Optima battery worth it?

I remember 20 years ago working at les schwabs they were what rich daddy's kids bought to be cool... but are they really worth it now? Or is a standard Schwab battery gonna be just fine?
Plan on adding a 30" light bar and ditch lights.. already have BD pros for fog lights.

 

I had a yellow top.
Pos didn’t last and crapvance wouldn’t cover it.
Sol I got their advance agm and took my yellow top and tail home. Pretty happy with the auto craft it’s been good.

 

The old ones- yes but newer ones - no. I have a pair in my dodge date coded 4/06 and still going strong.

 

I went with XS Power a couple of months after I bough my truck and still going strong - 4 years.

 

I use a Red Top because it allowed me to downsize to a 20-lb lighter battery and still maintain the same starting CCA rating. I have no major electrical accessories. For your needs, the money is better spent on a larger AGM battery with higher reserve capacity.

 

My yellow top has been rocking for 5 years. Its been in my duramax and my last 3 toyotas. Cant say how good the new ones are.

 

This is a repost of mine:

Optima was made in the USA. In the early 2000s Optima was purchased and the new parent company cut cost and moved production to Mexico. There was some overlap in the mid/late 2000s where both the US factory and the Mexican one were producing batteries. In 2008 I think the parent company closed USA production and shifted all production to Mexico. The Mexican made batteries that are said to be of poor quality and not at all what the Optima brand used to be. While the USA plant closed in 2008, there was still stock of the USA made batteries that likely lingered around for a little while before eventually all being sold and replaced with Mexican ones.

I had a yellow top that I purchased in 2005 for winching on my Wrangler Rubicon. That battery was a trooper and did great on long hard winch pulls in well below freezing temperatures. I kept it for 8 years across several vehicles before eventually selling it with a vehicle. I would no longer buy an Optima and instead run a USA made NorthStar AGM. They are ultra high performance mix deep/starting cycle that are quiet a bit better than Optima.

Compare 27F batteries specs:

Optima yellow top
15x more vibration resistant
CA: 1025A
CCA: 830A
RC: 140 min
Charge/Discharge cycles: 300
Warranty: 3yrs
Made in Mexico
Price: Approx $300

NorthStar
28x more vibration resistant
CA: 1750
CCA: 930A
RC: 195 min
Charge/Discharge cycles: 900
Warranty: 5yrs
Made in the USA
Price: Approx $350 (before available coupons of 10-20% off)

The better battery seems pretty clear.

 

Thanks for chiming in @crashnburn80

I always like to see your input on these boards, very helpful and always with some evidence/testing/experience to back it up

 

what @crashnburn80 said. Batteries + carries X2 power which is a rebranded NorthStar. I use them in my tacoma, highlander, and boat.

 

I should have mentioned that, yes that is where I got mine. You can buy online and pickup in store and use the website coupon code often listed on the home page for 10-20% off. X2 Power says it is a NorthStar right on the side of the battery.

 

My 1st Yellow Top from '04 lasted til about 2013, when I retired it from my old truck to a demo derby car, and it got stolen. It was still going when I took it out, I just figured I was on borrowed time.

The only other one I bought was a 51R in '09. It was still going, but cranked kinda slow, when I totalled the car it was in 2 years later. The fact that it seemed to be dying already, and reading others complaining about the quality, kept me from buying another.

 

You have a TRD Sport, it should have a 135A alternator. The current draw from the lights shouldn't be enough to justify buying a new battery unless you already have issues in my opinion.

 

As much as many of us dislike walmart, they have a decent warranty and the batteries are made in Pa., as well as all Napa and O'Reilly

 

Just read the reviews, the past couple years Optima have really shit the bed

 

New ones suck ass

 

Optima batteries have been poor quality ever since the production shifted to Mexico a little over a decade ago. Most don't even last two or three years. I've seen some failures after only a few months. I have a Optima red top from early 2001 when they were only made in Colorado and it's still going strong. It just won't die.

 

Waste of money.

I've had several Optima's on farm tractors, bigger trucks, etc. I also use Auto Zone Duralast Gold conventional. The duralast OUT last the Optima's, cost about 1/3rdas much, and they have a pretty damn strong warranty.

 

Thanks for that information. What brand(s) are made in PA? I'd like to know when the time comes to replace my original battery.

 

Deka/East Penn. They make batteries for a lot of other labels.

 

I've had a yellow top in my taco for two years now and is what I like most about it is in sub freezing temps the starter cranks over every bit as fast as it does in the summer time.