Which yello optima?
- Thread starter lx450landcruiser
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- #4
you mean the side posts? or are there more? the yellow i was looking at had side posts as well and for some reason the yellow was more expensive then the blue?
i never knew these hings were $170 sheesh
mike
i never knew these hings were $170 sheesh
mike
I hear you can shoe horn a group 31 optima in there, that would provide more capacity over a 34.
do not use the side posts on Optimas, there have been know to melt, the blue top is the same base battery with extra marine style terminals.
do not use the side posts on Optimas, there have been know to melt, the blue top is the same base battery with extra marine style terminals.
The mark up on Optimas is insane. I used to work for Johnson Controls which makes most all car batteries no matter what brand they are sold under. We used to get ANY Optima for $55 shipped to our front door. Too bad I didn't have the 80 yet.
I have 3 D31A Yellow Top Optimas. Two in my truck, One in my wife's.
I got the one in her truck by ordering it through an auto parts store (O'reilly's) for about $180 + shipping = $200. When I got the first one it was a gamble because I wasn't quite sure that it would fit.
They fit like a glove. IMHO they fit as well if not better than a 27F. Here's some pics. You'll only have one of the two battery trays if you haven't done some minor work already.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=1313490&postcount=26
When I was doing mine I planned better and ordered a pair of them for $300 shipped through the web. The key was to order them as a two battery pack.
They're still not cheap by any measure.
I got the one in her truck by ordering it through an auto parts store (O'reilly's) for about $180 + shipping = $200. When I got the first one it was a gamble because I wasn't quite sure that it would fit.
They fit like a glove. IMHO they fit as well if not better than a 27F. Here's some pics. You'll only have one of the two battery trays if you haven't done some minor work already.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=1313490&postcount=26
When I was doing mine I planned better and ordered a pair of them for $300 shipped through the web. The key was to order them as a two battery pack.
They're still not cheap by any measure.
It's a smidge misleading to state that the D31a "fit
Um, no... At least not in the case of my wife's bone stock '96 and my '96 before I modified things.
The Optima D31A has the posts in the dead center of the battery. It is a touch shorter in the front to back axis as well than a 27F. The result is that you only have to pull the cables through by about 1.5".
My wife's cables fit by just pulling gently and plugging them in. My '96 was the same story prior to my dual batteries. No modifications were needed and I don't feel that it strained the cables. I just went outside and felt the cables. They have enough slack to be gently pushed in any direction by about 2". I.e. no 'strain' on them at all.
My dual battery installation is a different story with a different purpose so the cables are completely re-routed through the switches. I included a link to that one above just for the LxWxD example.
In the case of my wife's '96 an Optima D31A fit perfectly including the cables with no modification. I had the same battery in my '96 before I transfered it into hers so that I could have two age matched in mine.
So did you try installing one yourself and have a different experience? If so, this may be a truck dependent question. Maybe my two '96s are different from your truck?
Perhaps Mr. T was a bit more generous with the cable on your trucks than on mine (also a 96). All I know is that mine took a fair amount of fiddling to get the cables to reach using a D31a. I'll eventually replace the cables when I go to dual batteries.
This was my experience, too. I had a toasted battery that barely held a charge, but I was too busy to put the Optima in. I figured I would change it on the spot if the old battery quit (Optima was in the vehicle.) Fortunately, I ended up changing it in my driveway where I had the time and ability to reroute the cables- they just didn't reach. The icing on the cake was that the Optima had NO charge on it.
It would have made a terrible spare in a pinch.
I think they ship in a nearly discharged state. You will need to put them on a deep cycle battery charger when you install them. I did. After that mine have performed flawlessly. (knocking on any available wood sourced surface.)
So it looks like I may have gotten lucky twice over on the cable lengths. I'm not complaining.
So it looks like I may have gotten lucky twice over on the cable lengths. I'm not complaining.
I've done a '94 and a '95. The '94 cables reached, I had to remove one cable tie to get enough slack on the '95. Took all of about a minute- I wouldn't consider replacement cables for it.
-Spike
-Spike