Kane Dan
You might just have realized that your car battery is flat and you need a replacement soon.
This perhaps the toughest task as you will have to check on a variety of specs, the battery size being included, when getting an ideal replacement for the flat one.
The size of the car battery depends from one car to the other and a random see may not work well in your car. It may not even fit in the car battery tray.
You get to know which size is the best fit for your car by either consulting an expert or checking the size of the initial car battery.
Getting the right size of a car battery for your car is important as a wrong size might not even fit in your car at all.
You might also be risking as the car battery post might come into contact with the hood covering which is metal and thus cause sparks that are quite dangerous to deal with.
This might cause damages to the electronic components of the car which might be costly to repair.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5 Different Types Of Car Battery
- Starting, Lighting And Ignition Batteries: These type of car batteries are found in most automotive around.
They work by starting, powering the ignition and even for the car lights. They are discharged at a fast rate and can only produce high power for short periods. - Deep Cycle Car Batteries: They have the ability to deliver sustained power for long periods of time. They are common for marine vehicles.
- Valve Regulated Lead Acid Car Batteries: These type of car batteries does not require a lot of maintenance that most of the others do.
- Wet Cell Car Batteries: These are referred to as flooded car batteries. They contain an electrolyte that is a solution of an acid in water. They require high maintenance like regular topping using distilled water.
- Lithium-ion Batteries: They are popular due to their ability to store significant amount of energy. However, they are not that long lasting and need to be replaced often.
How Do I Determine What Car Battery Size Should I Need?
Every car owner has surely dealt with having to replace their car batteries for a new one when the old one dies.
A vehicle is designed to use a specific car battery size as other sizes would not only be able to fit in the car battery tray in the trunk but will also not be able to meet the demands of the vehicle altogether.
You can determine the size of the car battery suitable for replacement by checking on the current car battery you have.
It should have some specs indicated on one side that will show its size as well as other specs like amp-hours, cold cranking amps and the reserve capacity.
An expert or a technician might also help to determine which is the best car battery you should get as a displacement.
They will simply examine your car and provide a number of group sizes they see will fit your car well.
What Does Battery Group Size Mean?
The battery group size is a term used by manufacturers that is a form of industry standard description of car batteries.
This helps both car owners and technicians define the size of a specific car battery in a simplified manner.
The group size of a car battery depends on the make of the car, the model and the engine type.
This mainly differs from one manufacture to the other and you will get that cars manufactured in America, Japan or even Germany have different group sizes for their car batteries.
What Do Also Numbers On A Car Battery Mean?
The numbers on a car battery indicate the following specs:
- Cold Cranking Amps: It is the measure of the battery’s capacity to supply electrical current at a temperature of zero degrees Fahrenheit.
- Reserve Capacity: It shows the duration at which the car battery will provide current to the car components when the alternator is not working.
- Amp-Hours: It indicates the available electrical current you can get from the car battery for a certain duration.
- Month year and codes: These are just specific dates concerning the purchase of the car battery.
3 Things To Remember When Choosing A Car Battery Size
- There are a number of factors that you should keep in mind when selecting between different sizes of car batteries.
The first one is the cranking amps. The cranking amps’ dictate whether the car battery will even be able to start your car at all and it is among the important specs to consider. You should know that this detail varies from one size of car battery to the next. - You should also remember that a larger car battery has a greater amperage than a smaller one and thus might be the best for any vehicle that has a relatively high amperage demand.
If you can get a bigger car battery than you have right now, provided it can be installed in the car battery tray, then you should go for it. you will be able to enjoy a brand that can provide adequate amps to the car. - You should also consider the durability of the car battery technology just to be on the safe side. It would be disappointing for an idea of a car battery and then having the technology fails just a few months after purchasing it.
3 Different Battery Group Size To Know
The group sizes of the car batteries are as below:
1. Side-Post Batteries Size
These particular types of car batteries have cable ends that are screwed on the sides of the car batteries.
This is unlike in some cases where the battery posts are on the top side of the car battery. These particular batteries are within 70, 74, 75 and 78.
2. Recessed Top Post Batteries Size
These are considered to be designed in an international manner.
The top posts are recessed in the corners so that the top of the battery posts are approximately similar in height of the entire car battery.
Majority of these types have special ventilation systems put in place.
They might be fixed in the trunk or even under the rear seat of the vehicle. These particular batteries are 41, 42, 47, 48 and 49.
Installing this type of car battery requires more effort as compared to other types of car batteries.
Hence the cost of having one installed in a vehicle would vary from that charged for other types of car batteries.
They are mainly used for European vehicles such as Volkswagen, Audi and the BMW.
3. Standard Top Post Batteries Size
This is common for the American and Japanese car manufacturers.
These are quite common and you will find seven of these among a random sample of ten, statistically speaking.
They are easier to replace and unlike the recessed top post batteries, you will not be charged as much to have yours replaced.
You should check the height as most of these have similar width and length but the height varies from one to the next.
This may cause it to have some complications when being fitted on the tray of the car battery. These are in the sizes of 24, 24F, 25, 34, 35, 51, 51R, 52, 58,58R, 59 and 65.
How To Measure The Size Of A Car Battery
The car battery size can be known by looking at the owner’s manual of the vehicle.
This shows the size of the car battery that can be fitted on the car battery tray in the trunk of the car.
It is important that the car battery you buy fits on the tray securely and tightly.
Apart from the manual, you could also consult a dealer or even a retailer to get to know which is the best option of a car battery size to go for that will not cause complications in future when you are using the car battery.
Can I Put A Bigger Battery In My Car?
A relatively larger car battery than the one you bought the car battery does not affect the car in terms of the amperage.
This would in fact be a great idea for the vehicle as there would be more amps available.
The increase in amperage will not cause any complications in terms of being drawn by the vehicle.
Therefore, there is no worry about shocking some of the electronic components of the car.
It is quite obvious that not all the amps in the car battery would flow through the electronic accessories when switched on.
However, when it comes to the part of the alternator, it might be affected with the larger type of car battery.
This is because a bigger battery becomes discharged at a faster rate than in the case of a smaller type of car battery.
The alternator will therefore have to put in more effort to recharge the bigger car battery, than it would for a smaller type of car battery.
This can lead to an increased rate of the car alternator being worn out.
You should know that the issue here is not that a bigger battery requires more energy to recharge.
In fact, both get recharged with a similar level of energy. Rather it is the fact that the bigger car battery gets discharged at a faster rate than the smaller one.
When you fit a bigger type of car battery in your car trunk than what was initially used, you should only be worried if you use the car battery too much on playing music on the stereo.
If you leave the car lights on for long or some other type of electronic accessories, then you will be in trouble soon.
This will be bad because if the alternator is not working, the car battery will be more highly discharged than if it were a smaller brand.
So if you just have a bigger size of car battery than the original one, there is no major cause of alarm.
You just have to make some adjustments on the clamp that holds the car battery in place as well as the tray.
Fix the car battery tightly and limit using the car battery for the electronic car accessories when the alternator is not working.
You would not worry about it starting the next day, as the alternator will keep it charged as it will charge a smaller brand fixed in the same vehicle.
What Are The Largest Car Battery Sizes?
Electric vehicles have the largest car batteries you will ever see.
This will continue to be the case as research is being done to improve their efficiency and also their weight and their physical size.
Electric vehicles are quite heavier and larger in size than batteries that you could use for ordinary cars.
The common electric vehicles and their battery sizes are as below:
- Audi e-Tron (2019) has a battery size of 95kWh
- BMW i3 (2019) has a battery size of 42.2kWh
- BMW i3s (2019) has a battery size of 42.2kWh
- Fiat 500e (2019) has a battery size of 24kWh
- Volkswagen e-golf (2019) has a battery size of 35.8kWh
- Tesla model 3 standard range (2019) has a battery size of 59.5kWh
- Tesla model 3 standard range plus (2019) has a battery size of 59.5kWh
- Tesla model 3 performance LR AWD (2019) has a battery size of 80.5kWh
- Tesla models long range (2019) has a battery size of 100
- Nissan LEAF (40kWh) kWh (2019) has a battery size of 40kWh
You should know that some of these vehicles may have options of car batteries they can use which are different in size.
These types of electric vehicles are not included in the above list.
Conclusion
Like most of the specs about the car battery, the size of the car batteries matter.
For one, the car battery tray as it is in the trunk is designed to hold a certain size of car battery and not just any other.
For the car battery to work well it will have to be tightly fixed and be in position to avoid bumps and knocks that lead to cracks and hence dangerous leaks.
There are different sizes of car batteries, and a car might only be able to use a certain size of the car battery.
Having a larger car battery installed would lead to complications such as damage to the alternator if the car battery has been heavily drained, thus the alternator will have to work double its effort to recharge it.
This will cause it to wear at a fast rate than normal, hence the reason why car owners should be keen on the size of their car batteries when replacing one.
Sources:
1. Firestone Complete Auto Care – https://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/maintain/batteries/type-group-size/
2. AutoAccessoriesGarage.com – https://www.autoaccessoriesgarage.com/Car-Batteries/Determine-Car-Battery-Group-Size
