What Is A Good CCA Rating For Car Battery And How To Find It?

Nothing (perhaps) entrances many a battery enthusiast more than the joy of comparing the CCA ratings of different batteries. Not taking anything way, they are quite crucial for your cars. What is a good CCA rating for car battery in general, though? –read below and find out yourself.

Is More Cold Cranking Amps Better For Your Car Battery?

Before one can answer the question, let us first give a brief definition of a CCA rating or what manufacturers know as the amperage for cold cranking.

Okay, so what is cold-cranking, and why is there a rating?

Here are some “facts” about why a CCA rating exists and why cold-cranking amperage matters, especially for your car:

IN A QUICK VIEW
• CCA acts as a standard or label for the battery manufacturing industry.
• CCA is primarily useable when you want to start your car’s engine in a cold environment or under cold temperatures.
• CCA as a rating marks the amperage number in your standard 12-volt battery and how it can deliver energy under zero degrees Fahrenheit in a duration of thirty or so seconds while being able to maintain a voltage of seven or so volts.
• CCA is an industry-standard/label that is useful in getting to know the “starting” power of a battery and its applicability to other vehicles.
• CCA dominant batteries (those high in CCA as a rating) are among the more “popular” products in the market—aside from CA rating or RC rating batteries or those who need a different battery group size.

In retrospect, and to answer the question, is more cold cranking amperage “better” for your car—in the overall aspect of it, yes, a higher (or more) CCA is a definitive welcome, especially if your whereabouts are in the cold.

But, of course, you might ask if there are downsides to a high level of ratings in the CCA—and, not surprisingly, there are.

Here are some of the potential “downsides” that can prove not suitable for a battery with a high rating in the CCA.

AS AN OVERVIEW
• Some high CCA rating products can downright go towards the excess or at the extreme ends of their performance, maybe even going beyond the actual specification of the battery’s original design.
• Some high CCA rating products can be producing performance markers on this one standard alone (a CCA) but neglect other factors that complement with cold-cranking functions, like an RC.
• Some high CCA rating products actually (almost as a consequence of necessity) reduce the size and thick layer plate design of the battery and even affect other parts of the internal system.
• Some high CCA rating products can even affect the act of separation within the battery cell system, which can lead to leaks and spills that affect the battery over the long-term.
• Some high CCA rating products, indeed, can function amazingly well in the extremes of the cold but may drop that performance considerably so in the presence of warmer weathers or climates.

So, more or less, you see the upside and the downside of an otherwise fantastic run for a high-performance CCA rating product.

Which, can leave the question of “how much of a CCA rating does one even need to start up a car?”

That number is not set in stone—and you are going to look at different factors to get your answer:

SUCH AFFECTING FACTORS ARE
• The size of your car engine (telling you right now; group size of your battery matters, not just CCA).
• The resistance of your circuits (troubleshooting ahead of time may be beneficial, indeed).
• The temperature of your environment (no questions here, and it even helps to measure out these variables when possible).
• A load of your car (might be a nitpick than a general guideline, but so many applications and things running at the same time can affect performance).
• The cylinder of your car engine (between a 4-cylinder engine system and an 8-cylinder engine system, the cold cranking requirements are different; some need more amperage, and some need it at a faster distribution rate).

In the case, if you were in a place like Australia, it may prove to be unwise to invest in a high rating for your CCA due to the presence of a warmer temperature condition over in that country.

OH, ALSO

Just a little bit more on that small “nitpick”—check out these amperage requirements for the applications of your cars.

• Radio can be as much as 5-amp
• Wipers of Windshield can be as much as 7 and a half-amp
• Headlamps can be as much as 40-amp (for both)
• Lighting Systems for Park, Interior, Brake, Bonnet or Boot can be as much as 27-amps (for all five)
• Horn can be as much as 4-amp
• Specialty Window System can be as much as 5-amp
• System for Coolers can be as much as 14-amp
• System for Ignition can be as much as 9-amp

Even if the issue is the temperature of your country, an ideal CCA is always variable to your particular requirements.

What Car Battery Has The Highest CCA, Then?

If you are looking for CCA without sacrificinsg the quality of all the other parts, it is tough to beat these two battery products below:

The 34 RedTop Optima
• 800 in CCA
• 15-X the resistance to vibration than other batteries
• 50 in terms of an ampere per hours capacity
• 100 in minutes as an RC
• Flexible in just about any mount

The 65-PC 1750T Extreme Odyssey
• 950 in CCA
• The much longer cycle of life relative to other batteries
• 6 hours in terms of full re-charge
• 145 in minutes as an RC
• Excellent resistance to different vibration threats

What Is The Best Car Battery For Cold Weather?

If you are looking for CCA without taking into account the other factors but the cold, it will be relatively easy to search for many a product:

ROUGH ESTIMATE
• Get a product that contains at least 650 in CCA or even 800 (and beyond) in CCA.
What is a good CCA rating for a car battery if it cannot take the cold (its natural nemesis), right? —any battery product with the high range is good to go.