well, i already own one, so that's not an issue. i've had it for several years now, but just recently got the bonne! i'm switching it over from my 94' GP

I have been running with a red top Optima for a couple of years now and I have not connected up the vents.
This battery is very similar to a rechargeable AA battery.
It can be mounted on its side if you wanted to without any acid leaking out because there is no liquid acid in it, just like a AA ...

00Beast wrote:Well, then wait appx 30 days

that does me no good for the Optima Red Top that I already have sitting in my garage :(

i emailed Optima's Support and they answered the question for us all! :)

Nick,

My compliments to you for the nice detail about your application. Unfortunately, we do not have a battery to fit your application today. Your car calls for a group 100 size battery. However, we will have a group 78 ...

here is a picture of my battery voltage. sometimes it gets a hair higher than that.

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/7624/0611081521ah5.th.jpg


here is an excerpt from Optima's site:

Battery Maintenance

The OPTIMA battery is truly maintenance free. When charged properly you will not have to ...

my 00 is an SLE, so it has the gauge, its not digital.

i hope that someone who actually has one of these in their car can voice their input. i'm getting the feeling that i need to design some custom vent caps if i want to use another battery... there is no way to use a non-vented battery in the ...

i haven't checked recently, but i know that my info center shows that it's charging over 14 volts. it's a gauge, so i'm not sure what value it's on. i'll have to check later today.

maybe Rebel25A is getting close to the problem!

the red top is not vented.. it is completely sealed afaik! so far i have several different answers and no consensus! doh

at least i know to go throw baking soda around inside of my car! :D

I have a 00' SLE, and my vented battery has apparently been leaking since before I bought the car last month... because I have a hole in my floor panel! I thought it was from the previous battery, but after a week I opened up the seat again to find the floor panel damp again from battery acid ...

I was a newer member at BC (Dec 31, 07) while looking for a Bonne! I just picked my 00' SLE Bonne up last Friday, so now I get to have a fresh start with it on these boards!

Hope to be around frequently!

Nick Lees
Lafayette, IN