optima batteries

[dirt0]

Red top or yellow top for a modified. Thanks

[washeduptoo]

We use a yellow top in our mod.

[mudeater18]

I think they're way overpriced and not any better than any other battery. JMO

[johnny v]

Red -

IMHO
optima batteries seem to take the charging every week better .... regular car batteries will last a long time but , unless you buy a deep cycle type, Regular batteries are not made to be "run down" to certain voltages and then re-charged... ( these numbers are lower that what a street car does with cranking, then being recharged with the alternator)... so I guess if you run an alternator on your race car ( different thread).... disregard the above ....
Another thing that I have heard over the many years of replacing regular batteries in race cars, was the vibration and sudden stops and hits and movement.... moves the plates around in regular batteries and if they touch, the battery will short out internally.....

[dirt0]

I have one now thats 3 years old how often should they be replaced. Thanks

[missile07]

We have been using the reds for years with no problems.

[crateracer16]

On my 4th year with the same red top.

[racin6mod]

I have a blue top optima I've had it for 6 years now and it was used when I got it at a swapmeet. best 75 bucks I've spent. For my new car I'm running an alt so I'll get a cheep everstart as you can over charge a optima a friend left his charger on high for to long and fried his I'm not going to risk it just yet.

[jsf74]

I had nothing but bad luck with the red tops. I switched to a cheap autozone and been fine 4yrs now.

[LFMotorsports]

Something to think about.... I believe the red tops are "starting" batteries typically for trolling motors or boats that you will start often. The yellow tops are more deep cycle + starting (a mix). Not sure what the blue top is for. I'm going to run a yellow because of the weight difference between a dry cell and standard deep cycle.

[merc123]

Red is for a street vehicles typically. Yellow is for street vehicles or racing that has a generally higher demand on the battery and it gives more consistent power even while being discharger.
Blue is for marine use such as trolling motors and high accessory (GPS, sonar, fish finder) use as you would see on a boat without an altenator.

You can see it on their website: http://www.optimabatteries.com/us/en/products/

[kraftkar7x]

Going on my 5th year with my yellow top and I have never had an issue of any sort!!!!

[Egoracing]

Red is for a street vehicles typically. Yellow is for street vehicles or racing that has a generally higher demand on the battery and it gives more consistent power even while being discharger.
Blue is for marine use such as trolling motors and high accessory (GPS, sonar, fish finder) use as you would see on a boat without an altenator.

You can see it on their website: http://www.optimabatteries.com/us/en/products/

The blue is designed for boats, Boat batteries take a beating. Bouncing, impacts on waves, high demand and not consistently charged. Sound familiar? We ran a blue top (which was recommended to us by an optima rep (Said yellow for asphalt oval but the blue would be better for dirt as it was better dampened inside.) and it ran for well over 5 years and was still going.
Not sure why you say without an alternator? more boats have a charging system than do not, heck my 9hp Honda had a battery charger and it is a pull start only.

Yellow for high demand street type cars (Developed for car stereo applications)
Red is for high demand instant power discharge (like starting an engine)
Blue is for more run time and more recharges than other batteries. for boats and RV's.
From the Optima site for the blue top. "On top of providing outstanding vibration resistance, the BLUETOP’s efficient power delivery and faster recharge time mean you’ll spend less time worrying about your battery. This means more time for fun. Again and again. This battery is ideal for those who need a sure-starting, strong-cranking, maintenance-free power source."

[racin6mod]

He11 I didn't know they had 3 different blue top's.

[jared1624]

This will be my 7th year on my yellow top. The only charger i have ever had on it is a $20 motorcycle trickle charger. I take it out of the car every winter and put it in my basement to keep it out of freezing weather. Put charger on it the night before i am gonna race, never had any problems.

[Racer96m]

WE have run a red for years, dont think you can go wrong with any of them. Something to think about. These are AGM batteries and should use a AGM compatable battery charger. A normal charger will charge them, but if they get to discharged a normal charger will not charge them back up. We use a CTEK charger, a US 7002. it has a seperate setting for the AGM batteries. We also use the Confort indicator panel from CTEk in the car. It is small, 1.5 x 3/4 in, has a port to plug in charger and best of all has 3 leds that blink to tell you the condition of your battery. Green is charged , yellow needs charge and red is dead. So if at track and starts blinking yellow, we throw the charger on real quick. The charger is small and doesnt take up much room on the trailer also. Just my .02

dave.

[dirt0]

So if the battery gets fully discharged this CTEK charger will charge them back up. Also will these chargers maintain the battery as well.

[Racer96m]

So if the battery gets fully discharged this CTEK charger will charge them back up. Also will these chargers maintain the battery as well.

Yes, CTEK actually developed this charger for the first Optima battery. It will charge from dead and can be left on to maintain the charge without over charging. Very nice piece. I am very happy with it. And I wouldnt ever have another race car without the Monitor Panel in it. So nice to have an Idea how much charge is left in the battery, and not just be guessing.

Dave.

[dirt0]

So the monitor panel hooks to the battery and stays on the battery at all times.

[Racer96m]

So the monitor panel hooks to the battery and stays on the battery at all times.

Yes it hooks directly to the battery and is on all the time. It has next to 0 draw because a little LED is the only thing blinking and they use next to no power. Also makes for easy place to plug in charger. Dont need those extra battery posts to charge battery. Very clean little set-up.

Dave.

[balljoint]

Looking at running an optima with the CTEK but have a couple questions.

First off, the car is a LM with no alt. Running 50-150 lap mains. Pretty bare electically. Shouldnt be much drain.

I dont want to have battery problems.

My questions are 1) should I run two batteries? Currently set up for it. 2) which one? (I already have a D27M bluetop)
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ult-9027-127/overview/

Looking at buying one of these two:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ult-9012-021/overview/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ult-9006-006/overview/

Leaning towards the yellow top because it has a 1 year longer warranty.

Also, would running two bats vs one effect which CTEK charger I select? Two would put me at 260 AH. Would the smaller 7002 work or would I be forced to go with the 2500?

Would that yellow top be enough? Dont want to try the 1 battery with the smaller charger only to find I need to add my other battery and buy another charger.

thankyou

[racinjj]

I ran the red top in my asphalt late model with no alternator and electric fans and long 50 - 100 lap races with no issues. I replaced the battery every three years for piece of mind. Now I switched to yellow top on my dirt cars after reading the Optima website. I have never had any battery related issues, I throw a smart charger on between every race.

[silver6sp7]

I ran a red top with no issues,but was just givin a new Interstate MT7 AGM ,it's their new AGM battery, looks good,well see.....