gonzo14

PLease someone give me a model number to a GREAT FIT Optima battery for a 1968 corvette with stock hold downs. I just want to make sure that it will slide nice and easy on the bottom hold downs before buying one of these great batteries....Do I need any adaptors, or adjustments???

Johnny B
Interested battery buyer

enkeivette

I have one in my 78, don't know the part number. Just the standard red top Optima, got it at Costco. Fits easy, hold down was a pain to get at though.

Jims79

Sears sells them also. I don't think there is a model # just red top, blue and yellow. believe the blue is for boats and the yellow is an RV / Truck battery. I put one in my 79 & one in a 66 coupe. I don't think they are the best or greatest battery. Had one die on me just like any other battery I've used. I would go w/a good brand name & buy one on sale.

enkeivette

I've had one die too, but it takes a lot more for those suckers to die. If you work on your car a lot and you have the radio, under hood light on all the time, or if you had a lot of compression/ initial timing and you beat on your starter, it's a good investment. You can crank that starter forever and the speed won't drop.

VETDRMS

Mine worked good for 2 years, then it just up and died, completely...

Worth $120???

aussiejohn

Guys,
A few years ago I bought a red top Optima and thought it was great. Held charge for a long time but eventually went flat. I charged it with a common battery charger but it kept going flat. After I'd had it less that two years, it wouldn't hold a charge, so I took it back to the supplier. After he'd had it a few days and checked it out, he told me that it had been OVERCHARGED!!! He said that it needs no more than about one and a half amps. Any more and the gel inside will eventually "boil" out and as these batteries are sealed, they cannot be "refilled" like a normal lead acid battery. So they're scrap! The sucker cost me over $300 Australian, so I'm not planning to buy another.

However, AC Delco have now started marketing their batteries in Australia and have taken out a permanent ad in my car club's monthly newsletter, so I'm looking that way. Their sealed batteries are around AU$100, so guess where my money's going.

Hope this helps.

Regards from Down Under

aussiejohn

thermoquad

Aussiejohn--I'd stay away from that supplier---he'll probably lie to you about other stuff, too. I believe that although sealed and "spill-proof", Optima batteries are still the liquid lead-acid type, not gel-filled. I bought a bunch of them for some stationary commercial applications only to find out that most of them will only last about two years.

I'm Batman

What in the heck are you people doing to your batteries??? The Optima in my Cherokee is about 6 years old, on it's third vehicle and still works fine. My 77 Corvette had a slow drain problem, and it's first optima lasted nearly 4 years.

crazywelder

I'm sold on Optima's. We have a 100kw backup generator at work (John Deere 6 cyl turbo diesel) with a single Optima red top battery that is 11 years old now. Other than emergencies, we start it up twice a year and let it run for a half hour, it has less than 2,000 hours on it and the battery is just fine without ever charging between use. I put 2 optima's in our diesel service truck about 6 years ago with no problems yet, sitting outdoors in Michigan winters.

MN-Brent

Do a search in the C5 section. The Optima Red Tops are the battery of choice for replacement of the OEM batteries (AC Delco) that leak do to high draws from all the installed OEM electronics.

Myself, I've had real good luck with Walmart Everstart. I buy the best model they sell and it lasts forever. Use them in my truck, my vette, and the wifes car.

Brent....

gonzo14

Hmmmmmm, Walmart Everstart, Hmmmmmmm, I think that boy might have a point.....