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Post by racerb on Apr 25, 2005 13:34:35 GMT -5
I know we talked about this awhile back, but I've done a little more research on this, and found something out. Although Optima doesn't list our cars, it lists every other Toyota in the same battery family. It shows our cars using a group 35 battery, so our local Advance Auto sells the Optima Red Top for $109, which is pretty sweet, since these things were close to $150, when they first came out. With alittle more crossreferencing the Yellow Top deepcycle version, could also be found in the proper fitment. If my rules allowed in IT, I'd probebly run the Yellow Top, but it's much smaller than stock, and wouldn't pass tech.
racerb ;D
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Post by 4thgenceli on Apr 25, 2005 13:51:11 GMT -5
I have a yellowtop sitting in my garage now.. I'm gonna to the battery mod, and have in in the trunk area(cargo) so I can do the DIY CAI. The only reason that I prefer the yellow top is because I'm running 2 amps in my car, and will eventually have some footwell neons
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Post by buzzbomber87gts on Apr 25, 2005 14:32:46 GMT -5
I have a brother who is the manager at our local autozone and the optima's have a shelf life and when they have been on the shelf long enough they sell them for $20 so I bought one and it is nice.
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Post by schmooot on Apr 26, 2005 11:50:24 GMT -5
I had a $80 gift card for wallyworld so I went in and asked for a optima red top. I grabbed the one that I knew would fit my car. I also knew it would fit both my tercels 86 4x4 and 86(same motor, same engine compartment, etc.) So I bring it to the counter and he asks what car its going in. SO I said my celica and he taps a few buttons on his computer and tells me that they don't make it for my celica and he can't sell it to me with a warranty if its going into that car. I was like wtf does it matter what car its going in? SO I said what about my tercel? And he goes what year and I said 86 and he looked it up and then he goes wait 4x4 or non? And I said both cuz at that time I had teh green machine as well it wasn't listed for the 4x4 but it was listed for the non so I got the warranty with it. ITS THE SAME DAMN ENGINE!! JUST A DIFFERENT TRANNY! T
Then I put it in my celi anyways. Well, right now its in my tercel until the celi is back on the road but it was just a weird experience. BTW I am very hapy with the red top.
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Post by buzzbomber87gts on Apr 26, 2005 14:52:23 GMT -5
when you get a battery just tell them it's for a tercel then so that you get the warranty. it isnt like they will check into it or anything....besides, it's an optima and that surely means that you get what you pay for
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Post by dansgts on Apr 26, 2005 15:47:24 GMT -5
im gonna get a blue top for 2 reasons, one it has the accessory posts, 2, it's blue and that goes with my engine bays color scheme
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Post by schmooot on Apr 26, 2005 20:38:03 GMT -5
im gonna get a blue top for 2 reasons, one it has the accessory posts, 2, it's blue and that goes with my engine bays color scheme Always a deciding factor of course
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Post by racerb on Apr 26, 2005 20:55:41 GMT -5
Quick question, is Optima an American company, if yes, that explains alot. When American manufacturers try to make anything for imports, they've gotta find someway to screw it up. As I said before, it has less to do with the model of car, but what battery group it falls under. Their own catelouge shows the Celica as taking a group 35 battery, then turns right around and says they don't make a battery to fit it, talk about dumbshits. Like the man said, if they say it want fit your car, then find out which Toyota if fits, and thats what car you've got. racerb
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Post by blck87gtconv on Apr 26, 2005 22:58:37 GMT -5
Always a deciding factor of course I know, right?
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Post by garbled on Apr 26, 2005 22:59:45 GMT -5
If you look on ebay, and a few other places, people sell full billet battery boxes specifcally made for the optima. They custom CNC the top bits to perfectly fit the optima battery shape. They look absolutely incredible.
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Post by buzzbomber87gts on Apr 27, 2005 8:37:06 GMT -5
If you look on ebay, and a few other places, people sell full billet battery boxes specifcally made for the optima. They custom CNC the top bits to perfectly fit the optima battery shape. They look absolutely incredible. I could do that on another note.....it's not billet. it's just prolly t3 or t6 aluminum sheets that are formed and tig welded. billet is a solid chunk of aluminum that was machined
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Post by schmooot on Apr 27, 2005 9:07:34 GMT -5
Quick question, is Optima an American company, if yes, that explains alot. When American manufacturers try to make anything for imports, they've gotta find someway to screw it up. As I said before, it has less to do with the model of car, but what battery group it falls under. Their own catelouge shows the Celica as taking a group 35 battery, then turns right around and says they don't make a battery to fit it, talk about dumbshits. Like the man said, if they say it want fit your car, then find out which Toyota if fits, and thats what car you've got. racerb actually its not that it wasn't made for our cars, its that it was never tested on our vehicles electrical system so they won't warranty it. Even though it is the same battery class the system is different and optima just hasn't "tested" them. So realistically when these batteries first came out they were probably only available for a brand new civic.......then all the previous generations of civics and preludes and the likes.............then all the domestic cars..............then a few vw's..........................then finally toyotas.............and then they just thought nobody but old grammas drive 4th gens and stopped there (its true 4 out of 5 4th gens in this town are driven by gramma going to church)
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Post by buzzbomber87gts on Apr 27, 2005 9:47:35 GMT -5
that could be a good reason why they dont list them for our cars. never thought of that
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Post by garbled on Apr 27, 2005 11:27:27 GMT -5
No.. I don't mean a full racing style battery box. These are like a cage. I've seen a few varieties.. but the one I want is basically a bottom plate, a top plate, and 4 aluminum posts on the corners. You bolt the bottom plate down, set the battery and posts in, and then put the top plate on. Looks incredibly clean.
Those are billet. I have seen aluminum boxes.. for racing..but those aren't quite as pretty. These things look pretty sweet.
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Post by buzzbomber87gts on Apr 27, 2005 12:51:42 GMT -5
No.. I don't mean a full racing style battery box. These are like a cage. I've seen a few varieties.. but the one I want is basically a bottom plate, a top plate, and 4 aluminum posts on the corners. You bolt the bottom plate down, set the battery and posts in, and then put the top plate on. Looks incredibly clean. Those are billet. I have seen aluminum boxes.. for racing..but those aren't quite as pretty. These things look pretty sweet. billet would be like a solid rock of aluminum that has been milled out or into a shape.. it is sheets of aluminum from the way you describe it. I could easily make a box like a fuel cell welded on the seams with a lid and holes drilled for the battery cables and for the bolting down to the body.
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