Sunday drivers, unless putting a tender of any sort on the battery, the battery isn't getting enough time under charge, will likely fall under 12.6 volts and start the process of sulfation.
Sulfation, an act of crystals forming on the cells, seperates the active material in the battery (acitate) from the cell (lead) and creates a situation where the battery gets chubby and then won't start a vehicle (cca).
This can happen very rapidly and sulfation can kill a battery in a matter of months, rather than years.
Optima changed the build location three years ago. Myself, and the master distributor on the west coast have both seen enough issues and high documented failure rates to not recommend them highly. Quality control has slipped and the current product shipped to CA is short of junk. I recommend Odyssey only even though we make more money on Optima.
