optima yellow top - Land Rovers Only

bama · 08-11-2009, 11:24 AM

Hearing mixed reviews on these batteries, anyone here with any knowledge of how they perform?

XtremeMarine · 08-11-2009, 12:26 PM

I have a yellow top, and a blue top on my DII. They're mounted in an Aedo-Fab dual tray. They're wired so that the yellow top is running my truck, and the blue top to run my winch. They will both charge off of the alternator and have a dedicated switch so they can't overcharge. Never had a problem with either of them. Great batteries. Great company. Great warranty. Been using them for over a decade with never a single problem.

bama · 08-11-2009, 12:31 PM

thank you very much, yellow top it is then!

Disco Mike · 08-11-2009, 01:14 PM

I have a 2 year old set of dual Yellow Tops, they have held up very well with lots of heavy winching.

antichrist · 08-11-2009, 01:36 PM

I've never used them, but there have be a ton of negative reports on Optima's in the past few years. I've seen more negative than positive.

You might want to consider a Diehard Platinum. They are relatively new on the market, but are made by Enersys (who makes Odyssey batteries) and are identical, except in price (lower) and color/labeling.
They are more expensive than Optima though.

8 years ago I chose Exide Orbital over Optima because of their higher rating and better warranty (and better price), but switched to the Sears Platinum because the rating and warranty was even better. I put a P4 in my D1, but a DII will handle an even larger one.

brian4d · 08-11-2009, 01:39 PM

X2, I ran a Die Hard Gold for 8 years...

JERSEY ROVER · 08-11-2009, 03:13 PM

I ran a red top in my 10.0 index mustang for year never had a issue with them . I alos heard odessy batteries are good too

antichrist · 08-11-2009, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brian4d

X2, I ran a Die Hard Gold for 8 years...

Just to be clear, not all Diehards are made by Enersys. Only the Platinum's are.

FWIW, until I bought my Exide, I and my family have been using Diehard batteries for over 35 years without a single issue. Given the number of vehicles with them, probably several hundred battery years. YMMV.

Disco Mike · 08-11-2009, 07:09 PM

We had this discusion last month, "You might want to consider a Diehard Platinum. They are relatively new on the market, but are made by Enersys (who makes Odyssey batteries) and are identical, except in price (lower) and color/labeling."

They are not the same, nor do they offer the same outputs and they are not Deep cycle batteries like most of the more expensive Odyssey line of battery. Not to say they aren't good batteries, but you get what you pay for in this world.

If I had it to do over again, I would still go with the Yellow Tops based on my past history with them.

Bushranger · 08-11-2009, 08:32 PM

If you read most of the negative reviews about Optima batteries, it is obvious it is from some knucklehead who tried to wire something into his car, and did a butcher job and created a draw. The battery would get drained over and over again and he thought he was re charging the battery simply by jumping it and driving the car. It never occured to him that this constant drain/half ass charge might damage the battery and prevent it from holding a charge......... He blames the battery... My guess is his battery posts had 0 corrosion on them and his connections were top notch as well

Optima batteries work excellent, are great product, and are reasonably priced. I have sold thousands of them over the years with zero complaints....

1hank1 · 08-11-2009, 08:44 PM

I don't know who told you all this mis-information, Mike, but you're full of shit.

The PM-2, comparable to the Odyssey PC-1500, is indeed a deep cycle battery. I don't think I've ever seen a Marine battery that was not a deep cycle.

The Odyssey and the Die Hard Platinum also share the same specs.

I'm not going to say both batteries are identical because no one but the people making them know the answer to that. But they're damn close.

In any case, the Optima's are shit. At one time they made a good battery, but for the last 5-years they've been shit. Just search. Our little Land Rover community is very small, considering. But look at the number of failures. The numbers speak for them self.

I prefer the Die Hard over the Odyssey solely because of the top assc. terminals.

mbrummal · 08-11-2009, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1hank1

I prefer the Die Hard over the Odyssey solely because of the top assc. terminals.

The Die Hard only has 1 terminal configuration, the Odyssey has multiple, some of which have the same terminals as the PM-2

antichrist · 08-12-2009, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disco Mike

They are not the same, nor do they offer the same outputs and they are not Deep cycle batteries like most of the more expensive Odyssey line of battery. Not to say they aren't good batteries, but you get what you pay for in this world

You claim to know authoritatively that the Platinum is inferior to the Odyssey, but won't back up your claims with any documentation, which should be quite easy to do. So until I see that, it's just more internet misinformation.

I decided that I wanted to make sure the correct information is known, so I called Enersys, the people who make both line of batteries, and they assured me they are, internally, exactly the same when you're comparing like models, like the Odyssey PC1500 and Platinum P4:
Land Rover Repair Forums - LRRForums.com - View Single Post - Battery question ???
In fact, I even specifically asked about the deep cycle capability of the P4 and she told me it was the same as the PC1500DT.
She said,

Quote:

The only difference is the case color and labeling.

Apparently even after I reported that, you still feel you know better than Enersys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1hank1

I prefer the Die Hard over the Odyssey solely because of the top assc. terminals.

For people who want mainly just a starting battery, the Platinum P4 has the exact same terminal configuration as the PC1500DT, top and side terminals both.

antichrist · 08-12-2009, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bushranger

If you read most of the negative reviews about Optima batteries, it is obvious it is from some knucklehead who tried to wire something into his car, and did a butcher job and created a draw. The battery would get drained over and over again and he thought he was re charging the battery simply by jumping it and driving the car. It never occured to him that this constant drain/half ass charge might damage the battery and prevent it from holding a charge......... He blames the battery... My guess is his battery posts had 0 corrosion on them and his connections were top notch as well

If that were the case, we'd see the same number of complaints about Odyssey, Exide, Interstate and other batteries.
Heck, I used a regular Diehard marine battery in my Lightweight as the only battery, and used to nearly completely discharge it winching (a couple of times I even had to bump start the car) and just drive it to recharge it. That battery lasted over 8 years.

brian4d · 08-12-2009, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antichrist

Just to be clear, not all Diehards are made by Enersys. Only the Platinum's are.

FWIW, until I bought my Exide, I and my family have been using Diehard batteries for over 35 years without a single issue. Given the number of vehicles with them, probably several hundred battery years. YMMV.

Good to know, that would explain why they're almost $100 more than the gold. I realize you need a lot of data from different users to judge a good battery but, my gold series lasting for 8 years and still starting strong the day I sold my truck made me brand loyal from that day on. I was very impressed.