I run a Deka tractor battery, all you need to do is get the convertion kit for the terminals and I mounted it to NHRA spec. I have been using this for about 1.5 years straight now daily driving with no issues at all. Even as cold as it was this winter the thing cranked right over every time. The main reason I did it was for the weight reduction....
Owner reviews for battery
I have the stock VW battery under the hood and an optima yellow top in the trunk with a 5 farad cap as well, now Im doing DB drags, and I also use my car as a daily driver, I have yet to see a single bit of strain on my electrical system and belive me I have two Autometer volt guages just to be safe for monitoring.
Ran a dual battery setup in my S4... was easy. Ran a PAC relay from the main battery to the rear setup with a battery isolater. Battery charged when the stereo was on, and stereo was only powered by the Optima yellow top in the trunk.
You were right in saying the battery was weak. More or less the battery was beat like a baby seal, so I replaced it with a preimum Exide unit
I've had an Optima ever since and never a problem...
I have a blue top (couldn't find yellow locally) and I love it. Damn battery box doesn't though (had to chop it up and piece it back together to make the battery fit).
Optima batteries are some of the best batteries you can buy. THey are gel cell batteries, not like a conventional dry cell like in your car now. They are also deep cycle batteries, sealed so they never leak, and have 2 sets of battery terminals. They are practically indestructible.
The VW battery tray in the 91 GTI is trying to eat my Optima The little bracket that stays in the car that normally holds the bottom lip of the battery is cutting through the case of the Optima because of the 6-pack design of the case. I had to use a small section of wood to put between them to keep it from cutting it any worse. The tie down bracket that can be removed from the car doesn't fit the Optima very well either, again because of the the 6 pack case shape. I had to use a grinder wheel to grind a section out of the bracket so it would fit around the cylinder shape of the case.
I had the misfortune of having a dead battery today... I've had the Duralast battery in my car for less than a year... I opted for the $70 Duralast - it sucks... Piece of shiznit.
FYI... My first red top didn't last very long because I don't drive my car much. The car would sit so long that it would drain the battery, and so I was constinantly recharging it which is apparently not good for the battery.
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