Battery OPTIMA or Energizer
I put in a Optima yellow top that I got at Costco for about $150. I bought a $5 extension so my wires could reach the terminal. Great sealed dry cell battery!
Its minor but there are 2 different technologies in use...the red battery is designed for cold starting while the yellow was designed to handle added accessories...at least thats what i take from the website...it also says that if you use a red top in a car with enhanced car audio the warranty on the Red Top is void...take that into consideration...
That's why I got one for my '66 Beetle (12 volt conversion) It won't rust out the now repaired battery tray! Also, you don't want to put a super-hyper battery charger on them. They tend to like being charged on the slow side.
I splurged on a red-top a while back when I needed a new one because I had heard how good they were as a battery, but I did not know about the safety features you mentioned!
I just put a red top in my Scirocco, and it starts so much better now... I have seen lots of batteries fail, and nine times out of ten it's a cheap piece of crap like the duralast... The only batteries I have seen hold up in the long run have been Interstate batteries, and Optima's.
Go optima red top, 109@ autozone with a return core (your old battery) They are expensive for a battery, but they are worth it. Ask anybody on vortex about them, they know.
The previous owner of my VR6 killed a red top, by letting the car sit weeks at a time. After doing this for about a year the red top would not hold a charge. After driving it, and parking it overnight the voltage would be high 10's/low 11's....not good for starting a car. A yellow top was used as a replacement. It took the sits fine, because of it's design. Now a few years later I have the car and it still holds high 12's over a few days of not being started.
Louis, the Optima has a reversed polarity pole set up. You will have to extend you cables and now the positive post is very close to the fender wall. Pray that it doesnt slide during a hard turn.
optima=the suck... one year on a yellow top turned into .05 volts under load....
The new optimas are junk, I would get a conventional battery and call it a day. I have had numerous red tops in the past in various vehicles and they last no longer than a regular battery should and I didnt think they were all they were cracked up to be. When it came time after 4 years to replace the battery in my car I just got a conventional interstate and have been happy since
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