Has optima improved their quality?
20 years ago they were one of the best batteries you could buy, especially for the price, but that changed about 10 years ago and they weren’t doing very well. A few years back dad bought a pair of blue tops and they were worse than these OEM batteries we have now. Then again, 20 years ago OEM batteries were pretty good too.
Hopefully they have gone back to being what they were 20 years ago.
I bought a yellow top in ~2001, it was the display model and nearly dead but I needed a battery. 3 years later I left to work in Alaska and left my dome light on. The bulb got so hot it melted the lens. The battery was DEAD, less voltage than putting the voltmeter probes on my skin. It took 3 or 4 battery chargers to even recognize it as a battery and charge it. I sold that rig in 05 and kept the battery, which was in a rig I sold in 2007 and still worked great. That’s quality!