Well, so far my battery has died twice in the past two months. battery is supposably good as per the indicator window on the battery(shows green) and its the orginal battery. my tl is bone stock with the exception of a k&n drop in filter.i had it charged twice at advance auto parts but i think its time for a brand-spankin new battery. o.k. so my ? is, can i use a optima 34/78 group series battery on my tl-s? i know that the 25 group series battery is recommended for the tl but i was told by a few mechanics that you can use pretty much any automotive battery as long as the size is about the same, cold cranking amps and crank amps are the same or higher and the terminals are located on the top. i work at pep boys and the only optima batteries we sell are the 34/78 battery and 35 battery. the 34/78 is pretty much the same size as the 25 but the 34/78 has 800 cca and 1000 ca. the 25 has 720 cca and 910 ca. they are both top posts. i know i can get the right optima battery somewhere else but i can get one at pb for way cheaper since i work there. will the 34/78 damage my car in any way if i were to use it? sorry for making this topic long, had to get every detail out. thanks!

 

Yes, the 34/78 battery will work, that's what I have.

 

you'll be fine. i'm actually using a 35 series instead of the recommended 34 series - only problem i initially had was getting the neg ground wire to stretch the other way. battery's holding up strong!

 

I have 34/78 also. Fits perfectly and it's a great battery!!

 

sounds like you were running a die hard battery. I had one with that little round window indicator too, the color never changed on it even after it crapped out. I got a red top optima, been going strong 3-4 years, if you run a lotta accessories like aftermarket stereo w/ amp and sub you many wanna go with the yellow top.

 

i had a delphi battery, had the indicator which showed green meaning batt. was still good. fooled me. i was stranded in them middle of nowhere for 3 hours 'til the tow truck arrived. it was the stock battery from what i was told by the previous owner.
thanks guys, i really appreciate your answers. i went ahead and bought a 34/78 optima battery today. car starts up so quick its hard to tell its on. hah!

 

Geez. I'm leaving on a road trip in about a week and I was looking at my battery earlier today. I have a delphi freedom battery 80d26r. . . indicator is green also, but if this is the original battery, then it's like 6 years old!! (I bought my 2002 TLP about a month ago) . . .. batteries don't last that long do they???

I think I may have to buy a new battery before I go on the road trip. My car does NOT start up quickly like you're saying yours does since you got the new battery.

 

From what I understand, the green indicator on the batteries is only hooked to one cell, so it can be very misleading. If that one cell is good - all you see is green, but another (or the rest) cell could be bad. Basicly what I was told was the green indicator is a selling gimmack - don't trust it! And 6 years is OLD for a battery, I would replace it before a road trip. My 2 cents.

 

yeah sounds like I have the original factory battery like the OP did. I didn't know it was POSSIBLE for a car batt to last 6 friggin years. . . . I guess I'm buying a new batt in the next couple days . . .

any suggestions??? What are some good choices and what should I expect to pay? Or should I use the magical "search" button??

how much for the optima 34/78????

 

Any 2nd gen owner that still has the original battery in the car needs to go out TODAY and get a new one.

 

for a standard battery go for an energizer, die hard, interstate, or bosch. they should cost you anywhere between $65 and $100 for one of those. the optima 34/78 cost $168 plus a 12 core charge at advance auto parts and 190 with a 12 core charge at pepboys. ive seen them selling online for 160 though with free shipping a while back.

 

Yea I got my RedTop at Advanced for about $165 IIRC

 

Duralast Gold from autozone for $93. 3yr warranty, 7year pro-rated

 

oh geeeeeeez.

Thanks guys for the great advice. This thread's been helpful.

Those prices . . .. .awwwwww sh******T LOL I was thinkin' about 65 bucks.

I'll get one before the trip.

 

Costco sells the Optimas.

 

That's where i'm looking to get mine.

 

I'm still running with my original battery. It seems to be working just fine...no slow/hesitant starts.

 

Check out Deka Batteries. Cheaper then Optima's and work great.

http://www.remybattery.com/Products/...T__9A78DT.aspx