I ended up buying a red top optima gel battery....expeeeensiiiive
I had a red top in my mk5 after the OEM one took a dump. It worked very well without any issues.
been using optima redtops for almost 10years in all my vws. even when i was out of warranty they still let me take it in for a free new swap. theyre somewhat overkill for basic cars but w/e. i love them.
I've been running a redtop in my Outback for 8 years now. Still shows no signs of slowing down. Will be getting another one for sure.
Went with an Optima at Wal-Mart. $100, no issues.
Yellow Top Optima Battery. Used them since they're a deep cell battery and wont die when they're drained 150%. Something about how the seat belts sucked the life out of it after sitting for two days. Euro belts fixed that issue. They have a two year 100% over the counter replacement warranty at any of their retailers (yellow top). In '95 had a bad alternator overcharge the battery and leaked acid on the intercooler tubes. Since then I've relocated it to the trunk and had an Optima. If there wasn't a sealed battery when the car was rear ended it would of spilled the acid all over the trunk. The impact did kill the Yellow top by separating the conductors internally. Insurance refused to pay for it, but after the receipt was found it had 2 Mo left on the full warranty. So, safety, warranty, performance and longevity for about 30% more than a normal battery.
But the battery's been fine. I got a Redtop after the factory battery died, then that Redtop eventually did wear out. So I got an Interstate, and it didn't stay the whole winter before getting shuffled into the Cabby or something that was summer duty/easy to start. I got another Redtop for the bug then and it's been fine.
Optima was once a great battery. However a few years back they moved their production and since then its been a nightmare of failures.
No they are garbage now. Source: we sell them at work. We also warranty them. Don't buy an Optima. Ever since Johnson bought them, they went downhill.
I've never been impressed with an Optima battery.
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