So the J hook of the battery tie down broke yesterday causing the battery to slide into the power steering pullly (this is the 2nd time this has happened to me since owning a toyota)

i've ran Optima Red tops in the past, and they kept dying on me. so i'm not supper impressed with them. but i have a couple buddy's who have said nothing but good things about them.

i've been running a DieHard Platinum in the big runner for several years and its been a kickass battery. i've heard they are Odyssey batterys that have been rebranded... but at 189 + tax its a bit $$

I've ran Interstate battery's in the past and they were very good as well.

however since i'm in the process of buying a house, and i'm broke, i've thought about getting just a cheapo Autozone Duralast battery.

what is everyone else running? what battery would you get?

 

I am going with the re-branded Odyssey soon to replace my dead Optima.
Never again will I buy an Optima.

I hear the Plats are the way to go.
Mine will be to replace my 2nd battery in my dual setup.

 

In April I had to replace batteries in 3 out of 4 of my cars/trucks. Due to the budget I ended up getting the Duralast Gold for all three...
Put the biggest I could fit in the '81, no issues
I figured that it was kind of like dealing with Les Schwab on tires, there is an Autozone all over the PNW so if I am ever having problems with the battery I should be able to find one under the warranty

 

Walmart batteries work fine and are the best price from what I can tell.

 

i've had good luck with interstate and acdelco

 

Interstate.

 

Several months in and my Optima YellowTop still feels like it's trying to make my starter rip it's teeth off. After dropping it in to replace the 10 year-old Mopar battery that couldn't hold a charge overnight, the Optima's been great. Now if I could actually drive my truck instead of just run the motor...

Every other car/boat/etc battery we have is interstate or acdelco, many of which are probably too old for their own good but still do the job.

Of course, there's also the batteries in the backhoe (it has two, oddly enough), which are absolutely huge and aside from a 1200CCA rating the only mark they bear is "HEAVY DUTY INDUSTRIAL" no idea what make they are, but they are clearly quite old.

 

I use a HD Tow Truck Batt. from a local trade supplier so it does'nt have a brand name.
Try a Batt. Specialty shop in your area, many times you can get better batt.s for less there. If you have to have a name brand you can often get "blems" [name brands with minor cosmetic faults] at a deep disc. from them.

 

You heard correct.
I love my diehard platinum.

 

i have had good luck with the wal-mart batteries. i had the heavy duty yellow ones in a diesel farm tractor for 4 or 5 years, until the tractor sold with no problems.i also run the cheaper ones in my truck. if any one ever buys batteries for farm equipment at wally world, tell them they are going in a farm truck.they won't warranty them if the are put in equipment. this is what the guy at the store told me.they might have changed the rules since i bought mine i don't know.

 

Interstate or Duralast Gold. I used to use Diehards but the quality hadn't been as good.

 

that's weird...

everyone always says that Optimas are crap

When I worked at Advance Auto Parts, we used to resale used batteries, and every so often you get an Optima battery for sale as used. I bought one that was a little over a year old when I got ahold of it. This was before I even bought my 91 Pickup! I ran it in my 82 Monte Carlo for almost a year. Then when I sold that and bought the Toyota, I kept the battery and put it in the Toy, and ran it for another 3 years without any problems! It finally killed over when the regulator in my alternator went bizerk and just about melted it down

I've had GREAT experience with Optimas...

 

Just put a Duralast Gold 34DT-DLG into mine. We will see how well it does. $95 for a 1000 CCA didn't seem too bad of a price to me.

 

I've seen loads of people say the older Optimas are great but the new ones are bunk. My experience with it so far has been great, though that experience has almost entirely been with the rear axle off my truck for the past... while. I had it hooked up since the day I dropped it in, and even after over a month of sitting (I run the motor for about an hour whenever it is I do make it up to the farm) it still turns 'er over as strongly as it did day one. The battery it replaced couldn't even hold a charge overnight disconnected. I actually plan on getting a Red Top to drop under the hood and use the Yellow as a secondary eventually.

Hey, just so you guys know, I ran the math, and our starters only draw a maximum of about 75A of current (according to the maximum rated output power) while cranking. Higher CCAs is good for much colder temps, but there is definitely no need to go overboard and get some super high CCA battery that has abysmal capacity or something. I would honestly be more interested in more capacity instead of a higher CCA rating.

 

so i decided to do the Duralast Gold... 3 year warranty and 1000 CCA for 95 bucks. i got the 34DT so it has dual terminals for accessories.

 

Haha the same thing happened to me. I just threw a 34/78 red top optima in my 93. I ran a red top on it's side in my mustang for 3 years. Just fired up the mustang after letting her sit for a month and it started with no problems .

 

that's the same one I just bought, nice choice.

 

I have a Die Hard Platinum in mine, you are correct, they are a re-branded Odyssey battery. On paper it is better than an Optima yellow top. It was my compromise between putting in dual batteries. It costs more than a single battery, but is cheaper than duals and does not seem to have a problem with the winch.

Pics:

 

so whats better? optima yellow top or diehard platinum?

 

It seems i`m in the same situation as those above, my two year old optima battery is toast, it will no longer hold a charge and when i try and charge it on a charger it won`t take a charge that way either. I like optima battery`s, but they just don`t last, so i won`t be buying another one. I will either go to wall mart or napa and get a battery there.