Don't know if I spelled woes correctly so you can correct me if I didn't Major Silva. I don't know what the heck happened to my battery but it took a crap today. It was the original AC Delco which makes it 5 years old now. So I'm not totally shocked. Was suprised about the way it happened though. I cranked it up atleast 3 times today and it cranked right up with no probs whatsoever. After I got off of work this evening I went to crank it over and it just started doing the clicking crap the newer cars do when the battery is deeply discharged. I checked the volt gauge and it was at like 9 Volts. I put it on the charger at work and it said it has a 0% charge with 9 Volts...... What the heck?! So I let it sit on the charger and after 20 minutes of charging I rechecked it on the tester and it said it still needed 30+ minutes of charging. Tried testing it with a handheld charger and it tried to short out our handheld tester!

So long story short, I dropped $120(highly discounted price) on a new Red Top Optima. Looks real good under the hood. We'll see if they're worth the hype or not.

 

http://www.performancetrucks.net/for...hlight=battery

Check out this battery mod looks cool but I dont know

 

im probably getting the yellow top soon... mine's a carquest or somethingbut i've had it for two years plus however long the guy before me had it on there... my 1000w amp, cb radio, pa speaker, and leaving the red parking lights on to show off is taking a toll on it lol

 

LOL, wow I bet he saved atleast 15-20lbs. right there! Man he'll be like one tenth faster now..... Why not just go on a diet?

 

Those batteries are good for track use but I wouldn't trust it for everyday all season use. There cannot possibly be enough reserve capacity on those little things to last long. Like if you leave your dome light on overnight, the battery would die I bet.

Oh and a yellowtop Optima is overkill unless you plan on leaving your lights and radio run for hours on end without the engine running. Besides the red top has more cold cranking amps, still has a high resrve capacity (just not as much as the yellow top) but it is cheaper too.

And.......people who run the track a lot tend to shave weight any way they can. I know a few guys who run little batteries (not as small as that Braille thing tho) and have carbon fiber hoods and lightweigh wheels and all that junk on there "track" cars, even if they are everyday runners. But yeah its not night and day difference by just getting a lighter battery.

 

Actually the yellow top is a deep cycle/starting battery whereas the red top is just a starting battery. The yellow top is actually designed for "killing" and recharging. So in theory, if your running a buncha flashing lights and a system when the truck is off, it's actually a much better battery. But the warranty is only 1 year free replacement on a yellow top vs. 3 year free replacement on a red top. I'm not "showing off" my truck which is one reason why I went red top. I also couldn't justify the spending that kinda money on a battery that only has a 1year warranty.

 

Maybe it's just good luck, but in 01 I was driving an 94 Cougar XR7, with about $6000 wrapped up in the stereo(in a $2000 car). The yellow top was a must, as even when I took the red top out of my moms LHS(yeah, i was still a mischevious hs kid) it would still dim the lights significantly, spent the money on the yellow top and I've been through 3 vehicles, and I still got that yellow top, now it's in my F-150.


The red top is what most dirt track racers use because it is excellent for starting and the fact that it's a gell cell does not disturb easily.

So like everyone else has said, for city driving or mild off-roading a red top is plenty. For Stereos, party wagons and extereme off-roading I would highly recommend spending the extra money on the yellow top.

 

Dang. The same yellow top in 3 vehicles! That's saying something folks! LOL! Maybe I'll do that if I ever get rid of my truck(yank the Optima out and stick a cheapy in there).

 

I just took it as a sign to quit buying Fords built in 94 for $2000. Ha. The other was a 94 Exploder that I'd rather not talk about. 2 Trannys in 5 months, then it was time to buy something with a warranty.

 

LOL, been there done that. Not with a Ford but been in those shoes and understand the grief. Unfortunately now that I have my truck I wish I didn't have it, LOL. Monthly payments and bad gas mileage suck! You can't win for losing I guess.