Interstate vs. Optima batteries

hoosierkayaker · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2008 6:19 pm

I'm putting a new battery in the kayak hauler, and like to get every ones take on which is better Interstate or a Optima Battery :?:

Fulltimer · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2008 6:39 pm

Optima. I have heard that Interstate don't like being drawn down and it doesn't seem to bother the Optima much.

Terry

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2008 6:56 pm

depends on use , I have ran a ton of Interstates, used to sell them at my shop, never had any problems but this was 10 years ago,
agree with Terry though Optimas will take more drawing down. I have one now and it starts the KJ just fine so....

SavageUrge · **Posted:** Fri Nov 07, 2008 3:39 pm

Since we're on th topic of Optimas, I was wondering what the better of the two would be for my application. Basically I run a stock KJ with no electrical mods other than 4 aftermarket lights (PIAA's up front and generic $7 Harbor Freight flood lights for reverse) and a permanently mounted Streamlight Ultra that sits in the charger 24/7. I do a lot of winter driving and cold starts in Upstate New York. No high-draw stereo components or anything else. So which is it, Red or Yellow? Oh, and what can I expect to pay for either? Thanks!

callaway · **Posted:** Fri Nov 07, 2008 3:57 pm

i put a red top in the kj for 2 reasons...
1 - being it has a 3 yr warranty vs a 1 year
2 - i bought from sams clubs where the red top was far cheaper than yellow ( red top was $139 and the yellow was close to 180 )

Xodius · **Posted:** Fri Nov 07, 2008 4:11 pm

Optima Yellow in Las Vegas is roughly 180-200 at Costco, at a regular retail shop they go for about 220ish.

Red tops I believe are about 140-160 but I could be wrong on that one.

When I lived in Wisconsin I never had any problems with my batteries so I cant say which is better in the cold.

AZKJ · **Posted:** Fri Nov 07, 2008 4:19 pm

My vote is for the Optima red top. I had one in my TJ that I just sold last weekend and it was still going strong after six years in the brutal Phoenix summers. The most I ever get on the Interstate which I run in my other cars was right at 3 years before the heat fried them.

BennyMigs · **Posted:** Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:42 am

I glad I found this post. The past few day it has been cold here and may batt. would not start my kj and had to jump it. What do they meean when they sat cold cranking amps is 1000 better then 850?

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:20 pm

basically it is the amount of push a battery has

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:18 pm

Optima = Interstate

Interstate = Optima

Same company makes both.

hoosierkayaker · **Posted:** Sat Jan 03, 2009 6:42 am

Thanks for all your input I went with the Red Top....

Li-bah-tee_13x · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 7:45 am

not to sound like a know-it-all but optima is owned by interstate....

MtnLuvr · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 12:06 pm

To clarify and for awareness...

Just because "same company makes both" or one company is "owned by" the other does not necessarily, although it could, mean the products themselves are the same. In my former work life, I worked exclusively in the manufacturing sector providing custom-engineered systems to help companies manufacture their products. Most product manufacturing facilities produce multiple products. It was also fairly common to have multiple "brands" (or perceived manufacturer's) of products produced in a single facility. The practice is commonly referred to as "private labeling".

As an example, I did one project for a lawnmower manufacturer and they produced 7 brands of lawnmowers (you don't think Sears or Home Depot actually design and make their own lawnmowers do you? :wink:

) in a single facility. Although these 7 different brands of lawnmowers ultimately all went through my transportation and paint finishing system, they were delivered to 2 different assembly lines. Each "brand" was actually different from the others. Although all 7 were made in the same plant, ran through the same systems and were assembled on the same 2 assembly lines, there were differences in metal thickness of the body housings, varying amounts of stiffeners installed, differences in the amount of protective coating finishes applied, differing quality control requirements, different engines, different transmissions, different height adjustment mechanisms, etc. Oh yeah, and they got painted different colors, had different stickers on them and got put in different boxes :lol:

. I saw this multiple brands, or "manufacturer's", in a common facility or under common ownership quite a bit. The "economies of scale", meaning the more of something someone produces, the more economically they typically can produce the average unit, is a key driver in the manufacturing industry.

Thus, I encourage people to not assume that just because two products come from the same manufacturer or the manufacturer of one product is owned by another that the products are identical. They may be or they may not be.

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 12:14 pm

Yellow costs more due to its ability to do more. If you don't plan to have a lot of accessories that draw from it, go with red. If you have a winch or a lot of lights and sound system, a yellow is a better route.

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:13 pm

update my Redtop lasted 6 months and went dead, charged it "the optima way three different times" its junk. Optima giving me a hassle due to the fact it was bought in Ark. I am in Ohio and they want me to yake it back to the place where it was bought
long story short bought an Interstate ( with the same specs) and threw the Optima in the corner they can take their warranty and shove it way up!

Albert · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2009 3:09 pm

tommudd wrote:

update my Redtop lasted 6 months and went dead, charged it "the optima way three different times" its junk. Optima giving me a hassle due to the fact it was bought in Ark. I am in Ohio and they want me to yake it back to the place where it was boughtlong story short bought an Interstate ( with the same specs) and threw the Optima in the corner they can take their warranty and shove it way up!

Good to know that they are really not standing behind their warranty if you must take it back to the place where you bought it..... Many people move and your battery does not always crap out near the place you bought it either.

mrkake · **Posted:** Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:30 pm

What I heard was that the Optima is "vibration resistant" and the interstate is not.

I have a red top in my CRD and have had zero problems or starting issues in any kind of weather (-15 to 120 degrees). This doesn't mean that I think this is the best battery that I have ever used. It just means that it has been a good one for me.

oddball · **Posted:** Mon Jun 01, 2009 4:10 pm

callaway wrote:

i put a red top in the kj for 2 reasons...
1 - being it has a 3 yr warranty vs a 1 year
2 - i bought from sams clubs where the red top was far cheaper than yellow ( red top was $139 and the yellow was close to 180 )

Wow. I've never seen not to mention ever bought a automotive battery with a 1 year warranty? Actually, the Interstate I recently looked up has a 86 month warranty compared to Optima's Red top 36 month warranty.

Ans as for Optima, the site claims the group is 25 for a 2002 KJ. Tommudd stated he installed a different group number (can't remember what he said?) but when I went to their web site a few days ago and submitted that group/size number, nothing came up in that group for Yellow top. So my question now is, what group/size Optima Yellow top are people using? '02 KJ for example.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 01, 2009 7:42 pm

oddball wrote:

callaway wrote:

i put a red top in the kj for 2 reasons...
1 - being it has a 3 yr warranty vs a 1 year
2 - i bought from sams clubs where the red top was far cheaper than yellow ( red top was $139 and the yellow was close to 180 )

Wow. I've never seen not to mention ever bought a automotive battery with a 1 year warranty? Actually, the Interstate I recently looked up has a 86 month warranty compared to Optima's Red top 36 month warranty.

Ans as for Optima, the site claims the group is 25 for a 2002 KJ. Tommudd stated he installed a different group number (can't remember what he said?) but when I went to their web site a few days ago and submitted that group/size number, nothing came up in that group for Yellow top. So my question now is, what group/size Optima Yellow top are people using? '02 KJ for example.

'02 KJ's got a smaller battery then '03+ KJ's but with some trimming of the '02 battery tray you can fit the bigger battery,I know since I cut mt battery tray to fit a group 34/78 Yellow Top.Now I have a group 34/78 Odyysey which requires massive trimming to fit.

'02--group 25
'03+--group 34

oddball · **Posted:** Mon Jun 01, 2009 9:13 pm

So am I to assume the Group Number:

Quote:

D35 (8040-218) YellowTop®; Deep Cycle Battery; UNBOXED; Grp. D35; Cold Crank Amps 650; Crank Amps 810; Reserve Capacity 98; Amp Hour 48; Top Terminal; L-9 5/16 in.; W-6 3/4 in.; H-7 5/8 in.;

; would be the correct battery to install in a '02 KJ? (Trimming the battery tray of course). - Thanks.

Interstate vs. Optima batteries

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