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I think its about time for a battery. The one i have is from the previous owner i think its 4 years old now. Its a tiny battery too. only 450 500 CCA i believe. It doesnt even fit with the bracket hold down thing i have. Autozones computers said its the right battery though lol.. It doesnt hold a very good charge either.. Dies after 15 min of leaving doors open and i have all LED interior lights too cept floors but floors are burned out.

So i was thinking of getting battery type 34 which my grand cherokees use. And get an 800 CCA battery from interstate costco sells them. But what do you guys use or reccomend ?

Oh anf does weight mean anything.. interstate group 34 weighs 38 lbs. but autozones 34 weighs 42 lbs.. 4 lbs is a big difference would this mesn the autozone battery is better ? even if they are rated the same

As someone who was a long time fan of Optima and who has sworn them off now thanks to their poor quality, I'd go with the AutoZone AGM. Interstate is over priced and harder to warranty. The AZ has a very good warranty and works.
I believe there is/are thread(s) on expedition portal discussing battery bang for the buck ad nasum. Good source for comparisons.


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Well when it comes to warrenties. Walmart is the best They let you swap there evermaxx batteries without a receipt as long as the date sticker is on it.

Anf i have theirs in my 98 5.9 zj. Looking at the specs though the interstate has only 110 minutes of reserve capacity and the walmart one has 130 minutes. Im not sure if walmarts is inflated though... But 20 minutes more reserve is a lot.

AGM batteries look really nice but so expensive. Well if i order online 20% off itd be 144$ so not too bad
Wouldnt AGM be overkill in this Jeep ?

Are you in California? I can’t remember. Les Schwab is good for batteries. They warranty everything and they’re products seem decent. I have their 60mo battery in my jeep. It’s only 500 or 600 cca, can’t remember but I run auxiliary lights and a 10k winch off of it with no trouble. I’m also passed the 60 months on it and still going strong.

Optimas are curious to me. Lots of people criticize them as junk from Mexico but I ran a red top in my wrx for four years without issue. My brother has also ran two red tops in his pickup without issue.


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44bz wrote:Are you in California? I can’t remember. Les Schwab is good for batteries. They warranty everything and they’re products seem decent. I have their 60mo battery in my jeep. It’s only 500 or 600 cca, can’t remember but I run auxiliary lights and a 10k winch off of it with no trouble. I’m also passed the 60 months on it and still going strong.

Optimas are curious to me. Lots of people criticize them as junk from Mexico but I ran a red top in my wrx for four years without issue. My brother has also ran two red tops in his pickup without issue.


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When I first started using Optimas in the early 90s, they were awesome. Never an issue with them and they tended to last longer no matter how much I put them through. Somewhere in the mid 2000s I began having issues. They became finicky and unpredictable. Even had a couple that went DOA after only a couple months. Never experienced that issue with them before they restructured and began cutting corners. Johnson controls bought them in 2000 and began building a plant in Mexico under the guise that US manufacturing couldn't meet demand. The Mexico plant was supposed to handle European sales but they quickly overshadowed US efforts and quality control issues began. I have at least a dozen Optimas in my storage container that are all from that period and are dead as a doornail. To buy one today (at their increased price point) is a risk I'm no longer willing to take. Your experience may differ...


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Duracell AGM car batteries are actually Deka batteries. Duracell wanted in the market and Deka wanted the brand recognition. When my Diehard dies I plan to go that way. Deka is will known in fork lift/marine/industrial batteries.

I have been buying refurbed Optimas since I learned about them about 15 years ago. I did have one that bailed on me about 24 months in, but the rest (3) are at least 4+ years and still going strong. Been picking up the refurb's for $80.00, a good deal to me.

The original Optima's were bullet proof. I have had okay luck with them but not like the old days.

I don't remember where I read this, so take it with a grain of salt...but do some research on Johnson Controls. I think I remember reading that they make a vast majority of batteries available today. Including, Optima, Interstate, EverStart, Duralast, and a bunch others that I can't remember.
Honestly, I'd just the largest one (CCA wise) that'll fit in your tray (that has the correct terminals in the right spot) with the best warranty.

HeavyMetalThunder_81 wrote:I don't remember where I read this, so take it with a grain of salt...but do some research on Johnson Controls. I think I remember reading that they make a vast majority of batteries available today. Including, Optima, Interstate, EverStart, Duralast, and a bunch others that I can't remember.
Honestly, I'd just the largest one (CCA wise) that'll fit in your tray (that has the correct terminals in the right spot) with the best warranty.

A good friend of mine works for Interstate battery. This is exactly correct. Each brand has their own specs that they are supposed to build the batteries to but, as mentioned, quality took a crap when they outsourced.

Well i decided to get walmarts evermaxx. I have one in my 5.9 ZJ cept group 34 and i havent had issues with it yet. I got the biggest i could get. Group 27. Thing is huge. 11 1/2 inches long, 8 inches tall and 7 inches wide if i remember off hand. Look at the size difference between the battery the previous owner put in my Jeep. The small battery was so tiny the hold down bracket wouldnt fit so i guess the previous owner tossed it and i got a stock one in the junkyard i had to keep in the shed, the battery was too short. That small battery was 6 inches tall 8 inches long and 7 inches wide.

Thew new Battery is 810 CCA, 140 minute Reserve capacity. The little one was 500CCA and 80min reserve

ghcoe wrote:I have been buying refurbed Optimas since I learned about them about 15 years ago. I did have one that bailed on me about 24 months in, but the rest (3) are at least 4+ years and still going strong. Been picking up the refurb's for $80.00, a good deal to me.

where are you getting these from?

I have a solar array that is currently powered by 7 Bluetop Optima batteries and I could use more...

Blake wrote:

ghcoe wrote:I have been buying refurbed Optimas since I learned about them about 15 years ago. I did have one that bailed on me about 24 months in, but the rest (3) are at least 4+ years and still going strong. Been picking up the refurb's for $80.00, a good deal to me.

where are you getting these from?

I have a solar array that is currently powered by 7 Bluetop Optima batteries and I could use more...

Id like to pick up a couple of the refurbs for my array I am building...

Back to the orginal post...

I've had mixed feelings about Optimas in the past. But like I said in the earlier post, I have 7 blue tops on a solar array and they are working great.

But when it comes to vehicles... The DISGUSTING MESS of corrosion from lead acid batteries is reason enough to buy Optima/AGM. At this time the only thing I have with a regular lead acid battery is my bulldozer and I will replace them with Optimas when the time comes. I would really have to think about this, but I think I have about 15 Optima batteries in my fleet and they all seem to work good. My landcruiser has an early Mexican yellow top that is starting to show its age, but still works fine.

I'm running an Optima yellow top and have had no problems, including starting a Jeep that doesn't want to start in -19 degree weather. Only experience with them though is this one battery so can't vouch for quality control issues.

Currently using the vatozone Duralast 590CCA group 56, no problems for the last 7 years and 28Kmiles, out of the country for the last 4months, it is trickled charged with a solar panel will see how it goes.
2 years ago I picked up the battery after 6 months of storage and slow charged it overnite, the Jeep started much better and faster than the honda... I used a booster battery as well for that first start.
It cranked as well as can be in 25F weather last winter and the winter before at 7000'

Get the Biggest battery that will fit with the longest replacement warranty. I did stepup to the AGMs for an extra $30 and they dont gas--no more corrossion.

Same question on the refurbished batteries. Is that a local deal? We had a place here refurbishing batteries, made the newspaper, then disappeared.

To the original question. I was using Interstate, IIRC MT-34, when I had good place to buy 'em.
Decca's are made locally, and have a good rep, but I didn't know where to buy 'em.
Now I'm using an Optima Starting battery (Red Top) Group 75/25

The '85 FSM lists three sizes,

• Std........ Group 55. 8.6" 6.1" 8.4" 75 RC 421 CCA
  Optional.. Group 56 10.0" 6.1" 8.4" 80 RC 450 CCA
  Fleet ..... Group 24 10.3" 6.8 8.9" 135 RC 440 CCA

On the battery trays with the bottom clamp like my '85, the correct width is the most critical dimension.
IIRC, the weight saving Group 55/56 batteries came with a spacer.

HowardT64 wrote:

Blake wrote:

ghcoe wrote:I have been buying refurbed Optimas since I learned about them about 15 years ago. I did have one that bailed on me about 24 months in, but the rest (3) are at least 4+ years and still going strong. Been picking up the refurb's for $80.00, a good deal to me.

where are you getting these from?

I have a solar array that is currently powered by 7 Bluetop Optima batteries and I could use more...

Id like to pick up a couple of the refurbs for my array I am building...

I am picking them up from a local battery supplier http://www.sterlingbattery.com/ . They are only local, but you might be able to get the same deal from other battery suppliers. Unfortunately you will just have to call around to find out if they offer them or not. I just called and they have the battery my daughter needs for her car in a blue top, $80.00 exchange.