I presently have the battery which came with my truck.....which is approx. 5 years old.....Should i wait until it goes completely bad before i change it, or should i change it now, because of winter approaching?
And should i go with Die Hard, or Optima?

 

i got an optima and i love it!!

 

What did you have before? What did it cost? what kind of warranty, and did you notice a difference?

 

I had the stock battery which is much bigger and much heavier! I got lucky and picked one up for free from a buddy.... i think their a lil pricey though.... the differences are their dependibility, they are powerful, and light... i plan on doing some upgrades electronically(subs, lights, etc.) so a good battery is a must!

 

NYPANAMA42

Why do you want to replace a perfectly good battery?
I know that batteries do have a "lifespan". But, owning many cars over the years, I personally yet to have one go **** up?
It's not like it needs to be replaced because it's part of a maintenance plan, like oil, plugsand filters etc.
I can understand, if you want to replace the stocker to save weight,because you're on a weight shedding program for the truck.
But, save yourself sdome money and wait. Reinvest it into some other performance mod like a cutout.
Remember the old quote "don't fix it if it aint broke"
Al.

 

Excellent point abarmby..In january i would have had this battery for 6 years. This battery doesn't have one of those green indicator lights, which tell's me when it wearing down..And when winter gets here, the effectiveness of batteries usually wear down.
It's almost like ammunition. You can leave the same ammunition in your weapon for several years. And when you need it most, it might work, and then again, it might not.
I'd rather be safe than sorry....

 

The "aint' broke, don't fix it" doesn't apply to batteries. Your usual "warning" that your battery is going bad is when your truck doesn't start. Is that when you want to install a new battery?

If you do it now, when you can schedule the time and pick exactly which battery you want, you'll be a lot happier. Cold weather has a way of finishing off a battery that was marginal before. My truck is also on its stock battery and will get an Optima in a few weeks. Changing a battery with temps in the 70s is a lot easier than with temps in the 30s.

 

Worse yet, you are far from home, its Sunday night and it won't start.

I usually, they won't take a jump.

 

Oh yes.......let me see..........my fluid in the master cylinder might be compromised by moisture.
I'd better change that, along with my battery that might just die on me like my brakes might not posssibly work, oh wait, then there's the windshield to replace because as we all know, glass is still ina "liquidstage" so it gets thicker over time at the bottom, leading to the top of my windscreen being thinner than it should be, so it's weaker and could, possibly, maybe, probably, shatter...........it goes on and on my friend................
Just trying to save you a little money my friends and possibly express an opinion?
Al.

 

A 5 year old battery might last 10 or it might go tomorrow. I plan on keeping my truck for a while so I replaced mine last weekend with an Optima, I have one in my boat and am very happy with it. My originalwas nearly the same age asyours (I bought my Ram in 2/02).My stock battery did have the "green eye" and I hadn't seen it green in over 2 years so I don't think that would help you much. My truck spends alot of time at the airport parking garage, sometimes 2 weeks at a time and it always started but I chose toput "preventative" into maintenance in this situation. My wife's Infiniti battery went out at 5 years so I just considered it time. With a 5+ year old truck just make sure you have jumper cables, a jump boxor AAA, my jumper cables are still in the truck.

As for shedding weight on a Ram, that's like Rosie O'Donnell passing on one donut!