So just how important or drastic is the difference between a 650 cca vs
last one i bought was 850 from napa and it lasted 2 yrs.
otoh, my 91 mazda has had its battery for well over 6 years...and still cranks right up every time.
thanks.
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cold cranking amps i lived in ak for years and i always bought the top of the line battery due to the winter months but i also had a water heater (perculator) in line on the water pump hose so if you are only subject to a few cold months i would just by the oem recomondation (also keep in mind cars with timming belts in cold weather due slip so never push start them )
If your car is not parked in a partly heated garage it may be worth looking at one of the cheap trickle charge units.
I keep a spare battery in the garage where it is usually at least 40 degrees. Available immeadiately if the car needs to be jump started.
If extremely cold plug in the oil pan heater.
Consumer Reports publishes a review of car batteries every November, but it doesn't seem to be particularly in predicting which brands are best because their rankings seem to change greatly each year. I doubt you need anything close to 650 CCA, and some companies boost CCA by increasing the surface area of the plates without increasing the amount of plate material, and this can reduce longevity and reserve capacity (number of minutes battery can put out 25A).
Get a fresh battery, especially if it's not maintenance-free (discharges faster in storage), and give it a long, slow charge at the beginning. And attaching an automatic charger every week can increase a battery's lifespan 1-2 years, and the final charge rate is a decent indicator of the condition (lower is better), but don't rely on this for a battery more than about 5 years old.
2 to 5 years is considered acceptable battery life - especially when the 2-3 weeks of bitter cold of the winter is accompanied by 2-3 weeks of the summer.
When I worked at Pep Boys, their 60 month batteries had the best reliability - the (new at that time) 72 month units had more cranking power, but failed on a more frequent basis. They were prone to shorting. Could it be the higher plate count via thinner plates that gave good CCA numbers affected real-world reliability numbers by making them prone to failure from vibration, heat, and (unintentional) deep cycle usage?
Get a battery that meets the vehicle's CCA requirements (650 if AC-Delco's site is correct) and you should be fine.
Make sure that if the vehicle has a heat shield for the battery, it is installed correctly. They don't provide them for nothing.
Finally, you may want to have the parasitic draw (current that the various electronics in the vehicle draw when off) should be less than
50 ma (as a rule).Good luck,
Jim
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Correction:2 to 5 years is considered acceptable battery life - especially when >the 2-3 weeks of bitter cold of the winter is accompanied by 2-3 weeks of blistering summer heat.
Must remember to proofread posts ;)
Jim
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