The original battery on my car is beginning to fail (6.5 years, not too shabby). Hasn't needed a jump yet, but it's straining to start the car if it's been left to sit for 3-4 days. Is it worth spending any extra coin on something like an Optima or other premium brand?

I have a yellow top Optima in my pickup and it has absolutely been worth the premium cost, but the pickup has a lot of extra electrical goodies and gets driven all year in all conditions. The Mustang is stored for three months out of the year with the battery on a tender and it doesn't get driven in cold or inclement weather, so it don't necessarily need the CCA rating that the pickup does. I would, however, be interested in saving some weight if possible.

I'm happy to pay a premium if I'm getting a premium product, but I've read a lot of accounts of cheaper is better in the case of batteries for the Mustang. What are members experiencing these days?

If it matters, I have the batter relocated to a box in the trunk.

 

IMO, any equally sized battery will do and I see no benefit for the expense of an Optima. Personally, I like Interstate batteries but I recently replaced the batteries in both my GT and the wife's Pony with another MotorCrap battery, mainly because the dealership was nearby and others have had issues with fitment of other batteries. FWIW, both of our stock batteries lasted 6 years. My wife's battery died and mine was on it's way out.

 

If the car doesn't have any extra goodies don't waste the money.

 

I just saw your batt is in the trunk.

If the relocation wire used wasn't large enough it could cause low voltage.

Since your batt is 6.5 years old the wire issue probably isn't the issue, but it is something to think about.

Likely it is the batt and bcause it is in the trunk a better batt might do you some good.

 

I agree with others, Optima's are just way over priced and not worth it. I USED to use Diehards, but their quality has been meh for a while so when the last one died I switched over to Interstate after getting multiple recommendations from friends.

 

Another vote for Interstate Megatron. None better.