Car battery - What you should know before making a purchase

Updated Sep 11, 2019 | Same topic: Best Advice for Car Buyers

Choosing the right battery for your car is very important to ensure its excellent performance on the road. Here is some information on how to look for the right one.

The question about what kind of battery you need and how you can be sure that you have picked the correct one has been the question of long-time car owners. If you just purchased a new car, you do not need to worry about this as everything is new.

When it comes down to addressing the question about what sort of battery does my vehicle need, many specialists will initially encourage you to check your car owner's manual, check on the web, or even call your dealer to request help. Your car owner's manual will give you advice on selecting the specific size.

car battery

The question about what kind of battery you need has been the question of long-time car owners

You can likewise check online charts to see what different vehicles utilize a similar kind of battery, and it may also be a smart thought to inquire about a couple of options, for example, lightweight batteries or propelled lithium-ion technologies for better efficiency.

Checking online the battery size is the fastest method to discover the type of battery that fits your vehicle. Let's Philkotse.com find out how to choose the best battery for your car.

batteries

The battery needs to be fully specialized to vehicle items such as its driving style, electronic equipment, and the weather patterns

1. Choosing the right size

The size indicates the length, height, width of the battery itself. It comes in various group sizes that would fit most vehicles’ battery plate. It uses numbers to distinguish the dimensions of battery sizes. These numbers are 34, 35, 65, or 75. Check your owner's manual, or Applications Catalog, to decide the right battery size.

car battery

The size indicates the length, height, width of the battery itself

It is significant that your car battery should fit securely. Refer to your vehicle owner's manual to recognize the group size of your car. You can likewise see the reference guides provided by the battery retailer to get the correct battery size. Purchasing a battery with incorrect size may cause harm to your vehicle.

>>> Read more: 3 essential things to know about a car battery.

2. Choosing the brand

In the car manual, there is a recommendation for a car battery brand that you are recommended to buy. However, if a specific brand is excessively costly and you need to find the most appropriate price and valuable information from the manual, then make the transaction.  

Try not to be tempted to purchase the least expensive brand since it could turn as the costliest battery you have ever purchased. Cheap batteries may likewise be stacked with deformities and defects and can also perform poorly.

Selecting none specified but more affordable battery might lead to constant replacement. This, in the end, will be more than the money you saved when you chose the alternative than your standard car battery.

battery life

Purchasing the battery brand specified in your owner's manual is ideal

>>> Check out: A driver's guide in choosing the right battery brand in the Philippines.

3. Which one - wet cell or dry cell batteries?

Many car owners will ask, what kind of battery does my car need in terms of innovation it uses? This is a choice between wet or a dry cell battery.  Wet cell lead-acid units are the most well-known, the design of these batteries requires topping off with distilled water, yet it is very modest, efficient, and resilient.

Dry cell batteries are more up to date and increasingly proficient. Its electrolyte gel-based design allows for total sealing and requires no ventilation like the wet cell units. One outstanding characteristic for these batteries is their high energy vitality, which allows for lighter, more compact designs.

4. Reserve capacity rating

Reserve capacity rating (RC) means the battery's standing force or power. These are the measure of minutes the battery can consistently supply minimum voltage expected to run a vehicle should the vehicle's alternator or fan belt come up short.

car dead battery

Reserve capacity rating (RC) means the battery's standing force or power

If your battery has an excellent rating level for reserve capacity, when the alternator shows the signs of not working anymore, your car can be activated by battery alone. The reserve capacity rating can be recorded in minutes.

You may not find the ratings on the battery since it is not printed on the label. Instead, you can check the literature, or you can ask the salesman to find out the actual rating of a battery.

The longer the battery reserve capacity works, the better, since this is the one characteristic of the battery that could spare you from being stranded.

5. Age of the battery

The age of the battery provides you an idea on to what extent it can perform. A car battery can be considered an old-timer if it is three years old and above. It can last well past three years; however, have its current condition checked every year when it reaches the three-year mark.

Its life cycles run from three-to-five years, depending on how you take care of your battery. Your bad driving habits, the less frequent maintenance can radically shorten the actual life of your car battery.

car battery

The age of the battery provides you an idea on to what extent it can perform

Search for the maker's date code stepped on the battery case or mark. The date is usually a 2-character code, as "L4": the letter speaks to the month (A = January, B = February, etc.), and the number speaks to the year (4 = 2014, 5 = 2015, and so on.). Less than six months is considered fresh. Pick the battery nearest to the present date.

>>> Grasp your attention: 7 factors that affect your car's battery life expectancy.

6. Absorbed glass mat technology

AGM innovation has made some fantastic progress, and numerous car specialists would suggest it, particularly when you're not enthusiastic about car maintenance, and you like your car to run without requiring much battery maintenance. Many would ask if what sort of battery their vehicle needs to ensure they don't have to top it off and careful about shaking it.

Absorbed glass mat battery is the right answer. This sealed battery innovation has been around since the 1980s, and it's extraordinary perfect for limiting internal resistance and increasingly adding to the electrical effectiveness to your car system.

car battery

AGM innovation has made some fantastic progress

7. Maintenance-free battery

With the improvement of innovation these days, a large portion of vehicle batteries is maintenance-free, which do not need any special attention. However, there are still a few battery brands that require loading up with water occasionally. In this way, to avoid any problem in the future, you should purchase a support free battery at whatever possible.

>>> Super important: 5 simple tips to care for your car battery.

8. Purchase a battery that has a good reputation

Purchasing a battery which has excellent reviews is a smart decision as car lovers and consumer communities try this battery. Read reviews or checking customer reports on commercial sites can help you to get information about the battery or different kinds of batteries sold there. People regularly review car batteries based on their capacity and life span.

replacing your battery

Read reviews or checking customer reports on commercial sites can help you to get information

You will presumably need to supplant the vehicle battery on more than one occasion during the life of your vehicle since it gets old or exhausted from presentation to warmth and continued charging and releasing

Liza Campos

Liza Campos

Author

Majoring in Physical Therapy during College, Liza started her career as a Sales Assistant and then joined Philkotse since 2018 as a freelance writer. She loves to challenge herself in different fields, just as much as how she loves travelling.

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