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Car Batteries and What Works Best For Your Vehicle

Need to replace your car battery? With years of experience replacing car batteries, we’d like to share with you our helpful guide to finding the perfect car battery for your vehicle.

Located under your vehicle’s hood, a car battery has an important job. It provides electricity to your door locks, windows, lights, and anything else electrical. But the most critical function of the battery is to start your vehicle. That means a dead battery is a dead car.

Unfortunately, no matter how expensive or fancy a vehicle you have, the battery eventually dies and you’ll need to have it replaced. In this article, we’ll help you decide which battery is right for your vehicle so that you can make an informed decision.

Important Factors to Consider When Choosing a New Car Battery

We’ll discuss the five main factors that go into choosing a car battery: size, reserve capacity, cold-cranking amps, and brand.

1. Find the right size car battery

You’ll want your battery to fit the way your old one did so it doesn’t rattle around in the battery tray. Car batteries come in group sizes and there are a few ways to find it:

    ● Check the group size on your old battery. Look for the label on the top or side of the battery case. It’s usually a two-digit number and is sometimes followed by a letter.
    ● Check the owner’s manual. Under the specifications section, you’ll find the group size, pertinent information, and the specs of the battery.
    ● Check online. If you can’t find it on the battery case or in the manual, sites like AutoBatteries.com can help you find it.

2. The reserve capacity

The reserve capacity, or RC, tells you the amount of time the battery can continuously supply the minimum voltage necessary to run your car if the alternator or fan belt fails. While it’s tempting to choose the battery with the longest RC, there is a recommended reserve capacity for your vehicle’s make and model. If you can’t find the RC rating on the battery case, one of our store assistants would be more than happy to help you find it.

3. Cold-cranking amp rating

Your vehicle requires sufficient amperage to turn over in cold weather. Nobody wants to be left stranded on a freezing day. If you plan to use your vehicle in a cold climate, you’ll want to choose a battery with a high CCA rating. However, keep the CCA rating within the range your manual recommends.

4. Battery brands

It’s tempting to purchase the cheapest battery available, but this is not usually advisable. They may save you money now, but cheap batteries are rife with defects that will cost you even more down the line.

We recommend a solid brand such as Interstate. Interstate is a good manufacturer and their battery prices are great. They have a long history and they’re available anywhere, including Roadside Solutions.

Are you in the market for a replacement battery in the San Antonio and greater Bexar County area? Then call us for information on our battery replacement services. You can also book an appointment by calling (210) 999-1945.