According to Optima's search engine, there are 4 batteries for my truck:

Group # & Description
34 (8002-002); RedTop®; Battery; Group 34; Cold Crank Amps 800; Crank Amps 1000; Reserve Capacity 110; Ampere Hour 50; Top Terminal; L-10 in.; W-6 7/8 in.; H-7 13/16 in.;

34/78 (8004-003); RedTop®; Battery; Group 34/78; Cold Crank Amps 800; Crank Amps 1000; Reserve Capacity 110; Ampere Hour 50; Dual Terminal; L-10 in.; W-6 7/8 in.; H-7 13/16 in.;

D34 (8012-021); YellowTop®; Deep Cycle Battery; Group D34; Cold Crank Amps 750; Crank Amps 870; Reserve Capacity 120; Ampere Hour 55; Top Terminal; L-10 in.; W-6 7/8 in.; H-7 13/16 in.;

D34/78 (8014-045); YellowTop®; Deep Cycle Battery; Group D34/78; Cold Crank Amps 750; Crank Amps 870; Res. Capacity 120; Ampere Hour 55; Top Terminal; L-10 in.; W-6 7/8 in.; H-7 13/16 in.;

 

There not worth the money on street vehicles.

 

Ok, he has received the obligatory dont waste your money post. I am also interested in any actual experience with Optimas on 3 gens. Which ones and how long so far.

 

Personally I believe the Odyssey Batteries are much higher quality. But they do cost more.
http://www.odysseybatteries.com/applications/hd.htm

MikeyB

 

I had a Red Top in my 12valve, worked well for the time I had it. I cant remember what size it was though

I dont know if its worth the extra money, but when I had to replace a battery in my 3rd gen, I just got a Duralast gold for $70. The prices on Optimas have also gone up since I bought the red top years ago(it was $100 OTD when I bought it) I think theyre up to $130 now...

 

While the optima's will last longer, because its a better design, I think we can all agree that most people got them because they look cool. Not for the usability.

 

I bought mine for the Texas heat, tired of puking batteries...

 

Im running the red top 830cca's in all my trucks except my CTD and thats because I bought a couple of Odysseys 930 cca's and 1700cca's peak pulsed.


With the heater grid drawing a whopping 200+amps at start up I didn't want to take any chances.


Its true the Optimas do look cool but they are also sealed eliminating the risk of batt terminal dammage due to leakage. One of my trucks spends a lot of time near the coast and all batt ruin the terminals except the Optimas and Odysseys.

 

I bought two optima 34/78 for my 05 truck. The last pair I had were the 34/78 I had bought for my 78 jimmy in 1993, then transfered them to the 98 CTD I bought new in 98. They are still in the 98 and working fine according the new owner, So that makes the batteries about 15yrs old!.....
Well worth the money!
Doug.

 

I cannot speak about the Red or Yellow top, but I have 3 Blue top deep cycle in my camper and boat and they are the best batteries I have owned by FAR! I live in VT and the harsh cold usually takes it's toll on the regular batteies. So far so good and like new after 4 years of service.

Rob

 

Had a red top in a mustang for 7 years, and 3 blue tops in my boat on their 3rd season. Truck will get them when the oems die

 

The Red Top in my dad's 1993 Dodge Dakota 4x4 finally died after being in the truck for 10-12 years and 130,000 miles.......I am not buying any, just was curious if you guys like them.

Their are cheaper alternatives to the Optima brand, both Exide and Interstate have a Spiral Cell Technology batteries that look identical to the Optimas.....

I think Champion even has a Spiral Cell battery.

 

I havew a yellow top on my Farmall tractor, been there several years, very reliable battery. I have two bleu tops in my RV and two in my GN horse trailer, they have also been there several years, again very reliable. I use a bank of 10 blue tops for my power station associated with my solar water pump arrays, connected to about 5K of inverter to power my home, again very reliable, been there 7 years and NO problems.

I did not buy them because of their looks, I bought them for their superior design - matt-technology, and because they are sealed (no acid) and require no ventilation like lead acid batteries.

I plan to use them when my oems quit in my CTD.

CD

 

I have also had great luck with the Optimas in my RV and boat. I have to say though that I am totally impressed with the factory batteries in my truck. They are 5 years old, and that is saying something for a battery here in Arizona, with the high temps. Maybe it is because of running tandem batteries, but anything other than optima's only sees 2 to 3 years max before failure. I don't know what they cost, or even what they are, but if they are signifcantly cheaper than optima's, I may go that route.