Which battery to go with?

Eddie Greenlee

Eddie Greenlee

TJ Addict
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2016
Messages
2,613
Location
Mississippi
This Optma yellow top was made 7-15. I installed it new 03/24/16.
It’s beginning to start slow but starts every time. Thinking it may be time for a change.
Would like your opinions.
Is this a long time for a battery to last ?
What battery should I try this time.
Thanks !

C8F50D9F-95C7-45BB-9324-7A257CB4762D.jpeg
 
Eddie Greenlee said:
Is this a long time for a battery to last ?
Click to expand...

Yes, if you lived in a very cold climate, otherwise no, I'd say it's average, maybe. I tend to get ~7 years out of a standard lead-acid battery, and it's looking like ~10 for AGM.

Optima changed hands some years ago and have had a bad reputation since them. I've had good results from autozone and oreillys.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: GPK03X, sideproject, Eddie Greenlee and 1 other person
If you have a batteries plus nearby, you may get lucky and walk into one and they have an X2 Power (made by north star) on the shelf. Picked up an X2 power at my local batteries plus for my Silverado and the build date was about 4 months old prior to me purchasing it earlier this year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: L J and Eddie Greenlee
+1 on AGM Batteries. Down here in Phoenix the best Lead Acid batteries last 30 months or less. I just replaced the original AGM battery in a 2015 Hyundai Genesis last month with a Nappa AGM parts match unit.

When the TJ needs a battery I'll go with an Odyssey in all likelihood.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jerry Bransford, L J and Eddie Greenlee
Jezza said:
I guess I'm just old school, but I prefer a good lead acid to that fancy stuff. The AGMs never seem to recover from being run down low. That being said I've replaced piles of both.
Click to expand...
Conventional wet cell batteries are simply not able to withstand the shocks and vibrations of anything more than very casual offroading or street use like AGM is. For those doing only that conventional batteries are fine. And Optima AGM batteries don't recover well from being run down but standard AGM batteries have no problem with that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zorba, Eddie Greenlee and John Cooper
Value for quality -Costco is where I go. Warranty is pretty no hassle if needed. I think Johnson Controls makes theres -or they sell interstates. As Jerry said vibration is a killer- you build up a sentiment layer in the bottom of the battery as the lead plates oxidize over time- AGM could be a better choice.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Eddie Greenlee, sideproject, cherrybomb and 1 other person
For conventional flooded lead acid: Costco Interstate 800 CCA Group 34 battery (Item # 850241). It is exactly the same as the Interstate MTP-34 but at a lower price. The "no questions asked" full replacement warranty makes it a very good buy.


For AGM, the mid-priced offerings from NAPA and other auto parts retailers are a good value, and probably a better value for the majority of jeepers than the high priced offerings by Northstar, etc. Many of the mid-priced offerings are the identical Deka Intimidator AGM battery with private labeling.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PaulCC
Interesting, I have bought a few AGM batteries at Pep Boys and they have had good prices and good warranty. I just looked and they dont even list an AGM battery for my TJ or my GMC truck, both of those have AGM batteries in them from Pep Boys.
 
So far I am happy with my X2 by northstar. Its been in for over 2 years now. 880 CCAs and almost 2 hrs of reserve capacity. IIRC it was $300 +/- $25
 
  • Like
Reactions: L J
Rooscooter said:
Down here in Phoenix the best Lead Acid batteries last 30 months or less.
Click to expand...

We all have different experiences. I am in Phoenix and purchase recycled batteries for $35 and the shortest life I've experienced is 5 years. I have referred about 15 to 20 car friends to them and not a single complaint. Don't buy Optima.
 
  • Like
Reactions: freedom_in_4low and JMT
Jerry Bransford said:
Conventional wet cell batteries are simply not able to withstand the shocks and vibrations of anything more than very casual offroading or street use like AGM is.
Click to expand...

For some reason I read that several times and couldn't figure out why you were saying the opposite of what I thought you've said before.

Luckily my brain eventually decided to function well enough to mentally "strike-through" the part that I just "struck-through" on the screen, and everything makes sense again.
 
JustDandee said:
Value for quality -Costco is where I go. Warranty is pretty no hassle if needed. I think Johnson Controls makes theres -or they sell interstates. As Jerry said vibration is a killer- you build up a sentiment layer in the bottom of the battery as the lead plates oxidize over time- AGM could be a better choice.
Click to expand...

Not on the Jeep but I just put a Costco AGM Interstate battery in my F150 for less than anywhere else wanted for a regular flooded battery
 
JEEPCJTJ said:
For some reason I read that several times and couldn't figure out why you were saying the opposite of what I thought you've said before.

Luckily my brain eventually decided to function well enough to mentally "strike-through" the part that I just "struck-through" on the screen, and everything makes sense again.
Click to expand...
I dunno what the problem is but what you lined out makes perfect sense to me.
 
BlueC said:
Optima changed hands sometime around 5 years ago and have had a bad reputation since them. I've had good results from autozone and oreillys.
Click to expand...
For all intents and purposes, Optima is the same company it was in 2000 (when Johnson Controls originally acquired them). All the corporate ownership changes at JCPS and most recently at Brookfield/Clarios were for tax avoidance. I don't know where all the "Optima has gone downhill since the sale" type of comments come from, but I suspect it stems from the same lack of knowledge and understanding that cause people to say stuff like "FrAm FiLtErS aRe GaRbAgE!". The same factories have been making these batteries for a long time - JCPS/Clarios makes 1/3 of all automotive batteries in the world, both for the OEM and aftermarket.

I haven never had an Optima battery fail prematurely and bought my first one ~1999-2000 for my Dodge. I think @starkey480 is still running the one I swapped with him when I sold him my GenRight stuff...

[Disclaimer - I previously did consulting work for JC and their close suppliers, both at U.S. and international locations]

Rooscooter said:
+1 on AGM Batteries. Down here in Phoenix the best Lead Acid batteries last 30 months or less. I just replaced the original AGM battery in a 2015 Hyundai Genesis last month with a Nappa AGM parts match unit.

When the TJ needs a battery I'll go with an Odyssey in all likelihood.
Click to expand...
When I worked at AutoZone, that was roughly the average on returned/swapped batteries. The store I worked at decided to beta-test one of those fancy "reconditioning" chargers. Over 1/2 of the lead-acid batteries that were warranty-swapped were able to be reconditioned back to like-new performance. They would sell them as "used" batteries on a small rack next to the main battery rack. My mom used one in her Sonata for ~4 years without issue before moving to Florida.

On a personal note, in my 16 years of living in Phoenix, I never had an OEM or top-shelf aftermarket lead-acid battery fail in less than 6 years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: freedom_in_4low and Tray Burge
pc1p said:
I don't know where all the "Optima has gone downhill since the sale" type of comments come from...
Click to expand...
Probably the same place that these came from:
pc1p said:
I haven never had an Optima battery fail prematurely and bought my first one...
Click to expand...
pc1p said:
On a personal note, in my 16 years of living in Phoenix, I never had an OEM or top-shelf aftermarket lead-acid battery fail in less than 6 years.
Click to expand...


🧐




😆
 
  • Haha
  • Like
Reactions: cherrybomb and BlueC
Top Bottom
Back