Buying a New Car Battery

Buy the biggest battery that will fit into the car. Two things to keep in mind... the physical size and the CCA. The physical size determines if the new battery will fit into the car. The Cold Cranking Amps is the muscle size of the battery... how much oomph it has to start the engine. You will see two numbers on the battery... the Cranking Amps (how much power it has on a warm day) and the Cold Cranking Amps (how much power it has on a cold day). Typical numbers are 525 CA and 600 CCA. Or 650 CA and 725 CCA.

Or if you want to play it safe, just go into any autoparts store (Pep-Boys, Sears, Discount Auto) and they will install one for you, although it will be the same size and capacity as the one you have now. Nothing wrong with that. I just always use the biggest battery I can put in there. TIWAGOS.

Larry In the back yard, under the oak.

I buy batteries from Sears because it is relatively quick, convenient, and I can get warranty service on the battery from any Sears if I'm traveling.

Interstate batteries are also good.

There are probably other good brands, but those are the ones I have personal experience with.

Aren't these numbers reversed? A battery's cranking power is LOWER when it is cold.

Jay asked.... "Aren't these number reversed? A battery's cranking power is LOWER when it is cold." Answer... OOPS! Sorry, you're right. I reversed the letters. CA stands for Cranking Amps and is the higher number.. CCA stands for Cold Cranking Amps and is the lower number.

Most batteries are made by just three different companies.... Exide, Johnson Controls, and East Penn (Delphi). Delphi makes ACDelco. Exide makes Champion, Exide, and NAPA. Johnson Controls makes Diehard (Sears), Duralast (AutoZone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco), and Motorcraft (Ford). All three make EverStarts for Wal-Mart. If you want to start a battery company called Jay's Jalopy Jolters, then give these guys a call and they can put you into the business. So much for brand names.

CCA's (Cold Cranking Amps) are a measure of how much power a battery has at zero degrees Fahrenheit. The higher the CCA rating, the more starting current the battery delivers to the starter, regardless of temperature. CA (Cranking Amps) is measured at 32 degrees. That being said, hot weather is harder on batteries because heat saps more life over time. Add the extra drain from the air conditioning and higher under-hood temperatures and you begin to see why the Southern climates are so hard on batteries. Most batteries are designed for Northern or Southern climates and are sold only in those regions. So be sure to tell Exide that you are going to sell Jay's Jalopy Jolters in Montana and they will make up the batteries for cold weather. If you are selling them in Montgomery, the specs will be different.

Group Size is the physical dimensions of the battery and the placement of the terminals. Group Size 75 fits mainly General Motors cars. Size 65 fits most Ford products (Lincoln, Mercury, etc.) Most rice burners (Hondas, Nissans, Toyotas) use size 35. Most Chryslers use 34. There are a few cross-overs like 34/78 that has two sets of terminals and fits some Chryslers and some GM's.

When I said "get the biggest battery with the most CCA's" ... there is one caveat. Don't go more than about 150 or 200 CCA's higher than your cars recommended rating. No need to spend the extra money and the alternator probably can't handle it anyway.

Larry In the back yard, under the oak.

As usual, Larry is right. Get the big battery from Sears. Make sure it is the gold or platinum or whatever diehard. And make sure it has lots of juice. I never thought of not getting the most cca I could, and that point about too many is something I will have to think about!

mcbrue in the trailer down by the river under the bridge

thanks Larry, that's good info.

But just because the same company make batteries for different retailers, does that mean the batteries have the same quality (assuming identical size and specs) regardless of who is selling them?

Most batteries are made by just three different companies.... Exide, Johnson Controls, and East Penn (Delphi). Delphi makes ACDelco. Exide makes Champion, Exide, and NAPA. Johnson Controls makes Diehard (Sears), Duralast (AutoZone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco), and Motorcraft (Ford). All three make EverStarts for Wal-Mart. If you want to start a battery company called Jay's Jalopy Jolters, then give these guys a call and they can put you into the business. So much for brand names.

CCA's (Cold Cranking Amps) are a measure of how much power a battery has at zero degrees Fahrenheit. The higher the CCA rating, the more starting current the battery delivers to the starter, regardless of temperature. CA (Cranking Amps) is measured at 32 degrees. That being said, hot weather is harder on batteries because heat saps more life over time. Add the extra drain from the air conditioning and higher under-hood temperatures and you begin to see why the Southern climates are so hard on batteries. Most batteries are designed for Northern or Southern climates and are sold only in those regions. So be sure to tell Exide that you are going to sell Jay's Jalopy Jolters in Montana and they will make up the batteries for cold weather. If you are selling them in Montgomery, the specs will be different.

Group Size is the physical dimensions of the battery and the placement of the terminals. Group Size 75 fits mainly General Motors cars. Size 65 fits most Ford products (Lincoln, Mercury, etc.) Most rice burners (Hondas, Nissans, Toyotas) use size 35. Most Chryslers use 34. There are a few cross-overs like 34/78 that has two sets of terminals and fits some Chryslers and some GM's.

When I said "get the biggest battery with the most CCA's" ... there is one caveat. Don't go more than about 150 or 200 CCA's higher than your cars recommended rating. No need to spend the extra money and the alternator probably can't handle it anyway.

Larry In the back yard, under the oak.

Newman asks.... "But just because the same company make batteries for different retailers, does that mean the batteries have the same quality (assuming identical size and specs) regardless of who is selling them?"

Answer... No. Jay can specify to Exide that his Jalopy Jolters have thinner plates or thicker plates, which will affect overall life as well as reserve capacity (the number of minutes a battery can be discharged at 25 amps and maintain a voltage of 10.5 volts). There are other variables that can be changed and still remain within range of labeling specs. That's why a Diehard will out last a Bargain Bob's Best Battery in a straight up test. Remember the winter time commercials from Sears with all those cars out in a snowy parking lot and the lights were left on all day and now you need to get home and the Sears Diehard is the only one that still has juice? Remember those ads? There was some truth in those ads. Maybe not much, but some.

Larry In the back yard, under the oak.

Great point there Larry. I change the Walmart $39 special (now $45) every 5 years no questions asked. Why, because AC Delco Maintenance free ($80) is very hard to find in 24F. Those I'll swap out 7-8 years. I don't want undue stresses on the alternator. It's much more expensive.

My rule of thumb is to get the biggest battery (capacity/CCA) in there. And the Johnson Controls from Walmart is excellent.

Sure, the batteries are different specs. For example JCI makes three grades. But Walmart carries their top grade with more reserve. Just don't go with any blue light special is what I'm saying.

I have a question concerning battery replacement. If I were to do it myself what would I have to do to maintain power so I did not lose all the settings to my radio, compass, clock ect. ?

Plug a back up battery pack (like Black and Decker) into the lighter socket. But your air bags will be armed so don't bang around too much near the sensors at the bumper corners and other places.

So if you can find a Delco maintenance free battery, go for it. But their 24F is hard to find. Otherwise a high end (large reserve capacity, high CCA) Johnson Controls I would prefer over Exide. Haven't tried the cylinder types Optimas so dunno about these.