Batteries

90whtbrd

Registered User
Was wondering what battery would be best to run in my bone stock, no aftermarket sound equipment 90SC. I did searches on batteries and Forum Polls and what I found was the AutoZone red top was mentioned the most. My first inclination was First Interstate. Most of the posts I have read were pretty old, so I was wondering if the quality of the red tops and Optima batteries was still there. Thanks for any and all input.
 
Red top isnt sold anymore. It was a good model. Works just fine and life expectancy is good. AZone now sells the gold top. All prices have gone up drastically.
 
Be careful not to get one that is too tall or, at least with a 90, you can have issues. Generally I prefer to use the largest battery that has top posts below the top of the front end radiator support. Same height as the one you are replacing should be cool... :eek:
 
Here in So Cal AutoZone's website shows 1 platinum top, 2 gold top and 3 red top batteries for our cars. When I went looking on the web for batteries I couldn,t believe the prices. I think I might go with the middle of the road red top Duralast unless First interstate will price match. Thanks for the replies it never hurts to check.
 
Sc

I only buy Optima batteries now.............the first one is still going strong. Second one is in the other SC.
 
Personally I believe any battery manufactured by Johnson Controls is a good battery. I believe Exide sucks. Delco makes a good battery as well.

last I checked the brands that are manufactured by Johnson Controls are: Interstate, Die Hard, AutoZone, Motorcraft

Exide are: Pep Boys, Energizer, and others I can't recall.

This list may not be entirely accurate but I used to work in the battery industry and Johnson Controls are way better than Exide.
 
Personally I believe any battery manufactured by Johnson Controls is a good battery. I believe Exide sucks. Delco makes a good battery as well.

last I checked the brands that are manufactured by Johnson Controls are: Interstate, Die Hard, AutoZone, Motorcraft

Exide are: Pep Boys, Energizer, and others I can't recall.

This list may not be entirely accurate but I used to work in the battery industry and Johnson Controls are way better than Exide.

Huh.

Exide used to have a plant in Shreveport LA - where they made some Die Hards and Interstates. This was years ago, though.

The previous battery in my Malibu was an Interstate from out there. Died after six years of usage ... which wasn't bad, IMO.

RwP
 
I have to believe that the Optima (AutoZone) is a great battery, but the price just puts me off. The Johnson Controls group also makes the Everstart Maxx for Walmart (part # Maxx 65 N) that I am going to look into further as I am not finding a lot of negative feedback on the net about and the price is right and the 3 year replacement is better than all the others.
 
Huh.

Exide used to have a plant in Shreveport LA - where they made some Die Hards and Interstates. This was years ago, though.

The previous battery in my Malibu was an Interstate from out there. Died after six years of usage ... which wasn't bad, IMO.

RwP

There was a short time sears switched to exide back in the nineties. It was disastrous. The defect rate trippled.

Interstate is Johnson controls proprietary brand. I doubt exide manufactured any of those.
 
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Optima is owned by Johnson controls. They acquired them in 2000. Optima was a Swedish manufacturer now owned by JC.

They are a bit lighter and the yellow top is a dual purpose battery that has a deep cycle property. with all of the electronics I have on all my cars and trucks with these batteries it or clearance is a non issue. I just wish the wernt yellow lol.
 
I have to believe that the Optima (AutoZone) is a great battery, but the price just puts me off. The Johnson Controls group also makes the Everstart Maxx for Walmart (part # Maxx 65 N) that I am going to look into further as I am not finding a lot of negative feedback on the net about and the price is right and the 3 year replacement is better than all the others.

I wouldn't say the Optima is a great battery and the only reason I'm using a Red top in my 91 SC is because it looks good. If I leave it sitting for a week without being on a battery maintainer (trickle charger) it's nearly dead. The low maintenance acid filled Duralast battery in my 93 SC can sit for months without using a charger and will fire right up.

David
 
I wouldn't say the Optima is a great battery and the only reason I'm using a Red top in my 91 SC is because it looks good. If I leave it sitting for a week without being on a battery maintainer (trickle charger) it's nearly dead. The low maintenance acid filled Duralast battery in my 93 SC can sit for months without using a charger and will fire right up.

David

David optima will tell you themeselves red top batteries are for offroad starting applications only. The yellow top has a deep cycle property that allows you to let a battery sit for long periods of time and holds a13 volt charge. I have two red tops that do the same thing
 
David optima will tell you themeselves red top batteries are for offroad starting applications only. The yellow top has a deep cycle property that allows you to let a battery sit for long periods of time and holds a13 volt charge. I have two red tops that do the same thing

I know the yellow top would work better, but it doesn't match my tensioner pulleys, plug wires and other red stuff under the hood.

David
 
I know the yellow top would work better, but it doesn't match my tensioner pulleys, plug wires and other red stuff under the hood.

David
they make covers for them i have the same problem, yellow battery in a red and billet engine compartment. I just dont want to have to leave mine plugged into a battery tender all the time so I am going to buy one of these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Billet-Alum...Parts_Accessories&hash=item4ac22dcadf&vxp=mtr and do the rest of the yellow in carbon fiber wrap
 
I use an Odyssey. It is really great battery. The case is black and the top is red. it looks great sitting next to my gloss black KW DIC. That's for those of you who want red. The reason why I bought it is that it is a dry cell that out performs the Optima batteries in all categories. It is hella expensive though. I also wanted a dry cell so that it would leak and corrode my fender. For me that is my number one concern other than being stranded after the drive-in movie with a dead battery.
 
With Optima, the top colors don't dictate if it's deep cycle or not. The case color (light gray vs. dark gray) is how you tell if it's a deep cycle. David, you should swap batteries and see if the white one still drains a battery in a week.
 
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