Yellow Top or Red Top, your help please

Red top ftw

 

i went with red, it was on sale for 110$ and it was for my infiniti which is an electric hog, but it also fit my taco so yay

 

I have never, ever heard anything bad about Optima batteries. Only rave reviews from those who have them and plans to upgrade from those who don't.

That being said, every failed battery I've seen and/or replaced has been one of the staple brands at any Autozone/Kragen/Oreilly etc...

 

The yellow is the better of the 2 batteries for things like stereos and winches that can drain the battery as the yellow is designed to cycle way better. However, I have a friend that owns a battery shop and he suggested running a battery by a new company called Northstar. I have had one in my jeep for the past year and it has come in handy quite a few times.
They were cheaper then the yellow top when I bought mine but all the specs make them worth way more.
http://www.northstarbattery.com/batteries/enginestart/index.php
And just so you have some info I do not use my jeep to "MALL CRAWL" she is built for rock crawling and I use my winch alot!!!!!

 

Compare the prices on Optima batteries on Amazon looks like they are cheaper.

 

sorry for the long post, but i have alot to say about optima yellow tops. i "used" to love them and was very loyal, would consider nothing else in any of my vehicles, because i believed them to be the best, especially for running winches and high zoot stereo systems. but when i started having issues with them dying (my last one lasted 41 months), i learned quite a bit about them. like, they shortened their warranty period, they were sold several times and eventually moved manufacturing overseas and to mexico. they began using recycled lead. all designed to cut costs, which decreased quality and increased their profits. in sum, they took a great brand and ruined what made them great, and now rely on their storied past and marketing hype. they are now, imo, the most overrated pieces of junk you can buy (no offense to anyone who runs them), but, to their credit, they have begun to improve their quality again.

read this thread and especially the comments of someone who used to work for optima before and during the time they were taken over by johnson controls.

http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f102/optima-batteries-made-mexico-215667/

i'll give you some cliff notes if you don't want to read through all the pages:

"Its official now. I have worked at Optima Batteries for 11 years. In 2000, Johnson controls bought Optima and immediatly began construction of a plant in Mexico. We were told that our U.S. plant could not produce enough product so the plant in Mexico would be to supply Europe. Slowly but surely, our product lines began being transferred to Mexico. Then the week before Thanksgiving, we were told that the U.S. plant will be closed Jan.24 2009. Just thought you all would like to know."

"When the Swedes owned optima, they paid us well and quality was foremost of all at all cost. JCI is the company that KILLED optima batteries, we always had 99.99 pure lead until JCI bought optima. The first thing they did was: fired all of the on staff scientists, then fired all of the PHD's, then fired the chemists, then dismantled the chemistry lab, then dismantled the prototype lab, then got rid of the pure lead and replaced it with lead with higher tin content, then JCI brought in their genius engineers and re formulated the lead acid paste, then replaced the AGM paper with lower grade paper, ex cetera, ex cetera. All of this was done within the first 2 years of their ownership! We had to fight like hell to prove that what we had when they purchased us was superior to what they had done.

We finally convinced them to begin returning to some of the successful methods Gates had originally designed, but only after making them think that it was their idea. When the U.S. plant shut down, we were using pure lead, similar to original paper and similar paste formula, however, there were many, many other changes they had made in the manufacturing process that negatively affected the optima but produced higher volumes. In my opinion, the Enersys Odyssey is, by far, the very best battery on the market today. I am aware of some of the mfg practices being used specifically on the optima in mexico, and they are not conducive to quality!"

 

again, sorry for so much info, but knowledge is power, right?

when I was having problems with my last yellow top in 2009, I spoke to a guy at optima named jim mcilvane who was their ecare manager. he advised that optimas now used pure lead again and were taking steps to improve the product. i do believe that. when my yellow top died back in '09, a friend of mine was having a similar problem with his red top. here is what jim mcilvane told us (may be helpful to those running optimas now):


"When a battery is drained to a state of deep discharge, to the point where a vehicle needs to be jump-started, it’s a good idea to recharge the battery with a battery charger as soon as possible. I understand this isn’t always practical, but relying on an alternator to recharge a deeply-discharged battery can shorten the life of both the alternator and battery. Often times, jumped batteries are never fully-recharged by an alternator or any other means and a cycle of dead battery/jump/dead battery/jump starts repeating itself until a battery (or alternator) eventually goes bad.

If any battery is deeply discharged (below 10.5 volts) most basic chargers will not supply a charge. Also keep in mind an Optima will not recharge properly if treated as a regular flooded or gel battery. Chargers designed specifically for AGM batteries are your best bet for bringing your battery back around. However, you can also use a regular charger.

To charge the Optima with a regular charger, you can wire a 2nd fully charged automotive battery (12V+) to the discharged Optima in parallel (+ to + and – to –). Then hook up the charger to the discharged battery, setting the charger at 10 amps. Leave for 2 hours, monitoring frequently. When the discharged battery reaches 10.5 volts or more, remove the 2nd battery and continue charging the Optima until fully charged.

Typically we recommend charging at a relatively low current, such as 2 amps, but when the battery has been deeply discharged, some sulfation of the battery plates may have occurred. If you charge at 10 amps, the higher current will help to break up this sulfation. If you have an automatic charger, let it run until the charger indicates charging is complete. If you have a manual charger, estimate charging time by multiplying the capacity (amp hours or Ah) of the battery by 1.2 for a rough estimate of charging time in hours.

In most cases, these steps will recover an Optima battery. It’s ok for the Optima to get slightly warm during the charging process, but hot to the touch means there’s a short and the process should be discontinued. If you’d rather not deal with that, you can always take your battery to a professional battery specialist, like Interstate, who knows AGM technology. Most of them are willing to provide “charge and check” procedures for a small fee and many will provide the service for free.

A fully-charged Optima RedTop should measure approximately 12.8 volts and fully-charged Optima YellowTops should measure approximately 13.1-13.2 volts. Voltage measurements of the battery when the engine is running are the output of your alternator and should read between 13.7 and 14.7 volts. I should also mention that with any battery or alternator, it’s almost impossible to have grounds that are “too good.” One-wire alternators are especially sensitive to good, quality grounds.

I also saw a few folks mention that they used their RedTops for winching. While a RedTop may recover from being deeply-cycled by a winch or aftermarket stereo, over time, that type of use will significantly shorten the battery’s life. A YellowTop is strongly recommended for all deep-cycle applications.

All new RedTop and YellowTop batteries come with a three-year warranty for consumer applications. I know there was a great deal of discussion regarding warranties and I would encourage everyone to read their warranty carefully, to see what, if any, exclusions are present and when, if any, pro-ration begins.

Optima Batteries continues to seek out ways to improve our production process and batteries. Contrary to what others may think or say, Optima Batteries are built to exacting standards, including the use of 99.99% pure, virgin lead. The batteries being built today are a reflection of our continuing effort to produce the best possible product and are the best we have ever built. Many of the batteries returned to us now as being “bad” are only deeply-discharged and work perfectly fine, once properly recharged. I apologize for going so long in this response, but I wanted to try to cover five pages worth of comments at once. If you have any other questions or concerns, I’ll do my best to address them. I appreciate your interest in Optima Batteries!"

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, Optima Batteries

 

for now, i believe that the enersys odyssey battery is the best you can buy, especially if you offroad, or place high demands on your battery.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/batteries.html

in my tow rig, i bought a sears platinum battery, which is just a rebadged odyssey made for sears. a bit cheaper, great warranty, same great specs.

again, i think optima is getting their quality back, but they left me hanging and i just won't go back there knowing what i know about them.

good luck with your battery decisions!

 

Hello jackhart, although I don't recall ever speaking to you, if I did, you have an incredible memory. I believe we did communicate with each other on FullSizeBronco.com back in 2009. As I probably mentioned in that thread, the free replacement warranty period on Optima batteries has only increased over the years and is currently at three years for both RedTops and YellowTops. Our warranty policy is also far more liberal than many other brands, some of which will void the warranty on a battery, if it is found to be discharged below a certain voltage level. The truth is, if any battery fails from a manufacturing defect (our brand or any other), it is likely to do so well within the first year of use, if not the first month.

Johnson Controls acquired Optima more than ten years ago and the quality of our batteries has continually improved under their ownership. We build all of our own batteries in our own facility and we never re-brand or re-spec our batteries for any of our 30,000+ worldwide retail partners. We do not use, nor have we have we ever used recycled lead in our batteries.

I think we have also posted this YouTube video, which explains the parallel charging procedure you referenced, since you and I found each other on FSB.com.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.

 

Hi Jim, good to know you are on the Tacoma forum. Yes, we did communicate when I was having issues with my yellow top back in 2009 and it was on FSB. I think I quoted you accurately - if I did not please correct me - but back in 2009, I was really disappointed with the performance of my yellow top. I had been a long time Optima fan and I truly felt Optima had abandoned their loyal customers by having such a crappy warranty.

Personally I've never had a battery fail in the first year of use. What happens to me - and to most people I know - is the battery dies more towards the end of its useful life. If I wanted a battery that lasted only 3 years, I darn sure wouldn't spend over $200 on it. I don't think that's good value.

If you look at the Enersys Odyssey warranty - full replacement during the first 4 years, and a prorated replacement for 100 months, a little over 8 years - I think that pretty much tells you the story right there. But that's just my opinion.

 

Both odyssey and Northstar batteries are the same as optima, as they can be mounted anyway as well!

 

Jackhart has it right. I did not read his post in full, so sorry if this is double info. But I did real all about this on another forum. The Walmart brand battery, think it's called MAXX is made by the same people that make Optima, and it's the same battery in a Walmart shell... There are a bunch of them actually, the interstate, duralast, costco, optima, and walmart are thoe ones I can remember off the top of my head... I'll see if I can find the post.

 

Here it is, read post 15 and onward:

http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=189652

 

Dave, I would encourage you (and everyone else) to take a closer look at the warranty terms and conditions of any battery you are considering. You can view our full warranty here.

We understand some consumers base their purchases solely on the length of warranty and companies like Kia & Hyundai have done a good job of catering to that market. As I mentioned previously, if any battery fails from a manufacturing defect it will do so well within the first year of use. Beyond that, warranties are largely used as marketing tools. If you find that your batteries typically don't last more than three years, you may be best-served by buying the cheapest battery you can find, with the longest free replacement warranty coverage and the most-liberal return policy.

Chris, there is no “wrong” in someone sharing an opinion and there have been plenty copied, pasted and shared in this thread. If everyone based their truck purchases on Consumer Reports' opinion, no one would buy '09 four-cylinder Tacomas or '10 V6 2WD Tacomas. I read battery threads of all kinds on a daily basis and have lost count of the number of times people have indicated Brand “X” is terrible and Brand “Y” is great, even though the two batteries are both built on the same line, in the same factory. Optima is unique amongst the 120 million+ batteries produced by JCI every year, in that we are a business to consumer battery, manufactured to our own specifications, in our own facility.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.

 

what battery you guys recommend for 3 light bars and few pod lights plus air compressor and just regular stock system for a 2012 Tacoma. thanks