Optima Battery

[joe huestis]

Have been using red top Optimas since ‘01 with zero issues. Still using only my 3rd red top since I began. Have been very reliable.

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by OptimaJim

Hello, I noticed your conversation involving our products and wanted to offer some clarification. The advice Doug received is what we typically recommend in racing applications. When pumps and/or fans are being run in between rounds and/or there is no charging system we would recommend a YellowTop. If a vehicle has an alternator that can maintain voltage (not underdriven) and can handle the vehicle's electrical demands after starting, then a RedTop is fine.

BlueTops are identical internally to their YellowTop counterparts (except the 34M, which is the marine version of the Group 34 RedTop). BlueTops offer additional threaded top post terminals for marine and RV applications, they are more expensive than YellowTops and their warranty is typically shorter (Group 31 is the same).

The quality of the batteries we manufacture (and we manufacture all of our own batteries, in our own facility) has always been excellent. The batteries we are manufacturing today are the best we've ever made. No manufacturer has a 0% defect rate, but any suggestion of widespread quality issues at any point in our production are false. Our plant and our main distribution hub in Laredo, Texas were both temporarily paused as of yesterday, due to weather-related electrical outages. We also had a two-week anticipated shutdown in April of last year due to COVID-19, but had a 90-day inventory stockpiled at that point. Other manufacturers were not so fortunate.

1uke, did you get warranty service on the RedTop you had in your truck?

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries

Perhaps a little more clarification is in order.


So, if you have a race car that does have an alternator, but you use a fan and water pump to cool it between rounds, while having a 20 amp 14 volt charge, which battery do you use? Especially if in later rounds you have a short charge time AFTER you turn off the water pump and cooling fan.

[Jeff Stout]

Originally Posted by OptimaJim

Hello, I noticed your conversation involving our products and wanted to offer some clarification. The advice Doug received is what we typically recommend in racing applications. When pumps and/or fans are being run in between rounds and/or there is no charging system we would recommend a YellowTop. If a vehicle has an alternator that can maintain voltage (not underdriven) and can handle the vehicle's electrical demands after starting, then a RedTop is fine.

BlueTops are identical internally to their YellowTop counterparts (except the 34M, which is the marine version of the Group 34 RedTop). BlueTops offer additional threaded top post terminals for marine and RV applications, they are more expensive than YellowTops and their warranty is typically shorter (Group 31 is the same).

The quality of the batteries we manufacture (and we manufacture all of our own batteries, in our own facility) has always been excellent. The batteries we are manufacturing today are the best we've ever made. No manufacturer has a 0% defect rate, but any suggestion of widespread quality issues at any point in our production are false. Our plant and our main distribution hub in Laredo, Texas were both temporarily paused as of yesterday, due to weather-related electrical outages. We also had a two-week anticipated shutdown in April of last year due to COVID-19, but had a 90-day inventory stockpiled at that point. Other manufacturers were not so fortunate.

1uke, did you get warranty service on the RedTop you had in your truck?

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries

Now you have me thinking about a yellow top as I have a under driven alternator and the weather in AZ has had me run a lot of fan and pump run time in staging lanes

[Rich Biebel]

I've used red tops for 20 years or more.

Always had an alternator and use fan and water pump between rounds with a 10 amp charger usually hooked up.

I've never had a red top fail in any car. I did have one that I removed from racecar and was using in a camper go bad but it was at least 7 years old.

I've seen yellow tops go bad without warning.....

I replaced a red top in my car last year and it says 2013 on it.....It's still good....

[Bob F]

Originally Posted by OptimaJim

Hello, I noticed your conversation involving our products and wanted to offer some clarification. The advice Doug received is what we typically recommend in racing applications. When pumps and/or fans are being run in between rounds and/or there is no charging system we would recommend a YellowTop. If a vehicle has an alternator that can maintain voltage (not underdriven) and can handle the vehicle's electrical demands after starting, then a RedTop is fine.

BlueTops are identical internally to their YellowTop counterparts (except the 34M, which is the marine version of the Group 34 RedTop). BlueTops offer additional threaded top post terminals for marine and RV applications, they are more expensive than YellowTops and their warranty is typically shorter (Group 31 is the same).

The quality of the batteries we manufacture (and we manufacture all of our own batteries, in our own facility) has always been excellent. The batteries we are manufacturing today are the best we've ever made. No manufacturer has a 0% defect rate, but any suggestion of widespread quality issues at any point in our production are false. Our plant and our main distribution hub in Laredo, Texas were both temporarily paused as of yesterday, due to weather-related electrical outages. We also had a two-week anticipated shutdown in April of last year due to COVID-19, but had a 90-day inventory stockpiled at that point. Other manufacturers were not so fortunate.

1uke, did you get warranty service on the RedTop you had in your truck?

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries

No Advance Auto or whoever I purchased from was no help whatsoever.
Mine had a made in Mexico sticker on when I bought it.
I replaced it with a Deka dry cell.

[OptimaJim]

Hi Alan, measuring voltage is a good indicator of where your battery is at in between rounds. Fully-charged, YellowTops will measure about 13.0-13.2 volts and RedTops will measure about 12.6-12.8 volts. If you find the battery is getting discharged deep into the 12s or even 11s in late rounds, then a YellowTop is a better option, especially if you don't charge in between rounds.

1uke, I'm sorry to hear you weren't able to get satisfactory warranty service on your battery. Regardless of where it was purchased, we print our 800 number and email address on every battery we sell and are happy to assist customers in getting proper warranty service from their retailer, if needed.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by OptimaJim

Hi Alan, measuring voltage is a good indicator of where your battery is at in between rounds. Fully-charged, YellowTops will measure about 13.0-13.2 volts and RedTops will measure about 12.6-12.8 volts. If you find the battery is getting discharged deep into the 12s or even 11s in late rounds, then a YellowTop is a better option, especially if you don't charge in between rounds.



Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries

Again, we charge between rounds, around 13-14 volts, and 20 amps. We charge the entire time the fans and water pump are on.

[Race Clean]

Optima Batteries was started in Sweden in the first half of the 90's with a mission to make the ultimate lead-acid battery for automotive use.
They where bought by JCI Inc early in the 21th century.
Though it still could be the best battery out there reports are that the batches from the first couple of years lasted even longer and that some are still in use today.
People replacing the early ones didn't get the same life the second time around and that makes sense!
If you are in the battery-business you want to sell lots of batteries but you also want customers to come back and buy another,Optima seem to found the right formula

Looking at the specs the Yellow Tops are 5 pounds heavier in the same group 34 battery, if you don't mind the extra pounds I've been taught that the weight on a battery is a good indicator on comparing capacity and longevity, and then of course how you handle the battery will lead to the end result!

[curtis reed]

Originally Posted by OptimaJim

Hello, I noticed your conversation involving our products and wanted to offer some clarification.

The quality of the batteries we manufacture (and we manufacture all of our own batteries, in our own facility) has always been excellent. The batteries we are manufacturing today are the best we've ever made. No manufacturer has a 0% defect rate, but any suggestion of widespread quality issues at any point in our production are false. Our plant and our main distribution hub in Laredo, Texas were both temporarily paused as of yesterday, due to weather-related electrical outages. We also had a two-week anticipated shutdown in April of last year due to COVID-19, but had a 90-day inventory stockpiled at that point. Other manufacturers were not so fortunate.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries

Is your production plant in Laredo or just the distribution hub? There are thousands and thousands of your products out there so they have to be pretty good but your comment doesn't truly clarify this particular part.

[Mike Pearson]

I haven't used an Optima battery in a while. I went to a lithium 16 v battery. I don't use the battery in the car to cool down between rounds. I have a regular lead acid battery that I carry in the trailer to run the water pump and fan between rounds. The lithium battery will reach full charge in about 20 minutes doing it this way