Optima Batteries: Yellow Top VS Red Top

[@chanakpugkaing]

Thanks for video. I’m a lifelong interstate battery fan. I had one last 17 years and it was in a vehicle that sat for months at a time.

[@o2boutdoors]

Curious as to how the Optimas are holding up for O'Neil and others. I used to use them (15-20 years ago) and had great luck, but I've heard that the quality went to crap, and they fail regularly. Would love to hear what's happening currently. What are some good/bad experiences in the last three or four years, specifically?

[@raycar1165]

My experience with them is that they work great until you run it dead, after that they're junk and wont hold a charge.

[@BallentineChen]

@@raycar1165 I made the switch to Odyssey for that reason. I have a QuickJack that I run off the battery, though I've also learned to run the engine when using the jack now. My Optima was a red top - trickle charger would not revive it.

[@o2boutdoors]

@@raycar1165 Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@kurtblends9798]

Yup my red optima doesn’t hold charge anymore had it for 2 years

[@raycar1165]

@@kurtblends9798 I heard there is a trick that sometimes works, if you cannot get one to charge, you can hook it up to a similar type working battery and then charge the working one. I'm not exactly sure, I haven't tried it myself because I dont have two of the same batteries, but some quick searching and you can probably find the video that I'm referencing. There weren't a lot of good ones.

[@Sydsworkshop]

hello. thank you for the straight forward info without wasting our time. cheers!

[@quirble]

Only minutes ago I did not know what an Optima battery was. Now I need one.

[@johnnyturbo8460]

I wouldn't.. ill never buy another one again.

[@dragoonTT]

@@johnnyturbo8460 I hear they used to be good, when manufacturered in the US.

[@johnnyturbo8460]

@@dragoonTT Im not sure when they changed over, but I have not had good luck with them since 1999 or so... I tried them off and on, but after time and time again being let down .. and now there are more options, I will never use them again. You have my word on that!

[@clifford_2zero7]

I have to add my experience here to help confirm so others know. In 2011 i bought a Optima redtop for my 97 Camaro Z28. Within a year it died got a new one under warranty, then another and that one died quickly as well. Each battery was on an expensive high quality Optima brand charger on trickle mode while the car was in the garage. Is a weekend warrior type car. I will never use another Optima again and yes they changed manufacturing at some point and quality went 💩💩💩

[@JBLewis]

In my Lead Car Forester XT, I used a RedTop with side terminals in addition to the top posts. It allowed me to have a dedicated "operate outside the car" power point for radio communications.

[@BadDFWDrivers]

I would love seeing a video about batteries in parallel and possibly running only one when the car is in ACC mode and both when the car is running.

[@blackout260112]

I'm using 1 red top under hood and 1 in my trunk, separated by a 200 amp solonoid

[@piecartbox]

I have both and don't notice a difference. What about the quality complaints recently?

[@AndrewBrowner]

got a yellow top in my jeep, its good works great can crank the engine for not exaggerating 10 minutes.. its not great for the winch on heavvy pulls though i find myself grabbing a second battery and heavy jumper cables to help it out when im gonna be winching all day like on tree stump removals.. ideally id like a red top under the hood and a yellow tab in the cab with a cutoff switch hooked to an inverter

[@Teamoneilrally]

That'd be a great setup! Also just a thought: if you have a pulley block and the time to rig double line pulls, the winch won't have to work nearly as hard and you should be able to go a lot longer without draining the battery. Your winch will also run cooler... But everything will take twice as long.

[@johnnyturbo8460]

Yeah they suck for longevity and winches.

[@AndrewBrowner]

@@Teamoneilrally oh that is with a snatch block... tree roots got some real hold.. picked up a second snatch block to run triple line pulls but the battery was certainly the limited factor as the day goes on and it gets drained.. props to jeep on the alternator it survived putting max output into that battery for a couple hours straight.. scalding hot

[@ianholmquist8492]

Crank the engine for 10 minutes?Why would you do that to your starter, just wanted to kill it?

[@johnnyturbo8460]

@Marquis Vegan not in our experience. We had a fleet of trucks with them and they were awful. Very unpredictable. Some would hold a charge, some wouldn't. Some started today but not tomorrow or yesterday kind of thing.. awful

[@neonaffliction]

I hear you can run diesel without a battery (after you started it ofcourse) and if alternator is working, but you cant really run gasoline engine because of the sparkplugs, is that correct?

[@dragoonTT]

Well the battery is a load acting on the alternator while started and removing it can supply more current to the vehicle preventing regulation causing issues. Different vehicles all have different electronic systems on how they deal with this. The alternator is powerful enough to power the electronics and charge the battery at the same time, so yeah you need a battery but not for the reason you think.

[@jfbeam]

A _mechanical_ diesel requires no battery, or electrical power, at all. I have some friends who lost the battery -- physically fell out -- during a race; they didn't know it didn't have a battery for 3 hours -- i.e. the next pit stop. (they don't use the brakes much, so no one reported them for having no lights.) (BTW, alternators need some input power to work. They aren't generators; they don't have builtin magnets.)

[@unapranker]

At a community college program, we would start the program cars with a battery or jump box then disconnect to bring them inside to work on. They would idle higher after the power source was removed. But ran just fine. These were all gasoline powered Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles.

[@raycar1165]

I've started cars and then taken the battery out with out a problem. The spark doesn't take a lot of power to run so as long as you dont forget and turn off the key you'll be fine.

[@Johnny-tq9no]

Most gas engines will run without a battery my buddy took the battery out of his sport bike to save weight and just bumb starts it leaving the driveway

[@thebizwacky]

Stuck playing on the farm with a Hilux, not the worst way to be quarantined. Do you guys run lithium batteries for the race-prepped cars? Seems like shaving 15-20 lbs for ~$600 would be a no brainer but not sure if there are downsides.

[@TylerLinner]

Suggestion for future videos: A lot of us are probably like me and have volunteered at rallies, often times in different capacities. But we might not know the ins and outs of what it's like to go through all the tech, time controls, transits, etc. I'm wondering if this might be a halfway interesting whiteboard type talk you could do. Stay safe!

[@blackout260112]

So will I need a red top under hood and yellow in trunk for subs?

[@richardsmith4187]

I bought a Optima red top about 3 months ago and didn't really read enough about the battery. After purchase I found the batteries are not made in the USA, but Monterrey Mexico ?? and the prices are not cheap at $265.00 . I hope I get at least 5 years out of it at which time I will probably switch to something make in the USA.

[@DogDaze66]

Do you suggest using a battery tender on the optima batteries during super cold winters?

[@steve123261]

wanted a yellow top for my wrangler was told i could only get a red top. two weeks later ordered a red top for my sierra and a yellow top came in they said i could only get a yellow top for the truck. life is difficult in northern Ontario

[@FatalCorleone07]

Okay so, your opinion: In my 2000 Monte Carlo SS, I run an android head unit with GPS and wifi antennas, after aftermarket keyless entry kit, retrofitted headlights, Amp etc So get a red top or yellow top?

[@wmars4655]

Deep cycle Yellow top.

[@FatalCorleone07]

@@wmars4655 no one replied in time, so I got a red top

[@adude1409]

Nobody: Wyatt: that's wonderful

[@cosimosanfilippo9050]

I have a red top as starting battery and decided to buy a yellow top as second battery, thinking that it would have more ability the a red top, but a don't drive my Bronco much and as soon I remove the chargers from the batteries , the red top keeps above 12 volts , but my foully charged yellow top goes down to 11.44 after 3 days of rest. is that normal?

[@jmyers6175]

I have used red top optima battery for my daily driver for years. They last long time and does not corrode terminals, cables and the battery tray. Nice clean power. I'm a fan. Made in Mexico like beloved Toyota Tacoma's and Honda Crv's. Buy it, don't buy it.

[@rangersmith4652]

Bought a Yellow Top for my 2019 Outback 3.6R so I can impromptu park and work ham radio for a couple of hours without the need for external batteries. There's no room under the hood for a dual-battery setup.

[@joshroy9903]

Hey man , Question i got a 1985 Oldsmobile with Power windows , radio and i did install sub woofers in the back. Should i go with red top for superior start or yellow just because of electronic's .

[@raveracer77]

What's the difference between the yellow top and the marine blue top? Both are deep cycle so they should have the same application

[@korbinp590]

Blue is meant to be constantly drained

[@cantsolvesudokus]

Strange, adblocker didn’t recognize this one...

[@ianholmquist8492]

Probably because it's an explanation and not an ad.

[@fredjackson8408]

Can anyone confirm that yellowtops are best for cold weather? All of a sudden my Subaru decided it doesnt like winter and wont start without a jump if temps drop below 10F lol I put a redtop in thinking itd help but got the same result of a live battery without enough juice to fire off.

[@KyleTraeCaswell]

Great info clearly put. Odd editing and flailing of arms

[@benwentworth7639]

hello just wondering what size tires do you have on your green tacoma

[@danielminchev6031]

A great video. I really like the content that you are making. Keep up the good work and all the best for you and your family in these troublesome times.

[@beddozo]

I put a Red top in my Sierra in 2016 and a Yellow in my G Van in 2017 I lived in a very mild climate at the time . I will install 2 new Yellow's in my replacement Sierra (sold the gas and bought a diesel) because the batteries just died .we'll see how the hot climate treats my G Van Yellow and the new ones I put in the diesel. Bottom line I haven't had any problems with them

[@jfbeam]

Why do you see so many Optima batteries in race cars? 90% of that equation is "sponsorship". That's why we have them -- optima was a series sponsor who brought a pallet of batteries to races to hand out. (tech was supposed to fail cars without optima batteries) We don't run with those crash-happy nuts anymore. But I do still have a 7yo yellow top in the civic. (when it spends 90% of it's life disconnected, they'll last a long time.)

[@raycar1165]

They're supposed to be more durable than regular lead acid batteries. It's not super uncommon for a car to roll over or crash and then restart and take off without ever getting out to check for damage. So imagine during all that the battery cracked or lost a fill cover, now there is battery acid getting shook all over the place, that could cause a fire.

[@Live4Pin]

Your chrome is super clean! Did you replace or is it stock?

[@Vertignasse82]

I want the world to be a happy place.

[@Quest4Unknown]

Ahhh partnership lol just hope my yellow top lasts 9 years like my red top did. Guess my once a month truck driving I’ll need a trickle charger. But with the yellow top I feel good about it.

[@jamestkirk464]

You answered my question perfectly,,,thank you

[@johnnyturbo8460]

I have NEVER had good luck with the Optima batteries. I have used red top, blue and yellow. (In my Race cars, boat, truck, and off road jeep), None really lasted more then 2 years, and showed no better performance, actually they preformed worse. The idea is great, but look elsewhere if you want a long life batteries. Use a different AGM battery !! Its one thing if Optima just sends them to use, but for the buying customer, look elsewhere.

[@madmax9009]

Now they are made in mexico, they are not the quality they used to be.

[@clifford_2zero7]

I have to add my experience here to help confirm so others know. In 2011 i bought a Optima redtop for my 97 Camaro Z28. Within a year it died got a new one under warranty, then another and that one died quickly as well. Each battery was on an expensive high quality Optima brand charger on trickle mode while the car was in the garage. Is a weekend warrior type car. I will never use another Optima again and yes they changed manufacturing at some point and quality went 💩💩💩 Get one if you'd like but be warned......

[@busterevergreen9673]

You strong slick those things are heavy

[@VeryCoolJeep]

Thank you !

[@alwaystiredg3788]

How come some people say it’s bad but some say they’re amazing who do I trust fuck

[@tomballard8433]

Great! Thanks!!!

[@drumbeastgaming2327]

They are just better batteries, I run them in everything

[@wmars4655]

My red top failed after a year. Swelled and gassing off.

[@V1_JFN]

Please ensure correct disposal of these batteries, I see a lot of nonsense about handing them into Autozone. Please avoid this and always throw your batteries into the big blue, It's the safest and most legal thrill you can do.

[@piciu256]

lol

[@neomeg2232]

Made me give you the first thumb down. Sorry, but optima sucks. Much better options out there

[@АлёнаЗефирова-е2м]

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[@jackme-off6690]

Those batteries are shit