Can someone please explain battery specs to me

[Phrozt 10+ year member]

I made a post that went unnoticed on the red top/yellow top thread, so I decided to make my own thread:

I've also noticed a huge difference in just yellow tops as to the rating of them... like cold cranking amps and all that... what does all that mean in terms of power for your system??

Reason being is that I need to order a new batt by like... tomorrow or the day after, so I want to make sure that what I get is going to be accurate for what I need.

- Probably no competition

- comps listed in sig for interior

- beefy (2000rmsish) subs. (that I *will* be purchasing... not that I have yet)

I realize I need a new alt, and will need a second batt in the trunk.. but first and foremost, I MUST replace my starter batt (It's about 4 days from death).

Thanks.. I appreciate the knowledge.

Click to read more...

 

[djfrestyl 10+ year member]

Sounds fine to me.

 

[Phrozt 10+ year member]

huh??

I was asking about what the battery specs mean....

as in.. what advantages there are to gain from different specs...

 

[djfrestyl 10+ year member]

Cold cranking amps is how much amperage your battery can give out "cold", ie not when being recharged. Helps with running your system when the car isn't on, but even moreso, starting the car.

 

[headless 10+ year member]

A google search for "cold cranking amps" brought this up for the very first link:

http://www.autobatteries.com/faq/index.asp

Ta-da!

 

[scottiej 10+ year member]

A good rule of thumb when comparing batteries is to get the most CA/CCA for your money... but you want to make sure it is from a reputable manufacturer... they are bound by the bci rules. A quick rundown of what the important specs mean:

CCA - Cold Crankin Amps @ 0 degrees F.

CA/MCA - Cranking Amps or Marine Cranking Amps @ 32 degrees F

HCA - Hot Cranking Amps @ 80 degrees F

Cranking amp tests define how much currnent a battery can deliver over a 30 sec. period and maintain atleast 7.2 Volts. (1.2vpc)

RC - Reserve capacity... Defines how long your batt can last in a total loss system (no alt) The higher the RC the longer the batt can last before going dead.

Ah - Ampere Hour... Basically another way to measure the reserve capacity. A battery that can do 20A for 10hours and maintain 10.2v would be a 200Ah battery.

IR - Internal Resistance... commonly overlooked... one of the most important specs IMO when looking for car audio batts. A battery with lower internal resistance will typically be more powerful and able to deliver large amounts of currenent very quickly. Comparing the IR of the red and yellow tops and you will see the reason the Yellow is supperior for car audio apps. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

You pretty much want the most battery for your money... unless you are in a racing environment where weight is an issue... in which case you want just enough to get you by.

Hope this helps...

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Cold cranking amps is how much amperage your battery can give out "cold", ie not when being recharged. Helps with running your system when the car isn't on, but even moreso, starting the car.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

Umm...no.It has to do with the ambient outside temperature in which the battery happens to be residing.

See scottie's post for further //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[djfrestyl 10+ year member]

Ah, I was slightly off, apologies.