It was cold here in upstate New York this morning and after putting in a new Catalytic converter last night, my mom's 2000 Accord was cranking pretty slow and took a few tries to fire. It's been a while since we put in a new battery and was looking for some recommendations. Currently we have a Interstate Mega-Tron II in it. I'm running an OEM Honda in my '05 Civic since the previous owners did all their service at Friendly Honda where I bought it, and so far I've been pretty happy with both batteries.
Battery Recomendations
- Thread starter Drewrob26
- Start date
Varnell
Well-Known Member
I just run SmartStart from O'Reillys. It's nothing special, but I haven't had any issues. I should probably get a higher performing one for my dual amp sound system, though.
Roadrage
Well-Known Member
I go with optima.. just my .02
phi1542
Well-Known Member
+1 I have a yellow top and love it! I use to have the duralast ones which isn't that good and only last a couple of years. After getting the optima yellow it started instantly. Even when its around 40 deg F outside it starts quick. Good for if you have sound system too
james'99
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I'm in NY too and my car doesn't even hesitate to start even in 7 degrees this morning with my yellowtop. Awesome battery.
RedRyder
Save the manuals
I just replaced my Duralast battery (24-DL) with another (24-DLG). The 24-DL lasted 5-6 years, so I was happy with it. The 24-DLG has more CCA and reserve power so it should be a step up. I have no doubt Optima makes a good battery, I just didn't want to spend $200+.
Dear OP: Thank you for creating this thread b/c I'm in need for a new battery with a question!
My 5-year-old Optima Redtop needs a little attention, and it's about time to have a new one. I have no heavy I.C.E. or anything, so mine is a Redtop, but I have absolutely no complaints about my Optima.
But I was recently in a search for other brands, just b/c I was curious to see if I can find a better spec yet lighter than the Optima I have now. I've heard the brand called "Odyssey" batteries, but not as much as Optima's.. If I can get a JDM Panasonic "CAOS" blue batteries, that'll be awesome, but not a chance atm..
Then, I came up with Braille racing batteries. They're known to be very lightweight, (1/2 of a regular car battery's weight), but after seeing some discussions by members who used to track their Accords, they' were saying:
I will most likely be going w/ the Optima's once again. But, here's my question:
Optima's website sells it for $200 shipped. Other online stores sell it for $160 shipped, being on the cheapest side.
(Now, when I get some AAA batteries for my clock or TV remote controllers from a cheap store that sells them for a buck, I have experienced myself that, those ones don't last as long. I've heard that it's b/c most of the time those ones have been overstocked and became old even if they're BNIB. Thus, outdated new batteries are sold cheap but they don't last long.)
Can it be said for a car battery also??
I'm sure Optima will sell me a freshly manufactured one from their shelf, if I pay $200. But how 'bout those other 3rd party online sellers selling them $40 bucks cheaper than Optima's official site? ← They're pics of the Optima battery's label seem different (older, outdated?) than Optima's official pic's. If this is all true, then there would be a common phrase that I can be aware of: "You get what you pay for" meaning that there would be a $40 risk of the battery that it might only last for 4 yrs, as opposed to getting it from Optima's site and run it for 5 yrs or something like that. ($40 x 5yrs = $200, so $40 cheaper might be lasting 4yrs is my guess lol.)
Sry for the long essay, but does a car battery really age, even if it's not been used, BNIB?
My 5-year-old Optima Redtop needs a little attention, and it's about time to have a new one. I have no heavy I.C.E. or anything, so mine is a Redtop, but I have absolutely no complaints about my Optima.
But I was recently in a search for other brands, just b/c I was curious to see if I can find a better spec yet lighter than the Optima I have now. I've heard the brand called "Odyssey" batteries, but not as much as Optima's.. If I can get a JDM Panasonic "CAOS" blue batteries, that'll be awesome, but not a chance atm..
Then, I came up with Braille racing batteries. They're known to be very lightweight, (1/2 of a regular car battery's weight), but after seeing some discussions by members who used to track their Accords, they' were saying:
I will most likely be going w/ the Optima's once again. But, here's my question:
Optima's website sells it for $200 shipped. Other online stores sell it for $160 shipped, being on the cheapest side.
(Now, when I get some AAA batteries for my clock or TV remote controllers from a cheap store that sells them for a buck, I have experienced myself that, those ones don't last as long. I've heard that it's b/c most of the time those ones have been overstocked and became old even if they're BNIB. Thus, outdated new batteries are sold cheap but they don't last long.)
Can it be said for a car battery also??
I'm sure Optima will sell me a freshly manufactured one from their shelf, if I pay $200. But how 'bout those other 3rd party online sellers selling them $40 bucks cheaper than Optima's official site? ← They're pics of the Optima battery's label seem different (older, outdated?) than Optima's official pic's. If this is all true, then there would be a common phrase that I can be aware of: "You get what you pay for" meaning that there would be a $40 risk of the battery that it might only last for 4 yrs, as opposed to getting it from Optima's site and run it for 5 yrs or something like that. ($40 x 5yrs = $200, so $40 cheaper might be lasting 4yrs is my guess lol.)
Sry for the long essay, but does a car battery really age, even if it's not been used, BNIB?
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phi1542
Well-Known Member
Oh damn.... I want to know too cuz I got mine off Amazon cheaper than from optima. Too late for me now but I would like to know for next time haha
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spacemonkee23
Well-Known Member
Shouldn't be an issue. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Optima doesn't want to sell off their website and is more hassle to sell just one when they can bulk pack and sell pallets through a distributor channel. They sell direct at a mark up because its probably more hassle and $$ for them to handle low quantity sales themselves. At least this is concept we used when I worked for an unrelated manufacturer, similar business model though. Sell pallets not parts...
Also they sell at a lower percentage profit margin so the distributor can still sell at their own mark up. It probably costs them under $100 to manufacture and sell it in bulk at roughly %20-%30 margin. Lets say for example a distributor buys a pallet for $100 each in bulk and mark up off that cost to make a decent % of margin off of each one. They in turn are feeding the economy and getting better distribution at the same time.
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kn0x47
Senior Member
interstate are great batteries and have the most loyal fan base. Your best price on batteries are going to be at sam's club or cosco. I have advance auto batteries in my cars but i've had the one in my honda warrantied out twice already.
