Auto Trends

There has been a lot of talk about the Optima Battery and its ability to take a beating and keep on ticking. Kind of like the energizer bunny, except it consists of his six burliest of brothers (dry cells) all with bright red tans (red top).

Optima has been around awhile and almost every custom car builder swears by them! There are actually three types to choose from… a blue top, red top, and yellow top.

Tip #1: Auto part stores do not always have a current application guide, so it is a good idea to bring the measurements of your existing battery to see if one will come close to fitting properly in your battery tray.

Blue Top-
The blue is primarily for marine use (water, not the U.S. Forces).

Red Top-
The red is their standard (quick charge) model that is designed for typical every day use. It holds up well, charges quickly, and has plenty of CCA (800 CCA’s to be exact) for even most high compression, horsepower, and cubic inches of engine you can throw at it.

Yellow Top-
The yellow top (slow charge) is a deep cycle battery that would be a must for the auto enthusiast with a highly amplified entertainment center, external and/or internal light effects, and any other assortment of cool electronic gadgets and accessories (GPS, tuner, etc.).

But one of the unbeatable attributes is its ability to place it anywhere in your vehicle you have room for it. It can go sideways or upside down, and because of its dry (gel) cell composition you will not have to worry about leakage.

If you have the $120 to $180 to spend, I highly recommend this simple little piece of insurance no customizer should be without!

Tip #2: Because of the expense of these batteries some auto stores carry these batteries for quite some time before they are sold. If you put a new Optima in your car and it doesn’t instantly crank like a bat goosed by a lawnmower blade, chances are it has been sitting around awhile. Take it back for a fresh one.

Now this is not to say that there are not good alternatives, such as the Sears Die Hard, which is usually a close second in popularity to the Optima. Die Hard has also introduced their version of a premium dry cell battery, which is too new to be rated along side the Optima, but so far looks pretty good on paper!