Optima Red Top installed- ->

Reply Subscribe

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

Apr 20, 2005 | 04:03 AM

LI-S4

Thread Starter

AudiWorld Super User

Joined: Sep 2001

Posts: 18,079

Likes: 1

Optima Red Top installed- ->

Woke up to a beautiful day yesterday morning, and decided to go get bagels and prey on the locals a bit...

I'm on vacation this week so I was in no rush...but when I turned the key....bbbzzzzzz...clickety, clickety, clickety.... Nothin'....

Battery took a crap, at 220 miles shy of 50,000. I needed to get up and running (took the A4 for bagels) so after a quick search on AW for which battery to install I headed off to Pep Boys for a Red Top. They had one Red Top and one Yellow top. The Red Top was $135 and had the terminals on the correct sides, or so I thought.

When I got it home and finally got the OEM battery out...you practically need a engine hoist to lift that thing out.. I dropped the Red Top in only to find all the battery connections fit fine, but the terminals were indeed swapped...front to back.

So my impression is this...first the Optima is half the size of the OEM. I didn't weigh it but I could lift the Optima in with one hand. I have it wedged in with one of the brackets that came with the battery.

I am getting Tracksports installed tonight, so I'll work on a better bracket assembly while we have everything apart...

Apr 20, 2005 | 05:15 AM

Cadiburns

AudiWorld Super User

Joined: Mar 2000

Posts: 17,202

Likes: 0

Here's what I got....Optima 34R. Sometimes has an orange top. It has the reverse terminals for euro

<center><img src="http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com/Images/optima_34r_red_200_op.jpg"></center><p>cars.

Apr 20, 2005 | 05:56 AM

Oo.et.oO

AudiWorld Super User

Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 5,885

Likes: 0

2nd that. orange top. had one in my GTi. not that terminals mattered: it was in the trunk

Apr 20, 2005 | 08:46 AM

HIS4

AudiWorld Super User

Joined: Apr 2001

Posts: 7,814

Likes: 0

Here's my Optima bracket. Not pretty but it works.

Apr 20, 2005 | 08:55 AM

Cadiburns

AudiWorld Super User

Joined: Mar 2000

Posts: 17,202

Likes: 0

Did you make that, or did you get it somewhere? If you made it, how?

Apr 20, 2005 | 09:10 AM

HIS4

AudiWorld Super User

Joined: Apr 2001

Posts: 7,814

Likes: 0

I made it. I forget the details of the material but...

I think it was a 1/8" thick flat aluminum bar that I got from a local hardware store. I put it in a bench vise and bent away. That why the bends look like they are rounded. I don't think you can make a square bend without cutting it and welding back together. The side shown in the picture is bolted down using one of the stock mounting points. The other side of the bar just slides under that lip that the stock battery fits under. The bar cost about $3.