I recently had my 690 CCA battery in my car tested, and the result was 320 CCA. I know at this point I need a new battery, but I don’t know the difference between CCA’s. Would an 800 CCA vs. a 740 CCA make a difference?
CCA’s is the available cranking amps to the starter motor at temperatures below 0 degrees for 30 seconds.
This can make a difference in the engine starting or not depending on the temperature.
If you live in an area where the temperatures often drops below 0 degrees for extended periods of time, you want a battery with the highest CCA’s that will fit in your vehicle.
That’s what we do in Minnesota.
Tester
The more CCA the better, it is an indicator of potential amps if needed. An 800 cca will not hurt a car that has a 700 CCA recommendation but will be a better battery, just judge by the price. If you live in a hot climate the heat will kill the battery and extra cca probably will make little difference to you, if you live in a cold climate the extra cca will make a difference in 15 degree and below starts, my opinion…
I Compare Price And CCA And Warranty.
Get the most CCA and the best warranty for the lowest price available. I figure if the manufacturer gives a decent warranty then they must have faith in their battery, but if it gives out you’re covered.
I own 7 cars, so I buy batteries. I get good deals on the Wal-Mart Maxx series of batteries and check out Die-Hard Gold (Meijers, K-Mart, Sears ?), too. Consumer Reports usually rates The Maxx pretty high. I’ve not had a problem with several of either of these batteries.
Some batteries have both a free-replacement period warranty and additional pro-rate warranty. I believe the last battery I purchased had 3-years free plus 2 years pro-rate. Obviously, keep your receipts.
CSA
Oh, One More Thing Two More Things…
Get a fresh one. Wal-Mart and other batteries have a prominent mfg. date sticker (02/16) on them. I generally can get one that’s a month or 2 old. Pass on one that has an old date or dust on top.
Also, some folks are near Costco stores (I’m not). They could tell you about their batteries. I can’t.
CSA
I just bought two batteries in the last couple of weeks. The Acura came from the factory with a 550 CCA Johnson Control battery. It was replaced with a Napa East Penn battery with 700 CCA (only place that was open). My Pontiac came with a 600 CCA Delco and it was replaced with a 600 CCA Delco. I agree in cold areas like Minnesota its best to get the best rated one you can but these have been fine for me and fit can be a real issue these days.
Personally I’m done with Walmart unless that’s all thats open and I’d replace it again within a week. Where I got the Delco, the guy said they get batteries delivered twice a day. The one I got is about a week old. The last of 7 that size that were delivered the previous week. Since Napa switched to East Penn, they are supposed to be better than before.
I’ve had fair results with Costco batteries
The price is very reasonable, far cheaper than pep boys, autozone, o’reillys, or napa
3 years free replacement, plus pro-rated
I’ve found them to last about 5 years
I live in southern California, so the heat ensures they don’t live a long life
I have an EXTREMELY mixed opinion about AC Delco batteries. While I find that their factory batteries with the gray label . . . unavailable for “end users” . . . last up to 7 years even in socal heat, the replacement batteries . . . even the “professional” line, will last 5 years tops, with many lasting only a fraction of that time
There’s too things I don’t like about napa batteries . . .
they seem to be priced a little higher than their competition. Much higher, if you’re comparing to Costco prices
their most expensive batteries only have 2 years free replacement
For a battery of any given size the more expensive ones will have more CCA …to a point, once you reach that point the only way you can increase the CCA is at the expense of reserve power. That is a measure of how long you can put out a certain power level.
I’m not sure, but I went out and checked the ACDelco battery in my 2006 Lacrosse and that is a 660 CCA battery, if that makes any difference. We’ve had good luck with batteries from Advance.
“I’ve had fair results with Costco batteries…
The price is very reasonable, far cheaper than pep boys, autozone, o’reillys, or napa…
3 years free replacement, plus pro-rated”
I have had very good experience with their Kirkland-brand batteries, but you might be interested to know that–at least one year ago–they switched over to carrying Interstate batteries. However, this is really a distinction without a difference, because the Kirkland batteries were made in the same factory as Interstate, and had the same specifications. The only differences were the label on the battery, and the slightly better warranty on the Kirkland-branded batteries.
I suspect that Costco didn’t sell enough batteries to make the special labeling cost-effective, thus the switch to carrying Interstate-branded batteries.
@VDCdriver
"I suspect that Costco didn’t sell enough batteries to make the special labeling cost-effective, thus the switch to carrying Interstate-branded batteries."
Could it be a savings on warehousing and shipping? Could it be that an Interstate truck delivers batteries to the store? Those tucks go everywhere, constantly.
CSA