Car Battery Replacement?

[sutoban]

Hi all,

Looks like its time for me to replace my car battery, however, since ive never bought one before and i have no idea what i'm looking for when it comes to a battery :S, thought id ask for any suggestions?

Car: Honda Civic VI 2001 EU3.

Currently running an amp sub speaker setup if that matters, nothing major.

Ive had a look at like Century and Exides site and they had suggestions, but yeah i don't know what i'm even looking for :( any tips would be much appreciated!

[Rage King]

The oem battery on small to medium cars are small. Generally only around the 280-380cc.

Since your running an amp, and prob a few LED globes ad possibly a few gadgets.

Go to supercheap or something and buy yourself a 380-480cc maintenance free with indicator battery.

Be prepared to spend around $120+ for a decent size/cc battery.

Just make sure the positive and negative points and location will fit your existing terminals.

Make sure the battery u buy fits within the cavity location of your existing battery.

[sutoban]

So as long as the battery fits in the cavity with the correct positions for the terminals, a larger cc amps battery wont really have any adverse effects on my car? sounds good to me :D cheers.

Whats this maintenance free thing about them? cant seem to find it listed on the details from sellers.

[Daveho1]

gennerally battery companys wont offer warranty on batterys not recomended for the given car. the recomendations are there for that reason, companys like century have only a few case sizes but 3 or so quality levels within those case sizes. so for a EG/dc2 for example the case is an ns60 but they recomend an ns60ls (for terminal configuration) and that would be a 2 year warranty job but say you opt for an ns60lsx (donno if they even make one anymore) theres an extra 30-60cca and another $50 or so but its also an extra years warranty.

[infurNOS]

Battery World use to give you some money for trading in your old battery, costing you less for the new battery + a safe and legal way of disposing of your old battery! I know SCA also run this promotion sometimes too.

[JDM DC2R]

Battery worlds a rip. even with cash in on old battery. Pritty much. Jump start or clutch start the car. Drive to repco or supercheap. Remove battery walk in with it and compare to whats on the shelfs. Same diamter and post in same location the right way round. Done.

[sutoban]

Thanks for all the help so far :).

However i am now even more confused then ever, went Kmart auto and tyre to check it out.
the exide site suggested me this battery for my car:
http://www.exide.com.au/battery-range/light-commercial-truck/extra/x60d

however i told the guy im running an amp and sub, nothing major and he suggested i get this instead:
http://www.exide.com.au/battery-range/light-commercial-truck/extra/x40d

...how does this make sense, from the specs, the site suggestion one seems to be stronger, so...am i reading something wrong?.

[Rage King]

Dude **** exides man.. They are ripp offs. Plus the dude is advising u to buy a 330cca to suit your applications (amps/sub) compared to the 380cca ? Lolwut!!

Hes suppose to know his products /electrical background.. Fml!

Bro.. Just go to SCA and buy the biggest and highest CCA battery that can fit on your battery tray ad just make sure the terminals are in the right locations and thinkness.

FTW (**** the world)

[EKVTIR-T]

Dude **** exides man.. They are ripp offs. Plus the dude is advising u to buy a 330cca to suit your applications (amps/sub) compared to the 380cca ? Lolwut!!

Hes suppose to know his products /electrical background.. Fml!

Bro.. Just go to SCA and buy the biggest and highest CCA battery that can fit on your battery tray ad just make sure the terminals are in the right locations and thinkness.

FTW (**** the world)
cool yourself charlie murphy


my exide has lastest longer than the previous high capacity "performance" odyssey I had in the same application..


this doesnt speak for every case but at least gives some insight

[Rage King]

Sorry bossing.. ****en crazy day at work today.. Lol

Just personal preferences and experiences i guess.

Just google/yahoo/netscape/mozilla/firefox/wiki for futher research. :)

[JDM DC2R]

Well if you want to get technical. If your only ever using the sound system while the car is running. No matter how big the battery is it wont make a difference. Its all about the alternator!!

Maintenance free battery. means its 100% sealed. no adding water extra. Its a gel battery and generally have a longer life!


To add all a battery does when a car is running is stabilizer the voltage.

So as i said go to the shop. Pick out one exactly the same. And choice what quality you want. Depending on how much u wanna blow. I always get the cheapest as they still last 2-3 years!!!!!

[Rage King]

^^close enough :)

Defined technical terms;

When the engine is off. The battery provides power to the starter/lighting/ignition(SLI).

When the engine is running, the alternator provides the power to all the electrics in the car and the battery is not used but rather kept charged.

The power is generated using the engine power. Which alternates the current from Ac to Dc power. Hence why its called an alternator.

The higher the CCA allows a stronger SLI with the engine off. So this means the starter/ignition will have a better crank/spark to start your car when cold.

All great responses from the members here... That should help you with a better understanding of what a battery is and what to buy in terms of your shopping around.

good luck bud ...

[DakDak]

When picking a battery you gotta look at (besides the size and terminals)

Cold Cranking Amps — How much amp the battery can provide really cold weather — when the engine is hardest to crank.

AND

Reserve Capacity — indicates how long your battery would keep the engine running if the alternator stopped charging. It's a measurement of how many minutes the battery will deliver 25 amps at 80 degrees F (27 degrees C) while maintaining at least 1.75 volts per cell, or 10.5 volts total. In other words, this is about how long your car will continue to run with the headlights, wipers and defroster on, if the alternator quits.

Find one suited to your OEM CCA and has a decent reserve capacity. Be warned though car batteries are not designed to completely use all their charge. Sitting in car with the engine off listening to music for 30mins or whatever will stuff your battery. Even if you recharge it it will never be the same.

A Deep cycle battery is good for this it doesnt CCA as hard as normal car battery but they are designed to be completely drained and recharged. People use this separately to power sound systems.

The best battery?

-- WHATEVER HAS THE LONGEST WARRANTY --

[Rage King]

A Deep cycle battery is good for this it doesnt CCA as hard as normal car battery but they are designed to be completely drained and recharged. People use this separately to power sound systems.



^^Great answer!!

This is also known as a Farad Capacitor device. theyre used for high end, High current/output wattage amps.

As farad caps is like a rechargeable battery it will hold voltage/power for a certain amount of time then it discharges which most units nowadays have a voltage warning/display on these fcaps. Pretty much u can play music at a longer time without completely draining your battery when engine is off.

With engine on, the fcap will assist in providing better current than using the complete load from the alternator (minimal flicker lights at night when blasting the fully sick subwooffa)..

Eheheh

But in your case u wont need this.

[sutoban]

Ive actually got a Farad capacitor inline with my amp :D

Decided to go with exide seeing as i can pick one up from kmart to finally use my $100 voucher (save myself some cash for other maintenance :P).

Thanks for all your replies, has helped me alot in better understanding the ins and outs with batteries and alternators :D.

[jeremydawg]

kmart tyre and auto. they all suck boob