ok, i need to change my battery. i know that Mitsu will warranty it and will replace them with the Optima but i have about 3 dealers in my area and all of them pretty much suck. the one that i normally go to already started giving me crap because the battery passes their "test" even though i have to jump start my car once a week. anyway, i just want to go and buy a new battery but i am not sure what model or size i need. i do live in Boston so i do want something strong even if it means heavier.

 

IMO Optima sucks I had a Red top in my Truck witch ran 6 off road lights and I would replace it every 6 months I thought it was the alt. so I replaced that. There was no drain at all either. I put a Interstate in it worked well over 3 years fine. I went through 3 red tops before I had enough. Also Talking with other people they also replaced them almost every year.

 

hmmmm... i only heard good things about Optima so this is weird. what other options do i have?

 

i would not even listen to the above post, its littered with terrible help, optima RED TOP is for vehicles with minimal power being drawn from it, so it will work just fine for your car as long as you are not running a sound system within the vehicle. Optima also produces a yellow top, which in the above posters situation would of helped him greatly since he decided to run 6 off road lights, which is not good for a red top. Check the optima site before you go and just buy some battery and then slander it wondering why it didnt work well. Was your truck also diesel? They say to use the yellow tops with them and not the reds. Big difference in batteries http://www.optimabatteries.com/home.php . for the op go to this link it may help

 

Well the truck was not diesel and the off road lights where led? so i dont know how to put this to you but leds dont draw Alot of power. Like I said Optima batteries are over rated and not worth the money.

 

thanks for the feedback. i went to that site before and it doesn't list anything for our cars. i am pretty sure that we need group 35 but i want to confirm before i pull the trigger.

 

Red Top has better starting power then Yellow Top. So if you need more CCA and live somewhere where it gets really cold, they will recommend a Red Top. Yellow Top, as mentioned is deep cycle and better if you have a lot of accessories, really its best if you have two batteries and use the RED for starting the car and Yellow for competition sound system, HELLA lights, train horns, strobe lights, fog machine, etc...

However, I've heard that since the company has changed hands, taken over by Johnson Controls I think, that Optima batteries have become crappy. The one in my Eclipse has been replaced twice with Autozone warranty, where as the two I had before in other vehicles were still good when I sold the cars. I decided to go back with the stock battery for my Evo when the original one went out. They gave me a "Mitsubishi" battery made by Interstate.

 

well, what options do we have for good battery? i know of Optima and i heard good things about Diehard Platinum as well.

so is it group 35?

 

Sounds simple to do it yourself but you don't save much money. Just go to Sears, Interstate Batteries, Wallmart or Sams Club and let them swap it out for you. They will also give you a discount if you trade in your core (old battery), so it saves you an extra trip to take the old one back. In and out, done.

 

Yes its 35 I have one in my Evo an I have had zero problems it works great. And like the post above, don't pay any attention its just bad info.

 

If I have problems with this latest Optima I have the next brand I may try is Odyssey. I have been hearing good things about them. They also claim their batteries are "red+yellow" in one.

http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-35-PC1...4960709&sr=8-1

 

Interesting topic, I was just about to do some research on the stock/factory battery and cold weather.

It's been in the 10-25F this past week, and I've had a couple barely-starts. The area I live in (North Alabama) doesn't typically get this cold for this long, but it''s only supposed to get above freezing for a few hours on a few days in the next week.

At first I thought it was because I don't turn my headlights off right away, instead either leave them on, with the auto shut off cutting them off after a couple seconds, or I turn them off right after I shut the car down.

I only have 9k miles (if that matters), and wonder if I need to just go ahead and upgrade the battery.

 

well, from my research on the forums, the OEM battery is a joke so honestly, you want to replace it unless you live somewhere that never gets cold.

 

The best battery I ever tested was the Odyssey battery. Before I did, I would always hear the local tuner guys and even boat marine guys ask for it. Constantly. Optima and Odyssey come from the same brain child but when it comes to maximum power and charge, I would say Odyssey wins the day. Best of both worlds, Starter battery and Deep Deep Cycle. The one thing that blew me a way was you can have a fully charged Odyssey battery disconnected and left for 2 years, and it will still start without needing a recharge. Thats Awesome. And now I realized why the boat guys like them so much.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/batteries.html

 

http://www.kinetikaudio.com/2009/products.asp?C=1