I don't recommend anything less than the DEKA ETX-20L for a car that see true street duties. The ETX-14 is 200 CCA @ 12 lbs, and the 4 lbs weight loss isn't worth it for 70 CCA loss on a small battery in charge of starting a car. The ETX-18L does 270 CCA @ 16 lbs and much more suitable for our 4 banger application. The ETX-18 however is the one I recommend to 95% of readers of this thread. It cranks out 300 CCA at 18 lbs, which is still plenty light.
I've always had sucess with the Deka ETX-20L in the DSMs, two EVOs, a Saturn race car, and now the TT (most of them running on E85 which is hard to start on cold winter mornings). As long as you discipline yourself to not run accessories with the engine off, they are a great option!
I just upgraded to a yellow top optima n I'm one cable short on finishing the big three.
Great battery! I'm really happy with mine.
I have a red top, kicks ass, and would never get anything else..
Optimas are good batteries and they can be mounted in any position. They claim they're a spiracell acr blah blah battery and not a gel cell, but I think that's just marketing.
Optima makes nice batteries. If you feel like getting one, go for it. If you drive a bone stock car in very average conditions, you don't need the optima, but again, they are a good product-if you have the $$ to spend on one, you won't be upset with the performance.
I had numerous Optima batteries in my car for about 12 years and the only reason I kept going with them was because they replaced it under warranty every time they went bad.
Their batteries have never been great, and they've always failed prematurely for myself and several others.
Optima is no longer the same quality as it was years ago due to outsourcing to Mexico
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