I have been told that 5 years ago they started being made outside the US, or changed their way of making them somehow. And that that was a turning point in the quality that they were so well known for.
That being said, I do run them in both the FD and the specB, with zero issues. The FD stayed on a battery tender over the Winter and that battery is about 2 years old. I'm very happy with it. The specB got its new battery this Winter when the stock one finally couldn't keep up with the cold weather we had. I'm also very happy with it. The FD is a yellow top and the specB is a red top.
A trusted friend, and my go to guy for car info, swears by them. I have not been steered wrong yet, so there in is my feeling ok with them.