Optima Battery

[ratwell]

Does anyone in the San Jose, CA area know of a good place to get Optima AGM batteries? I've been to Costco and although it's $99 there they only carry one size (the wrong size).

[914turbo]

I've seen a Champion gell cell battery at Sam's. I think they had 2 or 3 different sizes.

[Rich Hilgersom]

Im guessing you want the orange top so the terminals are easy to get to.

I just got an optima from these guys on ebay. They shipped right away and the deal went fine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6755&item=2419469819


-Rich

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

You can also talk to Rich Bontempi at High Performance House in Redwood City. He knows 914s (massive understatement!), has the right size Optimas in stock. If you show up in person you will likely get a better deal than phoning in. Not as cheap as Costco, though!

--DD

[bowlsby]

I bought a red top optima last year...supposedly the one specified for the 914...from a local, reputable 914 source...and it fits, but the terminals were reversed, so that battery needed to be turned around so that the terminals are adjacent to the side wall of the engine bay...not 'Optima'(L) IMHO.

As things happened, I acquired another red top optima for my other 914 from Winchester Auto in Campbell...$129 and the terminals were correctly reversed...it had a -R suffix...fits perfectly. $10 cheaper than my purchase last year even...

[ratwell]

Thanks all.

It seems pep boys has them also but I haven't checked stock yet. I've see a few designation for the battery:

34R
34R-1050
8003-151

Appartently the red top with the reversed terminals is the same as the orange top which isn't made anymore. I've heard of the orange top sitting on the shelf for 2 years and starting up a motor without charging but it's probably better to get the red one because it's newer.

And how does everyone like the battery? I'm mostly looking for the no spill properties and the CA capacity but I hear that the AGM technology also means it self-discharges at a much slower rate than a conventional flooded battery.

[bowlsby]

Its a great battery...I would never buy a conventional battery for a 914. Worth every penny.

[joseph222]

I heard recently that Champion bought out Optima and have lowered the price on the Red/Orange top to 80.00.

Anyone else heard about this?

[Grantsfo]

Hate to admit it, but my battery died in the Costco parking lot. Bought the backwards Optima. It fits ok in my battery tray and I was able to secure it with a little work.

Probably worth spending 30-40 bucks to get the right size

[SteveStromberg]

Hey Grantsfo Do you Know Big Wave Dave? aka Dave Brown? He has aplace in boony doon. Steve

[thinlie]

Try Sam's Club. About the same price as Costco.

[ratwell]

I heard recently that Champion bought out Optima and have lowered the price on the Red/Orange top to 80.00.

Anyone else heard about this?

I've lost my issue of Consumer reports from last year that covered batteries but I recall all batteries come from a few sources: Johnson Controls, Exide and Delphi IIRC. It seems there are a few AGM batteries available now.

Exide owns Champion and JC owns Optima, so no.

[Kevin Powers]

if you use the bolt down plate like i did (stock tray). you can shift the battery inboard a bit so the side terminals are not a prob. it eliminates the stock clamp.

[Grantsfo]

Originally posted by SteveStromberg
Hey Grantsfo Do you Know Big Wave Dave? aka Dave Brown? He has aplace in boony doon. Steve

No, but probably wont take long. I have only lived here for 6 months or so. There arent that many people here. Does he have a 914?

I use the Optima battery in all my vehicles but not in the 914 because it's so heavy. I just bought a Genesis G16EP for $70. It's a SLA like the Optima but is about half the size and weighs 13#. If your 914 isn't a daily driver that uses a lot of accessories this battery will do the job.