How many CCA do our cars need?

[1990lumina]

Specifically the 3.1 in my Lumina?? I have a Delco battery in there that apparently should put out 650CCA...but according to my tester is putting out 150CCA tops lol....no wonder it cranks so slowly and barely starts. While testing, the voltage drops to 10 volts...I'm surprised the computer even can operate.

 

So I'll probably replace this POS....What is the biggest battery I can put in the stock location??? I'd love to have something that puts out 1000CCA lol...I'm also thinking of getting a gel cell style battery, any opinions??

 

Thanks

[skiiirt]

Ilike the factory recommended AC Delco battery. Unless you have an audio system, no need to have more

 

just my oppinion

[1990lumina]

What IS the factory recommended Delco battery??? I one in my car is 3 years old, but in my opinion was never a great battery...last year I noticed it didn't start the car ver ywell..this year is just worse.

[White93z34]

i just bought a new one for the lumina, was around $80 for a ACD. i think its 650CCA and 800 CA

[dbtk2]

630CCA is the factory spec for TGP's. I think regular w's are like 580 or 600CCA.

 

Shawn

[3pt1lumina]

Factory specs on my 3.1 Lumina I believe is 625CCA. Not 100% sure though. Do you have a sticker from the factory on your black cover thing over your battery? I have one on my car. I'll go over to the garage tonight and take a look for you.

[Canada]

They take a group 75 battery. The 7 year has 690 CCA. The 60 month has a 525 CCA rating. At least.....thats what AC Delcos are rated at.

[93CutlassSupreme]

my '93 Cutlass calls for a 535 CCA Battery.

[biff85ta]

The rule of thumb I have been told for sizing batteries to a car is at least twice as many cca's as cubic inches of displacement.

[1990lumina]

Hmm, I'll check that cover thing. Right now the cover isn't on..it's in my garage. The cover and my battery blanket wouldn't both fit...so I went with the battery blanket instead. Thanks for the help guys.

 

All I remeber seeing on that cover was a warning about no removing it because it would cause premature battery wear....oh well guess I found out it wasn't a lie. I remember it has a hole on the top too so you could see that "eye" thingy change colors right?? Anyway my car has the wrong battery in it so it doesn't have that "Eye" thing.

 

Again thanks fo rthe help

[Prospeeder]

Go for a Die Hard battery from Sears, they last a long time and are around 70-80$

[1990lumina]

I've heard mixed things about the batteries from Sears. My buddy has one in his Blazer and is isn't the greatest battery he told me....I'll probably just get a Motomaster battery from Canadian Tire with a decent warantee.

 

I was also thinking about Optima or something...we'll see. Costco here sells them for a pretty good price...

[94CutlassSLCoupe]

I run the cheap wal-mart batteries in my cars and have never had a starting issue...and even better they are like $30

[GP1138]

Optimas are excellent, especially when you're doing a project on your car and you want the power on for awhile without the engine running. I've done plenty of car stereo installs and various other things on my car with the power on and not running, and never had a problem starting afterward.

 

Get a Yellow Top if you can find one cheap. I love my Red Top.

[dbtk2]

Go for a Die Hard battery from Sears, they last a long time and are around 70-80$

 

You can also get Die Hards at K-Mart as well. (since K-mart bought out Sears they carry Craftsman tools and die hard batteries)

 

Optimas are excellent, especially when you're doing a project on your car and you want the power on for awhile without the engine running. I've done plenty of car stereo installs and various other things on my car with the power on and not running, and never had a problem starting afterward.

 

IMO Optimas are the best battery on the market right now. I love my red top, it is bad ass. It always cranks quickly everytime I turn the key, my accessories always work fine and my lights don't dim when I step on the brakes or let the engine idle down. From what I've been told, Optimas only take like half the power from the alternator to charge as regular batteries...but I don't know what the actual difference is between the batteries. All I know is I won't go back to anything else now.

 

Shawn

[1990lumina]

IMO Optimas are the best battery on the market right now. I love my red top, it is bad ass. It always cranks quickly everytime I turn the key, my accessories always work fine and my lights don't dim when I step on the brakes or let the engine idle down. From what I've been told, Optimas only take like half the power from the alternator to charge as regular batteries...but I don't know what the actual difference is between the batteries. All I know is I won't go back to anything else now.

 

Interesting...will a dual post Optima fit in the stock location?? (I DO NOT have the washer fluid tank on top of the battery) if that matters

 

I'll go by Costco and see what they are selling these batterys for...last year I thought it was pretty reasonable but now I don't remember the price exactly.

[dbtk2]

You have to get the smaller red top for it to fit, and its a tight fit, but it definately fits. I have one in my STE and my dad has one in his TGP and they both fit with no problems. There is just as much room in your Lumina as there is under the hood of a TGP so you should definately be able to fit it in there, although I never put my red top in my Lumina so I can't be 110% sure, but I'm 99% sure you'll have no problems getting a little red top to fit.

 

Shawn

[GP1138]

You have to get the smaller red top for it to fit, and its a tight fit, but it definately fits. I have one in my STE and my dad has one in his TGP and they both fit with no problems. There is just as much room in your Lumina as there is under the hood of a TGP so you should definately be able to fit it in there, although I never put my red top in my Lumina so I can't be 110% sure, but I'm 99% sure you'll have no problems getting a little red top to fit.

 

Shawn

 

I put my Red Top into my old Lumina. It'll fit fine. I believe I have the larger one, too.

[dbtk2]

 

I put my Red Top into my old Lumina. It'll fit fine. I believe I have the larger one, too.

 

The large red top won't fit in a TGP, I know that.

 

Shawn

[Grand Moff Joseph]

Go for a Die Hard battery from Sears, they last a long time and are around 70-80$

 

A-farking-men!

[chadz34]

Can a battery affect performance? I've always wanted to know that. My Cavalier cranks slowly and it's slow as balls with no go to it at all. And after hearing Sonyman say a new battery seemed to help his tranny I was curious.

[1990lumina]

I guess if the battery isn't holding anything for charge and the alternator has to work harder that will reduce performance slightly....SonyMan's tranny was probably helped because his is electroically controlled and low voltage likes to do crazy things to computer run stuff that needs a certain amount of voltage to run correctly.

 

On the other hand I dorve my RX-7 to the farm with NO battery in it and it was fine lol (push started it and drove 2 hours to the farm)

[chadz34]

I guess if the battery isn't holding anything for charge and the alternator has to work harder that will reduce performance slightly....SonyMan's tranny was probably helped because his is electroically controlled and low voltage likes to do crazy things to computer run stuff that needs a certain amount of voltage to run correctly.

 

On the other hand I dorve my RX-7 to the farm with NO battery in it and it was fine lol (push started it and drove 2 hours to the farm)

Thanks! I didn't think about the 4T60-E. That's sweet with standard cars!

[chadz34]

I have a piece of shit Interstate Battery in my Cavalier and it sucks. My car cranks slowly and it makes my key in ignition buzzer cut out! I won't buy Motomaster after the Z34 ate 3 of the bastards. I am a believer in AC Delco.

[Prospeeder]

I guess if the battery isn't holding anything for charge and the alternator has to work harder that will reduce performance slightly....SonyMan's tranny was probably helped because his is electroically controlled and low voltage likes to do crazy things to computer run stuff that needs a certain amount of voltage to run correctly.

 

On the other hand I dorve my RX-7 to the farm with NO battery in it and it was fine lol (push started it and drove 2 hours to the farm)

 

thats wierd, cause it doesnt work that way, but mabye RX-7s are different??! The alt charges the battery and the car runs from the battery, not starts from the battery then just runs off the altentor directly