-Acid) flat plate or spiral wound battery from the engine compartment to a cooler location will increase the service life of the battery, especially in a hot climate. Examples of popular VRLA batteries are Optima (Johnson Controls), Odyssey (Enersys), DieHard Platinum (EnerSys), Deka (East Penn), Concorde and Sonnenshein (Exide). Wet batteries can also be relocated, but need to require extra venting.

 

I had 4 Optima blue tops in my 36 foot open center console w/twin 300's they lasted all of 10 months maybe never again.

Changed over BCI have yet to have any issues and that has been 3 years now but it is getting time to replace them anyway another $1200 bucks….

 

twins in the bed, thats the plan. I like to run all my crap (music, vhf radio, lights, margarita mixer, air bed) without the truck on.

 

Years ago but I believe they were all red tops, could've been yellow. Definitely not blue.

 

I might need to try a deka. Funny thing is I did the enveloping for them and never thought to buy one for my own truck ! Hopefully my friend stops being lazy and gets me his free battery for the year !

 

ive had a optima red top for 7 years has 1000 ccas has been running strong for ever
also since they are a jell packed battery they dont vent like most batterys which makes it so I never have any corrosion on my terminals, I have to clean my G freinds tacomas terminals about every 6 months and truck wont start.I rock a red top for life, I also modified my battery box to except my red top and it looks sick.

 

people who say optima sucks probably misdiagnosed theyre problem...thats how I got mine it was a misdiagnosed batt so I got it for free. I do all my own testing I wouldnt trust like taking it to auto zone and saying is this bad?really so I should give you money and you can take my good batt and keep it,ok im just stupid enough to do that..

 

Thanks!

 

Well I also worked at a O'reillys and maybe I wasn't the high speed salesman I should be but I never told anyone that had a good battery that it was bad. I mean the equipment may be rigged to read wrong but I think generally employees don't care if your battery is good or bad not like they personally make money of it. Just fruit for thought

 

I've heard a lot of good things about the Deka's and plan on getting an Intimidator model for my truck fairly soon. I've had some optima red tops before with hit or miss luck.

 

Because they are fast, most auto parts and battery dealers use conductance testers, e.g., Midtronics, to determine the health of a battery. The accuracy of most conductance testers is much greater if the battery has at least a 50% State-of-Charge. The battery should produce at least 80% of the battery manufacturer's CCA or RC specification for it. When in doubt, I load test.