Optima yellowtop battery for 1st gen Xterra?

[Wild Coast]

So my NAPA Power (starting) battery is dying, I think I discharged it one too many times

About to get a Warn 10k lbs winch, and often run lights while camping (engine off), so thinking I should invest in a battery that can actually get drained and recharged multiple times without crapping out.

Quick research seemed to point me at the Optima Yellowtop? Is the D34/78 the right size? Does it fit into the stock bracket of a 2003 X or do I need to modify the bracket or get a different one?

Also, I'm trying to understand what type of battery this is? Their marketing seems to hint that it's both a starting as well as deep cycle battery? I don't want to run two batteries, so need one that can do it all. CCA is 750, which should be plenty for starting at -10c I'm assuming?

Open to other battery suggestions obviously!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kerensky97]

I had a Yellowtop in my 1st Gen Xterra and it blew the stock battery away as far as starting ability. Didn't have a winch with it though; but it powered the external lights and everything just fine.

Seems like I had replaced the battery hold down bracket with a generic Napa one instead. The main problem is it was taller than the battery before and needed longer threaded hooks or whatever you call those things that reach down to the body.

 

[seekerbeta]

most people dont know this, but when you buy the battery, there is a plastic plate protecting the terminals. dont throw it away, this is the stand to put your battery on so its boosted to stock levels. my wife attempted to replace the battery in my second gen x, and to make it work she spent 2 hours threading the rods to make them work, and then spacing them with nuts and washers. i came in, saw the issue, found the plate and put it in! made for a good story

 

[Bigfnhammer]

Best part of AGM batteries is no acid and none of that chernobyl build up of scum on your terminals.
I didnt spring for the optima but got a generic canadian tire model for half the price. holds up just fine, I also dont run a winch though.

 

[Darren2001]

If you want one that can “do it all” I’d look into odyssey. Believe it has like 800 CCAs

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

It fits, I ran just one for a while. I actually run 2 D34's in the stock location using a PAC-200 solenoid. I have to equalise the factory plate and make a new one with an extension, but both fits. The only real problem is the story battery connection with it's 90 degree angle doesn't work well because the battery posts are too "inside" the battery if I remember right.

Here's a picture of my setup from 7-8 years ago. I really need to put an updated one in my Imgur account, but it's the only one I have on hand. I do have a proper tie down made since, of course.

 

[broncobowsher]

Oddessy or Northstar battery will be a better battery.

But if you want to go Optima, look at the case color and not the top color. Black case is a starting battery, gray case is a deep cycle. The red/yellow/blue is just for marketing and adds bonus stud terminals (maybe). This info is straight from Optima corporate at SEMA last year.

 

[v_man]

Oddessy or Northstar battery will be a better battery.

Data? Studies? What's this based on besides your opinion?

 

[broncobowsher]

Opinion based on having used Optimas for 20 years and Oddessy for 10. Northstar is fairly young in my personal data file, but so far is doing very well. You want data, look at weight. for a given size Optima is the lightest, because it has the least lead and most voids. The "6-pack" design was innovative in the 90's, dated today. One version of the Optima is now flat plate because they couldn't pack enough lead into the size allowed to make enough power. AGM was new 25+ years ago, pretty common today. To the point it is a standard battery in some vehicles. For those of us who got Optimas back in the mid '00s and had to use the warranty because they were such garbage you couldn't get through warranty. Yes Optima has gotten better, but they burned a lot of customers once they sold out and cost reduced quality. They will get through warranty now, but I don't know anyone who trusts them like they did back in the late 90's before the buyout and production moved to Mexico. Optima is still riding on reputation and marketing. Serious racers no longer run them, leave them to the armature classes and those sponsored by Optima.

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

I've ran them for many years, since around 2004 I'd say. They were Red Tops and worked well for several years. I had bought yellows for my car to replace them, but the car never saw the road again. I sold one and put another in the Xterra, a year later I bought a second one. They did last also several years and eventually died, which I would associate it being with a drain I had in the middle of winter. Being just before Christmas, I cheaped out and picked up a Motomaster D34 on sale, and it's just a little bit wider and longer and it didn't fit well for my dual battery system as pictured above. One also kicked the bucket after a few months and CT didn't want to replace it because the poles were bent, no idea how, seriously. I replaced them back with more Yellow Tops that year and it's been 2 years? I like them, they work well and have plenty of juice, but I can't argue that their reputation seems to be hurt from a bad move many years ago. It all comes down to price as well. I can get a Yellow Top for C$306 to my door, while the NorthStar is C$400 and the Odessey is a hair under the C$500 mark before taxes, and x2 if you want to run duals. They're definitely better batteries from what I'm hearing, but from personal experience, they haven't been at all bad, especially from what people have been saying. I've always wondered if it was still true, or the same old stories and hearsay just being rehashed over time.