The last battery I bought was an Optima...... that was about 7 years ago. What do you all think of the Optima..... and is there anything better?

Pros and Cons?

New technology?

Better value?

I recall the Optima was much more expensive than other batteries.

Cheers!

"Best" depends entirely on what is important to you, cost, weight? originality, sub zero coldstart performance etc...

I run an Odessey PC680 and it works fine for me, but I only drive my car in the summer half of the year and have a high torque starter so my engine starts pretty quickly.

If you drive in the rain on occasion a AGM battery is good to prevent damage to the hell hole.

Optima is one kind and there are many other brands out there now.

They are more expensive than your classic lead-acid as you noticed.

By the way allot of batteries are made by a handful of manufacturers only.

I found that batteries made by Johnson Controls group are good and last a while.

I use Interstate conventional batteries exclusively. I get 9+ years out of them or more. They key is to NEVER letting them go dead and, even though they are "maintenance free", check and top off with distilled water.

Dave

If your at all planning on leaving the car parked for long periods of time unattended then optima is the best

If you drive it often , keep a eye on the bat ,
Trickle it etc. I think a sealed die hard from kmart or sears
Is the best and least expensive (less then a 100$)

I used the later . But this should not even have to be said
Do not leave a 914 parked for a decade with any lead acid bat
In there

Odyssey Battery ...hands down the best battery I have ever used.

Last one a PC1200 lasted 13 years...it was purchased in 2004 just pulled the invoice.
used it on two different 911 and 914 race and street cars.
Never trickel charged it just sat in cars or on shop shelf.
Started 6 and 4 cyl high compression engines everytime.
Still have a PC680 on the shelf that was used on 914 track cars only and it still holds a charge and I don't even know how old it is....
They can sit for months and still start a car or anything else
The new one a PC1200 is in the 914-6...I'll need a paint job before this one wears out.

They are more expensive that the flaps battery but in the long run not so much.
$160 for 13 years...not too bad....

If you drive it every day...buy cheap.....if you let it sit buy the Odyssey.

And they DON"T LEAK ACID!

My 2c and a satisfied customer for their product.


https://www.batterymart.com/p-odyssey-pc120...3xoCm7sQAvD_BwE

Optima 34R (P/N: N9934RRED) is what used to be the best, but they changed the body plastic and it doesn't fit the tray without cutting the plastic (I've done it.) But the Optima N9935RED is the one I use now.

I also really like the Odyssey and have them in all my non-914 cars. I've installed a few in 914s, but fabricating a hold down clamp has pushed me away from this route. It's not hard, but I'm super picky and haven't come up with a properly affordable, effective, and elegant solution.

What about the hold-down you fabricated for me? It looked fairly universal (or at least adaptable) and not that pricey...

--DD

I put a replacement Optima red top in my 76 car and had to cut the tab shown. Any saw will do. Then it fit just like the last one did. I went to the battery distributor yesterday to get a replacement for the battery for my Carrera that took a dump in 8 mounts (not a Optima but Exide) and told them that there where complaints on the last version of the Optima battery. He told me they moved the MFG to Monetary Mexico and they had bad quality control for a while. He said something on humidly and problems but said now the batteries where now tip top.

I always take pictures of all I do.


Bob B

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I just bought a Duracell Platinum AGM battery, had a few better reviews over Optimas which I've had fail in the past.

Ummm...... prices seem higher than I remember.



Thank you all for the info. Need to consult my budget & expectations.

Looked that battery up and it appears to be just what I need.

I use Optima because it fits in all my cars and trucks. Top post & side post with a good handle and you can run with two in the dark!

......I use them also

Why anyone would still use an old school lead acid design under an engine grill that lets moisture on the battery these days is beyond me. I run Odyssey PC 680. Go sealed and never look back.

I just looked at the PC 680.
It doesn't appear to have conventional posts.
How have you attached the cables ?

The cables are attached with the SAE terminals that they sell for about $12--nice brass terminals that bolt down on top of the battery. Consider the PC925 which has about double the reserve power if you're not fanatical about weight. Another consideration is mounting...I've mounted the PC680 laying flat so the terminals are on the side--have to modify the hold down "J" bolts but no big deal. The PC925 mounts upright, more conventional but still needs shorter "J" bolts for the hold down (I just sawed off & bent the end of a generic FLAPS set). Note there's a PC925L with the terminals reversed--don't think you want that unless you've modified the cables. Battery Mart is a great supplier, & free shipping is a killer deal.

John's answer was perfect.

This one of mine isn't pretty yet (working on that next). But she sure works well.

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I used to love Optimas. 15 or so years ago they were great, the first one I had lasted me 10 years. At some point they moved their manufacturing to Mexico and the quality went to total crap. I had 2 of them produced after the manufacturing move and they were both garbage after the 2nd year. Even Costco stopped selling them here because of the insane return rates they were seeing.

After the multiple Optima failures I too went to the Odysseys using the Rennline mounts. I have both a 925 and a 680, either one works great in a 914. Higher initial cost if you need to buy a mount but better in every way than the Optimas.

You can buy conventional posts to add to the battery. Amazon has them for around $20

I use the pc680 in my airplane. Gives great service starting a 360 cubic inch 9:1 compression lycoming. Just bought one to use in my Datsun 510 race car. There have been some complaints about reliability in the experimental aircraft world but I think those are isolated cases. I have had nothing but excellent service!

Pictures of the cutting on the base on a Opt battery. small saw like a drywall saw works well.

Bob BClick to view attachment Click to view attachment

My car came with an Optima. I drove around for a solid week before I discovered my alternator belt had come off, that sold me on Optima for sure!

I'm looking at 1 of these 3 for the 5L racer. Biggest concern for us will be CCAmps; smallest has less than 200 amps, largest has 530 amps, and the one in the middle about 300 cold crank amps. Jury is still out, but the car relies on a lot of juice on start-up...so
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