Optima Battery Sucks

So about two years ago I purchased an Optima Yellow Top battery to replace an old Costco battery that was originally on the vehicle when I bought it about 4 1/2 years ago. When you hear the name Optima you think... Expensive battery... Excellent performance... Reliable... Those are good reasons to purchase them. That's why I got one about 2 years ago. Just a few months ago my car has been starting issues. I already got the starter rebuilt last year. So all fingers point to the battery. I purchased a battery charger last year because the Optima Yellow top was drained when I came back from vacation. So I hooked up the charger and let it charge for a substantial about of time. I started the Supra, and everything sounded good. Three days later the problem came back again. The car was a bit sluggish starting up. I checked the voltage and it was low again.

Today I decided to be done with it. I've researched and went for the Interstate Mega-Tron Plus battery. It has 100 more cold cranking amps and 1000 cranking amps than the Optima. You can't beat the 85 month year warranty! So if this battery decides to go out in two years, I'll be covered! I just hope it lasts compared to the Optima.

Sometimes you don't get what you pay for.

Cars Start But Battery is Weak

Yesterday I drove to my parent's house to figure out what was wrong with my car. If you can recall when I left the house last week I disconnected the negative to make sure that the battery wouldn't be drained. When I got back to the house and tried to connect the negative terminal, the car still wouldn't start. So I decided that I would take the battery to Kragen and see if they can recharge it... I handed over the battery to the employee and he told me that they cannot charge Optima batteries. The Optima batteries will overload the quick charger. He recommended that I purchase a slow charge battery charger. Although it will take longer than normal it will charge the battery. So I purchased the charger since it was fairly inexpensive.

Before I hooked up the battery and I wanted to see if i can fire up the car. So I jump started the Supra with the Echo. It fired up with no problem. I let the car warm for a while since it was sitting for a while. After a few minutes I turned off the car to see if I can start it up again... But it didn't start. So I'm assuming the battery is really low.

I hooked up the battery charger... It'll take about a day to charge half the battery. So hopefully it will work next time I start it up.

Car Won't Start?

Last week I went to Washington for vacation and the Supra was also on vacation. When I was about to head home from my vacation the Supra wouldn't start... I think the battery might have discharged while I was away. My Optima Yellow Top battery is about a year and half old and I can't figure out why it's already dead. It was late in the evening and didn't have time to diagnose the issue, so I had to take the Corolla up with me to Mira Mesa. I hope a jump start will fix it.

Purchased an Airbag Adapter for TRD Steering wheel

Yesterday I purchased an airbag adapter for my TRD steering wheel. The steering wheel is originally for an MR2 Spyder and Celica (7th Gen). To have the steering wheel work with my car I would need this air bag adapter. This adapter has been discontiuned for a while but I was able to find it at L-Tuned Parts.

Valve Covers sent to Chromer

On Monday I was able to send off my valve covers to Cal Tron Plating in Santa Fe Springs. Luckily the shipping wasn't as bad as I thought. I made sure to pack it really well with bubble wrap and foam peanuts.

The following day I was able to get a hold of Carl, the owner of the company. He received the valve covers and questioned me about the polished finish. He mentioned that his guy could've have down a better job at a lower cost. At that time I didn't know how much it would have cost. However, the black nickel plating doesn't show imperfections compared to chrome plating. I just hope it doesn't look too bad.

According to Carl they should have everything down in a few days.