LS430Lexus

I understand that most on this forum favor Costco or other brands due to low cost and generous exchange policies. I have no argument with their logic. That said, my short commute and tough Michigan winter are causing me to go a little overboard on the battery. (Amazon pricing doesn't hurt either). I was all set to get a Yellow-top when a parts clerk suggested a Red-top. I am going to call Optima customer service tomorrow but I am interested in anyone's experiences. Thank-you.

BradTank

It depends how you're going to use it, if it's for simply starting your car and it's a daily driver, a Red Top is better as it has more amps for that purpose.

A yellow top is a deep cycle and better for things like running accessories when your car isn't running. That's why people in the car audio world like deep cycle batteries. Also people in the off road world that use them to run things like winches, etc. If your car goes long stretches without running, a yellow top is also likely a better choice. It's made for lots of cycles of going low than high. But it usually doesn't have the total cranking amps.


But I do think Optima batteries have become a gimmick and simply aren't what they used to be, another larger company bought them out. I had one fail on me literally in one day of ownership, I put it on a trickle charger and came out to my garage and it was smoking. The web is littered with stories about how the original Optimas lasted forever but the new ones are junk. So it's not just about being thrifty, even Consumer Reports rated them below brands like Costco and WalMart.

If you're worried about being left stranded, I would simply replace your battery every 2 years and not wait until it starts to fail. It's really cheap insurance. They also now make small "jump start" Lithium batteries you can keep in your car that around the size of a book.

Johnhav430

I remember seeing a Consumer Reports last year, and #1 was a $300 Interstate AGM, #2 was a Bosch lead acid sold at Pep Boys in the $150 range. I do believe that Optima is a 1999-200x thing, when people were decking out their stereos and like to have the motor with hood open in a show. Optima used to claim one could mount the battery upside down etc. Many cars have a battery in the trunk, so nobody sees it nor cares what it looks like....unfortunately the LS's shows and is under the hood....

edit just thought of an analogy. Today, you can spend $79 with a coupon for a 3 ton low profile jack at HFT (which has served me well), you could spend $450 online, or $1,300 and get a Snap On. They are all made in the same country, so in the end, all you really have is a warranty. Meaning, no matter what you spend, you want to be able to realistically get a replacement without waiting 6 weeks or to have someone approve a claim. This is likely why Costco is so popular. I even had no trouble at Sears, but they do load test them. I had Advance Auto tell me on a 84 mo. battery, that the warranty was expired, after 3 1/2 yrs. i asked the person to explain to me how 3 1/2 yrs. is < 7 yrs., and he said stop trying to confuse him with math. I told him to his face, you're pretty bad at math, and then some dude stepped out from behind the counter asking me why I'm saying he's bad at math. The long story short, is this is what you don't want to have to go through that, and in the end, I did not get my pro rata battery and went to Sears.

fensterlip

The battery warranty is typically, at least Costco typically, that up to 36 or 42 months (I don't remember at the moment) they replace the battery without a pro-rating of the remaining life. After that point they figure the remaining life as a percentage of the full 84 months - or whatever the full life is warranted to be. At 6 years, in other words, you get 1/7 of the full price discounted from the new battery full price. This used to be an empty promise because many shops would give you that 1/7 off the full retail price which quite often was more than the typically offered discount. In that case just paying the discounted new battery price would be less. With Costco and their "no funny discount" world the pro-rating can still save you money. If the battery dies in the early years - up to 36 or 42 months (whatever they use) you get a new battery without any pro-rating so the replacement is essentially "free". After that point they pro-rate the remaining anticipated life and give you a discount - not a "free" battery.
FWIW, the Lexus charging system doesn't support AGM batteries like the Optima. The starved electrolyte batteries need a higher charging voltage so the battery would never get fully charged. It will last many years but the benefits really aren't there. The higher CCA numbers presume a fully charged battery - not one constantly at 80-90% of a full charge. The other benefit of an AGM battery is vibration and mechanical shock resistance. This is an issue in maybe a Jeep used off road but not much of an issue in a LS430. You pay quite a bit more for no measurable benefits except a pretty red top.
The yellow top is a deep cycle and will have thicker plates and give less for starting amperage requirements. Not a good fit for typical auto usage unless your running a big stereo with the car not running for long periods of time. I see Optimas are around $225 and the Group 24 at Costco is $87. That's almost 3 batteries. Just replace every 3 years or so if you're concerned.

jimbosr1

i have the yellow top in my 06 that i put in 6 years ago and i have been very happy with it.i have left the interior light on for a couple of days and drained the battery down to where there wasnt a light on and it charged up with no issues.i sometimes go days without driving my car.it never is parked outside.i paid $185 for it with a coupon on autozones website.

Scootymad

I've got a red top Optima in my LS and my 15 foot boat (65hp 1971 Mercury), and I only bought it because it was offered to me for damn cheap and was only about $100 more than a maintenance free Ag/Ca battery. Hawt dang does it turn that Denso starter motor over with some gusto

Gronemus

I imagine that might be good advice in the hot part of the country (batteries hate heat) where you live but it is really throwing money away here in the upper midwest. With the exception of one battery that developed a dead cell after only one year, I have never failed to get at least 6 years life out of any brand of battery that I've used in my vehicles over the last 40 years or so. I do tend to buy the higher rated batteries when it does come time to replace them though...

realkrs

I wouldn't use an Optima battery if someone gave it to me. They aren't as reliable as the earlier ones, the ones that gave them their reputation. Plenty of stories of premature failure including two of my own.

A sale in 2008, best recall, at a local parts house was just too good to pass up. I don't remember the prices but it was a two for something deal and I went for it. One of them failed by internal short within six months and the other no longer took a charge at 1 1/2 years or so.

Instead I now use Odyssey batteries whenever I can. I've got three Odyssey's in service now, all doing fine after three years for one and seven years the other two. IMO Odyssey batteries are worth their price.

Johnhav430

I have never heard of them, so I just looked them up, both batteries they show for the LS430 are group 34 and AGM (I wonder if it's just easier to go with a 24F)

super high price, with nice specs
http://shop.odysseybattery.com/p/34r-pc1500t?pp=12

this is really niceCold Cranking Amps (CCA)850 as is thisReserve Capacity Minutes135 BCI #:24FInstall Notes:Installation requires optional height adapter. Additional cable may be required.

I believe the batteries are smaller and need this adapter....

http://shop.odysseybattery.com/p/spa...extreme-series

edit: after thinking about the size being not right and requiring an adapter, I'd rather just get a Costco 24F. There was one time in the history of my Maxima where a group 35 was put in, and it looked puny. Just the look drove me crazy, couldn't wait to get a 24F back in there....love the specs though on this odyssey....