[BigAls87Z28]

Ugh..

Yellow top and Blue top are deep cycle batteries.

Red top is a starting battery.

Deep cycle batteries have the ability to take more abuse, be able to run down longer and have the ability to be recharged. That goes for ALL deep cycle batteries.

Optima's set up has its strengths and weaknesses. Problem with cylindrical cells like that the inner core of the battery heats up faster then the exterior causing premature failure.
Die Hard did go to another battery supplier for thier Platnium battery, which is a gel cell battery but in a more conventional plate formation so that the heat can disapate over the face of the battery instead of heating the core.

GM noticed the same thing with the new Lith Ion batteries for the Volt. An initial idea was to have the cells put together in cells in cylinders like the Optima, but they had heating problems and failures after heavy use.