GS - What amp battery?

[Swedish Paul]

I only replaced it a couple of years ago but it has a 74ah 680a battery. It was the same as what I took out.

 

[Swedish Paul]

Can anybody answer this? There is no indication in the manual.

 

[CatmanV2]

It's not really that much of an issue chap. As long as you get the right size, the higher the CCA the better in some respects, but....

C

 

[cheshiremaserati]

This is the one I have in my GS:


5 year warranty, much higher Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) than your present battery.
Its CCA that really matters, not the Amp Capacity per se.

 

[foibles]

Sorry for the thread revival here.... But on the topic of CCA, my presumption is that there is a material difference in the CCA requirement between a genuinely cold climate, and a much warmer climate? For instance in freezing parts of UK or Europe, 680cca or higher might be needed, whereas in far warmer south of Spain or hong kong or northern australia where temperature never gets below about 12 degrees, a 580cca would be more than sufficient? I'm just challenging the notion that the more cca the better in all circumstances, as more cca would generally translate to a bigger dimension, greater weight and higher cost? I've just gone through this exercise with replacement battery for my 968 CS, where i live in a warm climate, have limited space to fit the battery, and its in a car that was designed around saving any kg it could. Here's hoping i don't spend endless hours stuck away from home with a dead battery!

 

[spkennyuk]

Boosch s5 008 780cca or equivalent.

I would steer clear of the yuassa batteries as if they go flat once they seem to be knackered and then wont hold charge for more than a few days.
I pressume the plates in them are very thin.

I would rather have more cca on the battery than let it struggle to start as the battery ages or cold weather hits.

 

[Zep]

It doesn’t necessarily follow that a battery with lower CCA is lighter, it is more to do with the plate design.

A good example is the Exide battery listed above (770cca) is 17.3kg and the Bosch S4 (780cca) is 18kg, but a budget Euroline 096 battery (680cca) is also 18kg. A Duracell 096 (640cca) is 17.5kg. The Yuasa, which does get a bad rep round here, but is probably no better or worse than most batteries as they all get damaged by going flat, is 740cca and 18.4 kg.

So you pay your money and take your choice, the CA also varies, so the Duracell is 72ah, the Exide 77ah and the Euroline 75ah and the Yuasa 80ah.

So it seems you can probably have your cake and eat it with the Exide. But, at half a kilo variance, they are all absolutely fine.

 

[conaero]

Whilst on the subject of CCA and batteries I spend £140 on one of those Noco jump packs....utter ****, it’s going back.

Did some research on YouTube and they tended to agree.

 

[Tallman]

Given that most of us don’t drive the cars daily, that the UK climate is cold and wet, that these are Italian cars sensitive to low voltage and it would seem to me that the extra cost of a high quality, higher amperage battery is a no brainer. It’s going to last a good few years hopefully so just spend the extra ££ and get close to the best you can get. Replacing a low quality battery more often AND having to put up with the potential trouble can’t be worth it in terms of effort and cost.

 

[CatmanV2]

Whilst on the subject of CCA and batteries I spend £140 on one of those Noco jump packs....utter ****, it’s going back.

Did some research on YouTube and they tended to agree.

Really? I've got one and it's blinding. Turned over the old Jag without even trying. Been thrown at everything that anyone around here has had and still does its thing.

There was one video I saw in Arseville, USA at some impound lot. Proper winter. Cars that had not moved for months with big cast iron blocks. It did about 20 in a row.

Never saw a bad review when I was looking for mine, but I guess you've put yours through some tough trials

C

 

[Zep]

Given that most of us don’t drive the cars daily, that the UK climate is cold and wet, that these are Italian cars sensitive to low voltage and it would seem to me that the extra cost of a high quality, higher amperage battery is a no brainer. It’s going to last a good few years hopefully so just spend the extra ££ and get close to the best you can get. Replacing a low quality battery more often AND having to put up with the potential trouble can’t be worth it in terms of effort and cost.

Ah, but some batteries have high cold cranking amps and some high capacity. It’s a minefield!

 

[Tallman]

Ah, but some batteries have high cold cranking amps and some high capacity. It’s a minefield!

And then there are AGM batteries as well….which are the way to go if you don’t use your car that much - together with a trickle charger

 

[Zep]

And then there are AGM batteries as well….which are the way to go if you don’t use your car that much - together with a trickle charger

AGM yes and no. They need a different charge current, they should be charged at 0.2CA, whereas a std VRLA will take 0.3CA (CA is the capacity in AH). So in use in a non-AGM car they will probably be overcharged and you need a charger / conditioner with an AGM setting.

 

[cheshiremaserati]

It is simple. Put a CTEK or equivalent on it. I have had the GS and the Porsche in storage since February whilst I'm having an extension built. I visted them both in storage and started perfectly and voltage perfect. Thats 4 months so far and nothing untoward, no warning lights, nothing. Warmed them both up. Moved forward and backward in gear. Absolutely fresh and no problems whatsoever.