Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Looks to me like your SEQ supplier has the market to himself so he can charge whatever he wants.

There are heaps and heaps of resellers here in vic so the market is competitive. you might be able to get one throug here cheaper, even with freight to you -

try Battery Stop, Battery world, hell, even autobarn have them here.

Steve.

I'll give autobarn a go, never heard of battery stop, and Battery world was the guy who tried to flog off the sealed lead acid supercharge, and the only gel battery he sold was those Odyssey things.

I Tried My usual haunts around town, and all of them just sell normal bloody batteries, I only found two locals that deal with gel of any script, Battery world with those Odyseeys, and the local 4x4 shop with the Absorbed power. I think If I ever hear a salesman say supercharge again, I'll explode!

Yeah, probably does have monopoly, they said they are the QLD importer for allot of batteries, so I guess they choose who to, and what they pass on.

OK, so I dropped into Auto-barn. Was referred to their stereo specialist bloke, who said that he can get the optimas in. A D34 comes in at $450 through them!!! He then said just fit a heavy duty lead-acid with equivelent CCA, and Ah etc; you should have seen the size of it!

He then said he sells a new brand of gel battery called pulse. He said he had one that would be 'adequate' for a suzuki for $256. He agreed the Optimas are good and he wants to fit 4 of them to his car just to run his stereo, but he cant aford the $600 a battery for the ones he wanted.

Anyway I think due to my current financial situation, I'll give the Absorbed power battery a go. There is a line as to how much I will spend on certain items; and a battery at $425 is a bit exy. I think my line may have been around $350 for a high end one. If i was running a winch, and other high drain electrical items I'd probably go the whole hog.

Anyway thanks for everyones contribution to my questions. In a few years time anyway I'll be able to tell how this absorbed power one goes; see me as a guinea pig if you will.

bit of a dig.
Are many people running optima's with standard alt's? I'm pretty shit when it comes to elecs and don't wanna invest $455 if the pissy little standard sierra alt cant keep up...

Also is it worth the extra $40 to go a yellow top over the red? I'm only going to optima for winching TBH. that and I want a good, beefy, small battery that will never die. I cant think of anything that i might want cyclic capabilites for... Other than music/lights when camping. (dirty cheapo 4" speakears arent that good for it anyway...)

I have a 280cca PULSE battery as my starter battery.
It is only 5.5Kg and is Gel. No worries about ACID leakage if/when I roll it.
15 years ago a good mate almost lost his leg due to a battery leaking... NOTHANKS.
My winch/compressor/stereo/2 way/rock light battery is a 100Ah AGM battery too but it weighs 30+Kg and is mounted under the floor at the rear of the car.
Optima's used to be 'the shit' but now so many other brands are comparable they have lost their edge.
Jas.

x2 on everything steve keeps saying (and saying and saying)... poor steve - those little fingers must be working over time...

Dee wrote:bit of a dig.
Are many people running optima's with standard alt's? I'm pretty shit when it comes to elecs and don't wanna invest $455 if the pissy little standard sierra alt cant keep up...

Also is it worth the extra $40 to go a yellow top over the red? I'm only going to optima for winching TBH. that and I want a good, beefy, small battery that will never die. I cant think of anything that i might want cyclic capabilites for... Other than music/lights when camping. (dirty cheapo 4" speakears arent that good for it anyway...)

Dee - it's $40! Skip dinner tonight and tomorrow night and buy the yellow top knowing that if you ever decide that you want a winch, or some other power hungy device in there you will have the grunt to run it.

I have run a 6000lb warn on a sierra with stock alternator with my blue top... winched the car with the engine off, winched other cars with the engine off and still started the car no worries - i probably could have been operating my central locking over and over and over at the same time... the optima batteries are just that good! My point being that the battery has enough life in it that you can still run a small alternator (or no alternator when the engine is off) and have the battery last the distance.

As a side note: IMHO - The blue top is the way to go - it gives you two more terminals that run wing-nuts so you can have quick on and off devices if you need them.

Like most have said - GET THE OPTIMA!

I would also recommend the D34 (Yellow top) OR the D34M (Blue top) - (they are the SAME battery with different terminal arrangements).

The RED top Optima's are actually better suited to very heavy starting (cranking) and winching applications, BUT (before you think you should go and get a RED top) they are not really a 'deep cycle' battery like the Yellow or Blue top, and they don't work as well for a car with high accessory loads (like spot lights, stereos, 2-way radios etc). Also, as already mentioned, the D34(M) Yellow/Blue is tough enough to handle all the winching / driving on the key that you can throw at it. So IMHO (for your application) forget the RED, get a Yellow/Blue top and have the best of both worlds!


I have a D34M in my Zook. I run a Falcon 100A alt too, which is a good idea if you want to get the most out of your Optima. They are an amazing battery, and fit like a glove:



Worth every cent!

Cheers!

Pez

righto! thanks guys.

How much weight saving would I get from turfing my 700cca (huge) lead acid battery for an optima red top, or yellow top?

A D34M weighs 19.8kg. The reason it is this heavy is due to the fact it contains a lot of lead-tin alloy. (Not made from tin foil like 'regular' crap batteries.)

Spec sheet here: http://www.optimabatteries.com.au/Conte ... 082104.pdf

Cheers,

Pez

if you are worried about weight - fit the battery somewhere else in the car... i have mine sub-mounted under the passenger seat.

Update
Just got quoted $320 from Jb hifi in Epping, for a D34, yellow top, Optima.
Make sure you go to a 'stand alone store' with a car audio section, not one in a shopping mall/plaza/what ever.

Battery stop - obviously a dedicated battery seller - quoted me $480.

86slowsierra wrote:Update
Just got quoted $320 from Jb hifi in Epping, for a D34, yellow top, Optima.

That sounds like money well spent to me.

Cheers,

Pez

Can anyone see an issue lying a D34 yellow top Optima on it's side on the passenger side (terminals toward engine)?
More of a question about heat as I know the Optima's can be mounted any which way.

Cheers,
Paul