I'm going to be getting a new battery pretty soon. Should I stick w/ the less expensive regular batteries from an auto store or go with Optima Dry Cell batteries? And why?

 

get a spiral cell (optima, excide orbital) they eliminate a lot of problems associated with standard lead acid batteries, and do not leak or corrode the terminals. I've used them several times in the past and have gotten around 5 years of life, I know some people say it lasts upto 7 years. It cost more, but I think it's def. worth it.

 

+1 It's worth the added cost. I'm a big fan of the Optima.

 

Alright, does anyone have a compiled list of all (or most) of the benefits of one and the other? At Schuck's the Optima is over $150, so tryin to decide cost vs. benefits ya know..

 

Here's my experience:

'97 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX - highly modified: Would sit for a month or so at a time during the summer months and so couldn't keep a charge for the obvious reason. After installing the Optima, it could sit that long and still turn over when it was time. The Optima was the 3rd battery for that car (OEM died within 6 months)... ...and also the last.

'00 Mitsubishi Gallant GTZ: As with most new cars, the OEM battery died within 3-6 months. Put in a Die-Hard or something of that nature and it lasted 1.5 seasons (very hot summers, cold winters) before dying. Replaced it with an Optima and that was the last one.

'02 Honda minivan - Power everything. Within 3 months, the battery would get too weak to open the sliding doors. a short highway drive would do the trick, but the wife accumulated mostly city miles, so more power was being pulled than could be stored. After about 6 low-battery incidents, I stuck an Optima in and never had the issue again, despite the same driving habits. Notice, I went straight for the Optima.

'55 Chevy Bel Air - Hi-Comp. 468ci big block, street/strip-prepped: Battery was already trunk-mounted but in a nasty box. This car also would sit for a month or more at times. After the Optima, no low-battery issue and I was able to ditch the battery-box and instead install an Optima-specific battery cage (very nice piece from Detroit Speed & Engineering, if anyone decides on a trunk-mount ).

The Optima is twice as much as a good, conventional battery, but it will last you at least twice as long. They have always been the last battery I install, and now will always be the first one I install.

Convenience (and safety, if you consider it) can be a huge selling point, as it was with me. The G's battery has lasted longer than the OEM battery of any other new car I've owned (6 new)... ...but I may get proactive and stick an Optima in it before too much longer.

I know I'm going to go through at least two batteries within my typical 5 years with a car. If I go with Optima, sure I pay about the same, but I skip the inconvenience of the 2nd low-battery situation as well as the 2nd removal and reinstall. It's also one less dead battery to dispose of. Best of all, though, is installing it and forgetting what it was like to have a low battery.

 

Alright, cool, thanks, that's all I needed. :-p

 

Are there any batteries out there that are comparable to stock in terms of delivering power except lighter? I'm interested in saving weight. Would the optimas be good for that?

 

optima batteries are lighter - the lightest ones I have seen (also dry cell technology) is from odyssey but my experience is only with Optima (red and yellow top batteries)

 

+1 I know a lighter alternative might be available (over Optima), but it's only going to be by a few pounds, I imagine. I'll sacrifice those few pounds in order to stick with a product that I've had great experience with.

The Optima saves enough weight over conventional batteries that I'm happy enough with it.

For anyone thinking of relocating the battery, here's a link to Detroit Speed & Engineering's Optima mount.

Brushed Optima-specific mount

BUT, the polished mount looks much nicer. Looked great in the trunk of my '55 street rod. Would also look good behind a plexiglass enclosure for those packed with ICE.

Polished Optima-specific mount

 

nice, I might have to get myself the polished one...