So I have seen a few others and including myself that have asked about Optima batteries.
After a bit of researching, this is what I have come up with.
Optimas are spiral design and deep cell batteries which means they are more efficient and also can be drained fully repeatedly and won’t be harmed like a regular acid based battery.
There are three type of Optima Batteries:
-Red Top
- Yellow Top
- Blue Top
The only ones you need to worry about for automotive are the Red and Yellow Tops (Blue Tops are more for Marine use)
The Red Tops are for general purpose use. If you have a stock automobile with no real plans to add anything more than an upgraded deck and maybe a few LED’s. Depending on where you get it from, will cost around $230 after taxes (CAN).
The Yellow Tops are a bit better if you have upgraded electronics like double din decks, additional speakers which will need more amps and subs. Anything that will draw more power than an alternator can give out. For the price difference, I went with the yellow top because I have plans to upgrade my system later. Depending on where you get it from, will cost you around $270 after taxes (CAN).
I just ordered my Optima Yellow Top and I must say that it works really well and I was impressed with the packaging and thought that went into it.
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This is the packaging that it comes in. At first I thought Holy Crap that’s tall but that top part comes off which I will show next.
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Under that top part they include some adapters for different applications.
They even show which adapter you will need for which application. I thought that this was a nice touch. For the Alero you can use the same Puck style securer or you can use the new one which I did because it lets you get more thread in.
Since this is the model battery that they got for me. Since they don’t have an Alero or Grand Am model on their site, this is the best fit.
Or not best fit…lol. Since this is a spiral battery, it will take up a bit more room so you will need to mod your battery tray a bit for it to fit. (Those are the EBCM’s from my other thread. Will soon be a write up on that too.)
Since I have a cai I couldn’t cut the back side that leads into the engine so I cut the side that is closest to the bumper (That is the saw I used on the right).
After installation.
Bit of a tight squeeze up front. But that’s it.
Now you can upgrade your sound system and you can store your car and feel comfortable knowing that your battery will now handle the stresses. Your only other thought might be a High Output Alternator if you go really large!