So I've tried searching the site and have yet to find a definitive answer on what Optima battery will work best for the Speed. I've found that some use the 34 on the 6 and some use the 75/25. I am looking at Red Tops, not Yellow.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me please? Last thing I want to do is spend more for something I don't need.

Great question, I have asked a few people too since I get overwhelmed when I look at all there batteries. I have never gotten a solid answer. Good luck though

I know, its a pain! The auto parts places I have talked to do not have a part number for the 6 let alone the MS6 so it makes it more difficult. I just don't want to buy the wrong one.

Are you replacing your battery too? I just had to replace mine about 2 weeks ago. Barely lasted 2 1/2 years. What BS. I have no additional accessories pulling power except what came with the car.


Edit: Actually, when I had called Autozone and Advanced, they both had part numbers and both stores had it in stock. I am sure its a universal battery they use. I specifically told the it was the 2.3 turbo. One was $86 and the other was $92. The dealer told me the cost of a battery installed was $130. Thats when I laughed at them.

Dadas race car had one, maybe shoot him a pm

Yeah, my battery is having an extremely hard time starting on cold mornings (45*) and it drains quickly should I leave my stereo on for more than a few moments.

I'll shoot Dada a PM.

Yellow top for sure...

Red top is a CCA (col cranking amp) monster that will start a semi in sub zero weather. it has many thin plates wit ha ton of surface area for high amp flow.

Blue top is a deep cell, much fewer CCA's but it can run a stereo or maybe a trolling motor for HOURS, this is known as reserve capacity, this has fewer thick plated to handle the constant heat of a constant drain without warping or distorting.

The yellow top is a blend of the two, it still has absurd CCA (like 850 IIRC, the speed prolly needs 600ish MAX) but also has a significant reserve capacity. This mean that you can EASILY run your factory stereo for an hour or two at a meet, and still drive away easily, but you will never have issues with a laggy start in the cold...

I used ot work for Batteries Plus, I have ad the yellow top, it is a beast! I will get another if i can!

He didn't have to make it fit the engine bay though... His was in the trunk. Keep that in mind.

Which Yellow Top do you use? I'm more concerned about the CCA than the stereo because I rarely keep the stereo on for more than a few moments.

Also, Dada's PM box is full...apparently he is loved by more members than he can handle

Correct. CCA- 590

I am at a toss up between the 34 and the 75/25, both look great but I'm not sure which one will fit and not make my car go Zoom-Zoom-Boom!

Sounds like Yellow top is the way to go. Anyone have a part# of one they have placed under the hood?

Well, the 34 has 800 CCA and the 75/25 has 720 CCA.

Can someone provide the RED TOP they used? Or if we can get BOTH the Yellow Top and Red Top numbers, but I would at least like to know which Red Top to use.

I found a member using the 75/25 on their 6, I will probably try that if no one can find out for sure.

The plus of the yellow top is the reserve capacity, if you leave your lights, not that is it possible i know, but if you leave a door ajar lets say, your car weill keep enough charge to start MUCH longer wit ha yellow top over a conventional wet cell mazda battery. That being said a red top will also hold out longer than the factory battery, but not as long as the yellow top, and the red top will provide more CCA's.

So it is question of price and which suites your needs honestly... the only one i owuld NOT use is the blue top, both yellow and red are fantastic choices IMO, and buy which ever fits form your local retailer, or for the cheaper solution buy a nap select dry cell, it is 85% the battery the optima is at 50% the price!

Yeah when i sold them optima made one size and one size only, now they make a few sizes so i am no help there!

Given that the MS6 needs less than 600CCA you should be fine. Are the dimensions about the same as oem or smaller?

I have posted this before, but IMO the best battery to get it you want a lot of power, great warrantee and such is the one I got.
I have about as big a battery as you can get, but it is actually shorter and slimer than stock, but slightly longer.
Diehard platnum 930 CCA
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_0...ame=&mv=cmp
I did a lot of research before deciding on that one mainly due to the warrantee compared to optima, which I had a while back and killed it and it was not waranteed.
It is a little longer, a little shoter and a little narrower. But weighs more for you weight snobs.

The Optima has a 36 month free replacement, I don't plan on owning the car more than another 3 years so that will be fine. The 75/25 I have found for $139.95 with free shipping and the 34 I have found for $169.95 with free shipping. I am not concerned with warranty. The original question is WHICH ONE IS THE ONE TO USE.

I will never go with a wet cell again unless i have too, EVERYTHING about gel technology is better IMO...

Sounds like the answer is go with either one. We only need 600CCA and another member is running 900+CCA and both the batteries fall with in that. I guess it would come down to size and price.

I will measure when I get home, sounds like the 75/25 is the one.

I think Dada has pictures of his engine bay in his for sale thread. Er wait, did he relocate it to the trunk? Too lazy to search... Can you tell the battery type from that picture?

Can't tell from the photo, since I can't zoom in enough to see numbers.

Edit: I take that back, it looks like a 75/25 from the photos judging by the shape.

thi is waht i would get http://www.kinetikaudio.com/default.asp

The redtop 35 and yellow top D35 is what is recommended for the 3 and cx-7 so I would go with those for the 6 as well.

The 75/25 group has the side GM adapters you don't need and weighs a bit more.

Batteries die. Good luck mailing your optima (which I think are crap) in for a replacement in a year. Diehard platnum are gel and they when you need a replacement it is easy to get. Anyways just wanted to make my point if your going to spend that much....

The Optima is actual $50 cheaper than the Die Hard, I'm sure the Optima will last just as long. The point is, I wasn't asking which brand I should use I was looking for what model to use on a certain brand. But I appreciate the assistance.

I had a 34 yellow top in my 6i, and I've got a new 34 waiting to go in the MS6. I'll put it in this afternoon when I get off work and let you know how it goes.

My battery died in under 2 years as well. I went to the dealer and got a replacement..I think I paid under $50 if I recall, due to the fact the OEM has a warranty.

I have 52K miles on mine and my warranty was void a while ago so unfortunately, that doesn't apply to me. And even when I began having problems with it last year and had warranty they couldn't reproduce it, oh well.

I'll make sure Dada sees this thread in the morning. Yes, he still has the red top battery for sale. In fact, just spoke with him tonight about it. I'm pretty sure it would fit in the stock location too. No; off hand I do not know the model number; however, it's like a month old, been sitting for 3 weeks and I'm really sure it would start a tractor right now.

If he is selling his I will definitely be interested depending on price as the 75/25 I have found new for $139.95 with shipping. Thanks =)

Turbo6Girl, just out of curiosity, just how much is shipping on an Optima anyway?


I must admit to a bit of surprise at ordering something that heavy, and that should be readily available locally. The optima website dealer locator shows 9 dealers for auto batteries within 10 miles of the little ceasers on Draper Pkwy. (Searched zip 84020) I'm sure that any of them would order in for you if yours isn't in stock, and you still pay less....

I found it (the 75/25) online for $139.95 which includes free shipping, local places only carry the 34 which is $179 in store and online.

Kewl- Thanks for the answer-
Nice price too-

139 is a steal all things considered!

Seen 1 dead optima in my life, and optima warrentied directly through vendors, so buy it in person and your a lift form a friend away form a brand new battery.... get off your optima rant and accept that you got a sub par battery....

I wish I could buy one in person for the price I found online, but either way I think it'll do fine should the warranty need to be used. Anything is better than what I have right now, I cross my fingers every time I get in my car and hope it starts...just hard to pass up a nice Optima for that price.

Received my Optima Red Top 35 series last night, installed it and love it. Its nice not worrying if my car will start or not in near freezing temps in the morning. Will post pictures of comparison between the OEM and the Optima once I get them.

Thanks for starting this thread. It helped to make my mind up on which battery to purchase. Optima Red Top 35 series FTW.

Did you have any installation troubles? With the red plastic piece at the bottom mine fit perfectly in place of the OEM one.

Did I mention I was able to listen to music on my lunch? I haven't done that in ages because I was too worried my battery would die. Such a wonderful feeling.

And now for the images:


Pardon the dirty engine bay

Thanks for the pics Steph. It looks like the 35 series is slightly shorter than the OEM and 75/25's right?

May I ask where you got yours for that price online? Summit Racing has them, for $149.95 and another $10 shipping...

I can see as low as -15 or so here in NH, so I'm in the market myself.

Yes, just slightly shorter, but I didn't have a problem at all installing it -- the metal bar across the top (technical term?) fit perfectly on it if you put it under the strap. Bought it from this site. They also have nice customer service, had to call them because I was having some technical problems (cookie issue on my end) and they were very prompt to help, courteous and knowledgeable. Bought it Thursday morning and received it yesterday evening, so it only took about 3 business days to arrive, not to mention I received a UPS tracking number same day.

Thanks. I almost prefer a slightly taller one because that hold down piece is at an angle now, but that's just me being anal. I'm really wondering if I could stuff a series 34 in there..it's about 3/4 of an inch longer though...

I don't think length would be much of an issue, there is plenty of room on my tray for a longer battery than the 35 series.

Yeah, good point. Also, the 34 has an ass ton of CCA...1000 @ 32F.

Another interesting idea...the terminals on the 35 are reversed from OEM right? The 34R has the terminals reversed, so it should match, but it's also about $20 more. Out of curiosity, how did you get the $139 price..the 35 is listed at ?149.95.

I paid $149.95 for the 35, I was originally going to get the 75/25 which is $139.95.

I think the 35 have the reversed terminals but not sure, I had plenty of slack with how its set up currently. Those 1000 CCAs were tempting, but price was a factor for me so I just went with the 35. I did find out a friend of mine with an MS3 has the 75/25 which works just fine too.

so no one looked at the kinetik i think it is a far better batt the price is not that bad
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?f...&category0=

Costco carries the Optima Red Top now. I don't remember the price because it was a few months ago, but they were cheaper than anyone else locally.