Quasi-Subzero Temps = Dead GTI
January 22, 2008 – 9:20 am by Dan Volkens
Filed under Car Care, Volkswagen GTI
Over the past weekend here in Cincy, we had some SERIOUSLY frigid temps (people from way up north would beg to differ, but, oh well :P). It seems the artic monster was just enough to place the death blow on my GTI’s battery.
I already knew my battery was starting to go. 60k+ miles and about 5 years has taken it’s toll on the OEM one. But I wanted to be lazy. I said to myself, “Self, you don’t need to replace it yet. It’s still got some life in it. Those hard starts in the cold mornings were just the beginning of trouble for the ol’ juicer.”
Riiiiiiight. So I thought. It finally kicked the bucket yesterday morning. Being the sometimes-opportunist that I am, I went out after work and picked up what is supposedly the ultimate in battery technology: *queue drum roll* an Optima Red Top battery. These babies are supposed to go on pretty much forever, and handle the roughest conditions you can throw at ‘em.
But all this snazzy tech and tour de force will cost you as well. Mine rang up to $169.00 + tax, give or take some change. The OEM battery over at WorldImpex.com will only run you $101.52 for comparison. Is it worth it? Absolutely! I shouldn’t have to replace my battery again for as long as I own the GTI, unless I keep it for say another 10 years. Then maybe I’ll need a new one.
I’ll have a How-To on replacing your battery up soon as a result of this little debacle. Stay tuned!
Quasi-Subzero Temps = Dead GTI
January 22, 2008 – 9:20 am by Dan Volkens
As I have 123k on my Golf TDI I know I need to replace mine as well. Where did you purchase the Optima Red Top battery? Was it local or online?
Hey Tim, I purchased mine locally at a batteriesplus.com store, since I needed it right away. I bet you can score a better deal online though. I haven’t looked around too much online.
I got the Yellow Top Optima… worth every penny!!! Autozone had it. GREAT battery.
Optima batteries are nice. A lot of peeps run em. I’m just running the ‘ol DieHard.
Next up for me is a Braille Weight savings up to est. 30lbs!!!
@Tim - Check their site http://www.optimabatteries.com/find_your_battery/
Awesome oneighturbo. The Braille weight savings would be nice. :D