Gary Mac

Greetings,

About a year and a half ago I upgraded my stock batter with a Yellow top, not cheap.

Then, about 5-6 months later, the yellow top died (could not get jumped or anything), and I got it replaced for free at autozone.

Now last week, the now 1yr old yellow top died again, it took a jump and has started 3 times since, but Im wondering where the problem is.

I do have some audio gear, but not that much power, I have a MS8, a Zapco two channel, Zapco 4 channel and an eclipse class d sub amp.

Do you think Im pulling too much juice for my alt to hang with (does not seem possible to me), or do you think these batteries suck?

I have a 08tls with nav if that helps.

RBeachTL

I don't think it's the audio gear; I have three amps and everything is fine. Check the threads about the HFL not shutting down and having a very large parasitic drain. Of course you should also have your alternator checked out.

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

I hear those Yellow tops aren't all that great for the money. I'd check over at DIYMA for a battery more geared for audio. I'm going to do the same as I'm pretty sure I need a battery here soon (starting car is getting pretty rough sometimes)

I hate cars

Optimas suck! Between my and my father, we've been through 8 of them in about 4 years. They will be fine one day and fail the next. Sometimes in just a month. Sometimes they never work great. My old Optima, before the company changed ownership lasted for 7+ years. It never gave out and that was in the GN with very high underhood temps and lots of vibration and g-force. Anything built in the last 5 years or so sucks. My father's installations were in the trunk where conditions are nicer for a battery and they still suck.

If you want a good battery at a decent price, look at a Sears Diehard Platinum. They're a re-badged Odyssey. Better performance than the Optimas and 1000% higher reliability.

I know it doesn't matter now but one reason I decided on the JL HD series was I wanted a class D amp that would be nice to the electrical system. However, your amps are not the problem, the Optimas are. If I remember right, a class AB pulls the same power whether the volume is low or high, at least that's what I remember reading.

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

This it? Still pretty expensive! Will this help with my system? Seems like I have A TON of stuff to purchase here soon. Pads/resurface rotors, oil change, new tires (Yoka Avid w4's SUCK!), gotta buy some detail stuff as college takes its toll on the car

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...2&blockType=G2

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

Looks like it's got 150 more CCA's than the Yellowtop. Nice. Still looks like it's more than the yellow top though. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong one or they can be had cheaper in store

I hate cars

CCAs don't make a difference. You're only turning over a little V6. Go with stock or a little above unless you live in the arctic. The lower CCA batteries are more reliable, less prone to failure especially in hot areas.