i'm very pleased with the battery's performance. i took the family to the drive in theater and sat through 3 movies listening to the stereo and using the lights. when it was time to start the van, it did so without even the slightest hint of complaint. also, this afternoon my EV gave me a fit and would not fire up at the car wash. i cranked the living bejeesus out of the starter and the battery never once gave a sign of weakening. no jumps were needed. a highly recommended battery alternative!
I put in a Optima yellow top that I got at Costco for about $150. I bought a $5 extension so my wires could reach the terminal. Great sealed dry cell battery!
Louis, the Optima has a reversed polarity pole set up. You will have to extend you cables and now the positive post is very close to the fender wall. Pray that it doesnt slide during a hard turn.
Its minor but there are 2 different technologies in use...the red battery is designed for cold starting while the yellow was designed to handle added accessories...at least thats what i take from the website...it also says that if you use a red top in a car with enhanced car audio the warranty on the Red Top is void...take that into consideration...
That's why I got one for my '66 Beetle (12 volt conversion) It won't rust out the now repaired battery tray! Also, you don't want to put a super-hyper battery charger on them. They tend to like being charged on the slow side.
I splurged on a red-top a while back when I needed a new one because I had heard how good they were as a battery, but I did not know about the safety features you mentioned!
I just put a red top in my Scirocco, and it starts so much better now... I have seen lots of batteries fail, and nine times out of ten it's a cheap piece of crap like the duralast... The only batteries I have seen hold up in the long run have been Interstate batteries, and Optima's.
Go optima red top, 109@ autozone with a return core (your old battery) They are expensive for a battery, but they are worth it. Ask anybody on vortex about them, they know.
The previous owner of my VR6 killed a red top, by letting the car sit weeks at a time. After doing this for about a year the red top would not hold a charge. After driving it, and parking it overnight the voltage would be high 10's/low 11's....not good for starting a car. A yellow top was used as a replacement. It took the sits fine, because of it's design. Now a few years later I have the car and it still holds high 12's over a few days of not being started.
I went with a Red Top...Optima's 75/25...primarily because it is smaller. It only weighs 31 lbs and is slightly smaller in overall size. It still has 720 cold cranking amps and I do not have 2 tons of stereo equipment to push. If you got 4 years from you stock battery that is GREAT. But everyone I have spoken with said this was the LAST battery they purchased...some going on 7 years now. Although the terminals ARE reversed on this model for our European applications...I have PLENTY of stock cable length to make the connections. I paid $100 for mine at my local Batteries Plus store...
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