What do you use your car for ? just normal driving, or do you have a fully sick 10 thousand dollar system with Huge subs that draws a heap of power ? That's the usual reason people go looking for weird and wonderful batteries
I would have agreed with you in the past... Before I owned a VE....
The VEs (Especially the CalaisV with all its electronics) have a penchant for killing batteries...
It got to the stage where if I didnt drive my VE for more than 2 days, I would need to stick the battery on charge for an hour or so before I could start it...
(If I could start the car, then I had no issues, as a 5 minute drive would charge the battery back to normal)...
I knew that buying a new battery would extend this period of time, but the way I figure, I will be keeping this car for at least 5 years, so I may as well get a good battery so as I dont have to replace it again within the 5 year period.
The main advantages of the Optima batteries are,
1) Maintenance free (No big deal really, there are a lot of batteries that are maintenance free out there for cheaper)...
2) Deep Cycle, means that thing can recover from a low voltage state, without lead sulphate building up and increasing the batteries internal resistance.
3) Very low internal resistance, means the battery can deliver cold cranking amps at lower voltages, meaning that you car is more likely to start if left for long periods of time...
4) 5 Year warranty in the USA (In Ozs, typically they have a 3 year warranty)
An Optima battery will cost you around twice a standard battery, but it will handle a lot more punishment and abuse. (I.E. In CarPC on with engine off, constant electrical loads without the engine running, ability to start at lower voltages),
and as long as you dont really abuse the thing, it should last at least twice as long as a standard battery...
The Red Top 34R has the following specs
Cold Cranking Amps : 800
Capacity : 50 Ah
Reserve Capacity : 110 Ah
If you look around, you should get yellow / red tops D34 Yellow top or 34R Red Tops for around $260-$280Au with free shipping