Optima has been given a bit of a hard time here lately, so I feel a need to add my two bits worth. I purchased my Cobra nine years ago and my Red Top Optima has been in the machine for over ten years, giving excellent service, even with the car being unused for several months a couple of times. I have given it a trickle charge twice, but not anything else. In spite of the bad press, I'm inclined to stay with Optima when I finally need to lay my old battery to rest. Besides, I just added a really nifty aluminium billet battery holder that's custom made for my battery, and it looks so nice!
Rich