Optima Battery |
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Optima Battery |
neyen14 |
Dec 1 2011, 10:04 PM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 67 Joined: 2-December 07 From: New Mexico Member No.: 8,408 Region Association: Southwest Region |
Hi all, I just received a Red Optima and the thing is radically heavy, is that the way they are or did I get the one for aircraft carriers? It's funny cause I've heard the battery location is to offset the driver... this one definitely will.
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partwerks |
Dec 1 2011, 10:12 PM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,593 Joined: 7-September 06 From: Grand Island, NE Member No.: 6,787 |
Mine was heavy when I carried it in to Wally World to get a different battery. I went back to a normal battery since I moved it to the front anyway. It was ready for retirement and pooped out on me the other day when I had to start the car in gear, cuz of the clutch cable being broke to limp it to the mechanic. It didn't have the brass balls to start it in gear.
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Rand |
Dec 1 2011, 10:37 PM
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#3
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Cross Member Group: Members Posts: 7,409 Joined: 8-February 05 From: OR Member No.: 3,573 Region Association: None |
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GeorgeRud |
Dec 1 2011, 10:52 PM
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#4
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 3,725 Joined: 27-July 05 From: Chicagoland Member No.: 4,482 Region Association: Upper MidWest |
Loved my first Optima battery, was satisfied with the second one, and disappointed in the life of the third one. I store my cars over the winter with the battery hooked up to a battery maintainer in a garage, and it seems that they don't last as well as they used to.
Went back to an Interstate when it was time to replace the battery as I don't drive the car in the rain anyway and the price of the Optima was getting up there. |
partwerks |
Dec 1 2011, 10:57 PM
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#5
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,593 Joined: 7-September 06 From: Grand Island, NE Member No.: 6,787 |
I've had good luck with Wally World batteries. I think it was an Ever Start, in my Jetta? I milked 8 years out of it and so I went back for one for the 914!
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PancakePorsche |
Dec 1 2011, 11:34 PM
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#6
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Member Group: Members Posts: 236 Joined: 29-July 11 From: Southern California Member No.: 13,373 Region Association: None |
No mystery why the Optima is not as good. Now manufactured in Mexico with cost cut materials. The Odyssey battery is now the hot ticket and lightweight versions are available.
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brant |
Dec 2 2011, 12:17 AM
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#7
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914 Wizard Group: Members Posts: 11,739 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Colorado Member No.: 47 Region Association: Rocky Mountains |
Loved my first Optima battery, was satisfied with the second one, and disappointed in the life of the third one. I store my cars over the winter with the battery hooked up to a battery maintainer in a garage, and it seems that they don't last as well as they used to. Went back to an Interstate when it was time to replace the battery as I don't drive the car in the rain anyway and the price of the Optima was getting up there. its not really the rain that will get you with a standard wet lead battery its the fact that they outgass they outgass and that can combine with any moisture humidity... washing your car... anything to lead to a corrosive substance the optima's are lead batteries too, but they contain their own gas and are thus called "sealed" I put a standard battery in for a few months and couldn't believe how much more cable corrosion and powdery corrosion the tray showed in comparrison to the sealed battery brant |
johannes |
Dec 2 2011, 06:09 AM
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#8
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Club Porsche 914 France President Group: Members Posts: 3,084 Joined: 13-January 06 From: France Member No.: 5,409 Region Association: France |
I can't agree more ... |
tod914 |
Dec 2 2011, 07:22 AM
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#9
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 3,755 Joined: 19-January 03 From: Lincoln Park, NJ Member No.: 170 |
How did you guys mount the Odyssey? Anyway to do it without drilling into the tray?
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sean_v8_914 |
Dec 2 2011, 08:32 AM
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#10
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Chingon 601 Group: Members Posts: 4,011 Joined: 1-February 05 From: San Diego Member No.: 3,541 |
lead purity is key. the MX optimas are as Pancakeporsche stated. the Odyssey and Braille are made with high purity lead. The Inerstate or std car battery is not dependent on high tolerances to be all it can be.
the MX factories are fun to deal with. I helped manage a production facility south of TJ. quality cycles with the experience of the work force. these guys come from deep south in MX, earn more in a month than their entire family can in a year. they work for a year or 2 sending their money back home to their families. then one day you come to work and your lead guy is gone and he took 10 of your best workers with him back to Oaxaca or Medina or some place you cant even find with Google. they refuse to teach another guy because they feel threatened by replacement |
JMKnight |
Dec 2 2011, 08:43 AM
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#11
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Aces & Eights Group: Members Posts: 135 Joined: 30-December 09 From: Northern Indiana Member No.: 11,188 Region Association: Upper MidWest |
Loved my first Optima battery, was satisfied with the second one, and disappointed in the life of the third one. I store my cars over the winter with the battery hooked up to a battery maintainer in a garage, and it seems that they don't last as well as they used to. Went back to an Interstate when it was time to replace the battery as I don't drive the car in the rain anyway and the price of the Optima was getting up there. Me too! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) |
flipb |
Dec 2 2011, 09:28 AM
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#12
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,753 Joined: 2-September 09 From: Fairfax, VA Member No.: 10,752 Region Association: MidAtlantic Region |
How did you guys mount the Odyssey? Anyway to do it without drilling into the tray? I just switched to an Optima Red Top too. Bought the model closest to the stock size. It comes with a custom bottom-edge retaining piece, made of heavy plastic - the standard bolt and hole location on the battery tray work perfectly with it. And yes, the first thing I noticed was the weight! But so far, so good with performance. EDIT: Oops, you asked about mounting the Odyssey, not the Optima. My bad. Disregard! |
windforfun |
Dec 2 2011, 10:04 AM
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#13
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,956 Joined: 17-December 07 From: Blackhawk, CA Member No.: 8,476 Region Association: None |
My first one only lasted a year or two. I can't remember. They replaced it for free since it was still under warranty.
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bigkensteele |
Dec 2 2011, 11:01 AM
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#14
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Major Member Group: Members Posts: 2,197 Joined: 30-August 04 From: Cincinnati, OH Member No.: 2,660 Region Association: South East States |
I just put a red top in mine. I used a size 35, which is taller and just barely fits beneath the rain tray. However, it is somewhere around 6 pounds lighter than the 34R.
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Scott S |
Dec 2 2011, 11:12 AM
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#15
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Small Member Group: Members Posts: 1,698 Joined: 30-April 03 From: Colorado Member No.: 633 |
I have 5 "dead" red tops that will not hold a charge sitting down at the shop right now. None of them are more than 2 years old. I did replace them with the same thing (cant remember if I got them at Costco). I did so becasue of the mods made to the hold downs and didn't want to go back and re-engineer everything again. I now use battery tenders on them all and they have been fine.
I was under the impression that the great thing about Optimas was that they could drain to nothing, but always be recharged. This sure has not been my experience. The 49.00 autozone cheapo that I threw in the 914 in 1999 still works great... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) |
mwyatt |
Dec 2 2011, 11:17 AM
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#16
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Member Group: Members Posts: 84 Joined: 5-April 03 From: San Diego, CA Member No.: 516 Region Association: Southern California |
I went with the lightweight Odyssey about 6 months ago and have been completely satisfied with it so far. I did have to drill the tray to mount it.
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underthetire |
Dec 2 2011, 11:19 AM
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#17
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 5,062 Joined: 7-October 08 From: Brentwood Member No.: 9,623 Region Association: Northern California |
Been saying optimas are junk for a few years. My exide orbital has been bullet proof.
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Rand |
Dec 2 2011, 11:28 AM
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#18
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Cross Member Group: Members Posts: 7,409 Joined: 8-February 05 From: OR Member No.: 3,573 Region Association: None |
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VegasRacer |
Dec 2 2011, 02:07 PM
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#19
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ELVIRA Group: Benefactors Posts: 8,624 Joined: 27-March 03 From: Between Scylla and Charybdis Member No.: 481 Region Association: None |
Been saying optimas are junk for a few years. My exide orbital has been bullet proof. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) |
c12croft |
Dec 2 2011, 03:08 PM
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#20
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Member Group: Members Posts: 167 Joined: 24-December 04 From: Long Island, New York Member No.: 3,331 |
I have 5 "dead" red tops that will not hold a charge sitting down at the shop right now. None of them are more than 2 years old. I did replace them with the same thing (cant remember if I got them at Costco). I did so becasue of the mods made to the hold downs and didn't want to go back and re-engineer everything again. I now use battery tenders on them all and they have been fine. I was under the impression that the great thing about Optimas was that they could drain to nothing, but always be recharged. This sure has not been my experience. The 49.00 autozone cheapo that I threw in the 914 in 1999 still works great... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) I also winter store my 14 with Optima group 34/35 and I went thru 2 within 2 yrs. First year I kept it on a maintainer via the cigarette lighter socket, I was told it was just a factory flaw. Second yr I even removed it out of cold and stored it inside my house, charged it in Spring with an automated charger and it wouldn't take. I'm on my 3rd and wondering what's going to happen this yr? I was told not to keep it on trickle charge, but a maintainer is a trickle charge is it not? Should I remove it and put it directly on a maintainer? |
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