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Battery fitment questions...Optima?
#739673 09/05/03 07:20 PM
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California
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vcontoursvt_dup1 Offline OP
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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!

1998 E0 Ford Contour SVT - DOB 8/19/97 - #3101/6535 Silver Frost/Midnight Blue Visit MY SVT website * K&N RU-3530 (howls like a MOFO ) and Homemade Heatshield *
Re: Battery fitment questions...Optima?
#739674 09/05/03 08:02 PM
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San Jose CA
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Optima Red-Top 75/35 will fit nicely sideways with stock tie down.



I did have it upright to begin with, but it was pretty close to the hood, and didnt want to deal with it anymore.

Silver 98 SVT Contour E0 #4121 Reborn with 3L 6/03 Dyno: Max Horse Power= 194.1 Max Torque= 184.8 http://www.geocities.com/speeddemons19 Also at www.cardomain.com/memberpage/561067
Re: Battery fitment questions...Optima?
#739675 09/05/03 08:58 PM
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California
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Originally posted by Speed Demons:
Optima Red-Top 75/35 will fit nicely sideways with stock tie down.



I did have it upright to begin with, but it was pretty close to the hood, and didnt want to deal with it anymore.




Wow! Ok, cool...that is great news, because I just went to Costco and all they had was the 75/35 model and I got kind of worried.

All you had to do was fit the battery sideways, attach the terminals, and use the stock tie down? ... The poles aren't reversed on the 75/35 model (the 34R model is reversed), did you have to make any accomodations for this?

Thanks for the help.

P.S. I see you have a more remote intake location. I am going from the stock air intake box to a maf adapter + K&N ru-3530 intake setup, and although this move will net me some considerable space in that area of the engine bay, I do not believe I will have quite as much space as you; do you think that I would be able to fit the Optima battery sideways with a ru-3530 filter in place?

Last edited by vcontoursvt; 09/05/03 09:06 PM.
1998 E0 Ford Contour SVT - DOB 8/19/97 - #3101/6535 Silver Frost/Midnight Blue Visit MY SVT website * K&N RU-3530 (howls like a MOFO ) and Homemade Heatshield *
Re: Battery fitment questions...Optima?
#739676 09/05/03 10:40 PM
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Fairport, NY, US
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Optima Orange fits without a problem




AL

Red '98 SVT E0 3098/6535 DMD other stuff and a Bullitt fuel door
Re: Battery fitment questions...Optima?
#739677 09/05/03 10:57 PM
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California
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vcontoursvt_dup1 Offline OP
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Originally posted by goldsmi:
Optima Orange fits without a problem




AL



Cool, where did you get it from and do they still sell them?

I'll check Pep Boys tonight just to see if they carry them.

1998 E0 Ford Contour SVT - DOB 8/19/97 - #3101/6535 Silver Frost/Midnight Blue Visit MY SVT website * K&N RU-3530 (howls like a MOFO ) and Homemade Heatshield *
Re: Battery fitment questions...Optima?
#739678 09/06/03 12:43 AM
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Pennsylvania
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shaggz Offline
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How much was the battery? I think they sell them at autozone and advance auto....

Re: Battery fitment questions...Optima?
#739679 09/06/03 04:49 AM
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California
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vcontoursvt_dup1 Offline OP
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My local Autozone didn't have any Optima batteries (orange or anything else), but this store only opened two weeks ago and they said they will be stocking red, blue, and yellow top batteries soon.

1998 E0 Ford Contour SVT - DOB 8/19/97 - #3101/6535 Silver Frost/Midnight Blue Visit MY SVT website * K&N RU-3530 (howls like a MOFO ) and Homemade Heatshield *
Re: Battery fitment questions...Optima?
#739680 09/06/03 09:28 AM
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California
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vcontoursvt_dup1 Offline OP
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I ended up getting the Red Top 75/35 and it fit sideways perfectly.

But the stock terminals don't really match up very well. I am not sure whether to use the side terminals or the top side battery posts.


Image #1

(In image #1) I am not sure whether I should try to hook up the battery at the side terminals (#1) or the top side terminals (#2).


Image #2

(In image #2) If I try to hook up the battery at the side terminals, the positive terminal (a) seems like it would be very easy to hook up, but the negative side (b) seems much more difficult because of the stock negative plate; the plate is extremely hard (impossible?) to set flush against the battery.


Image #3

(In image #3) If I try to hook up the battery at the top side terminals, it seems that the plate (x) could sit flush against the battery, but it would not match up with the negative wire screw (y).

Speed Demons: in your picture it looks like you connected the battery at the top side terminal posts (2 in Image #1). How did you do this? Did you use the stock negative plate? Were you able to set it flush against the battery?

Any other suggestions? Any help is appreciated, as I would like to be able to get my car up and running again.

1998 E0 Ford Contour SVT - DOB 8/19/97 - #3101/6535 Silver Frost/Midnight Blue Visit MY SVT website * K&N RU-3530 (howls like a MOFO ) and Homemade Heatshield *
Re: Battery fitment questions...Optima?
#739681 09/06/03 09:43 AM
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Fairport, NY, US
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Red '98 SVT E0 3098/6535 DMD other stuff and a Bullitt fuel door
Re: Battery fitment questions...Optima?
#739682 09/06/03 08:37 PM
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Rutherford, NJ
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The orange top has been replaced by the red top 34R. No difference except the color, as far as I know. I am running a 34R without any problems.

Tom 98 LX (Zetec/ATX)
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