how long did your optima last?

[Goose]

i have had 2 yellow tops and 1 red top go bad in 8 years. the latest yellow top lasted only 2 1/2 years in my 86 c-10 on air. the red top (used) started in my 94 intrepid (2000) and died in my 96 tahoe (2004) replaced that with a yellow top and dies in 2010. whats the deal? bad luck or is optima not all the hype some people say it is.

i need a reliable battery for my 86 c-10. right now i have it mounted on the frame rail side ways. running 2 viair comps and a small 4 channel amp. mono amp in the future. what is your advice.

thanks in advance

 

[78mc-bbc]

i had a red top optima in my 78 monte carlo and i had to get it replaced every year thankfully under warranty. well that was until the warranty ran out and of course the battery went turns out it had a dead cell. So i replaced it with a battery from Advance Auto Parts, the largest amp battery that would fit in the stock battery tray. It has a better warranty than the optima and more cranking amps too. All of my friends avoid Optima's like the plague

 

[gdddup]

the red tops ive had in the past usually lasted 3-4 years. depending on how they were used. the last one i bought(which is still good) was in my bagged pontiac that i used mainly for shows and nice weather driving. whenever it was parked id hook it up to the battery tender

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

have a red-top in the Iroc, been in it about 3 years and its still good. car sits quite a bit especailly in the winter so it will be dead, thrown on the charger over and over again throughout the year. its also made it through a couple F-ed up alts, and some wiring problems without any noticable damage.

won't be spending that kind of money on another battery, just drop a gold top duralast in it from autozone. have had amazing luck with them so far.

 

[Young28]

red top for 5 years now

 

[ScottyBoy]

I had a yellow top back in 2000 and it barely lasted 13 months. Back then, the yellow tops only came with a one year warranty. So I bought a red top in 2001 and that ****** barely lasted two years. After that , in 2003 I went with a Sears Die Hard. I had plenty of friends with similar experiences with Optima batteries. The longest any of them lasted was right at 3 years. I had that same Die Hard that I bought in 03 in my old Cutlass when Katrina hit in 05. I replaced the starter, alternator, and the battery cables, but charged the battery and it tested good. I fixed up the car and got it running again, even after sitting in about 4 feet of water for lord knows how long. I eventually sold it in 2007 because it had so much rust and it would be too big a job for me to restore it properly. That Die hard was still in there when I sold it.

 

[Midgetclown]

Had my red top for about 2 1/2 years now, switched it into my tahoe when i got it about 7 months ago...... will report back if it fails but all is good as of now its still good. Always had hids in my old truck and the hoe as well as an 800w amp with 2 12's. not sure if that really causes any strain on the battery or not.

 

[alacran]

my optima has been going strong 4 or 5 years and it went threw a accident where i hit a guard rail on the driver side and it still works fine. the optima survived the truck didnt