Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications General Mods Battery fitment questions...Optima?

I went to clean up the terminals on my battery last night, and then I noticed that there was some corrosion (not just on the plates). The Motocraft is 6yrs old and still performs fine, but now I am thinking of investing in a new battery.

I have a $20 off a $100 purchase coupon for Pep Boy's and a $10 Gift Certificate for Costco, so the Optima battery would definitely be a good choice. I have a decent stereo system (amp, sub...) and futhermore I will be using my car intermittently at college this year (a few times a week or so, although it never gets too cold in San Diego).

I want to keep the battery in the stock location and, after searching, it seems that Red Tops have some fitment issues, which Eric How-To (chattavegas) was able to overcome. However, Eric's how-to is a bit involved and also requires the purchase of many other parts that make this battery replacement much more costly...

Are there any Optima batteries that will fit in the stock location with the stock terminals? The 34R Red Top has reverse terminals, but probably has the same fitment issues. The Yellow Top doesn't have reverse terminals. Apparently the Orange Top was the only Optima battery that had reverse terminals and could be dropped in and hooked up with out any modification (except for moving some wires around), but I don't even know if this battery exists anymore.

Should I try an Optima, or just stick with another OEM Motocraft replacement....or something else? I looked at the Hawker/Dynabatt batteries, but I'm a little scared that their CCA ratings may not be up to par for my application (stereo and intermittent usage)...


Thanks for any help!