Best battery for cold weather

[SubLGT]

Ok well that scares me! Because I cannot take a 3 to 4 hours trip, not with work or on the weekends. It will be hard to drive around for 3 hours also. I don't know where I would go! They told me the battery comes full charged. I was going to ask the dealership while they are doing my oil change to check the Deka and give it some juice of it needs it. But now that you say it will not work to give it 100% with an external charger that is concerning.

No reason to be scared or panic or change your driving routine.

A battery at 80% state of charge can still provide plenty of CCA to start your vehicle at -10F. Just drive as you always have the last 10 years. A 100% state of charge is not required to start your car at cold temperature, but it does increase battery life.

How long did your NAPA battery last?

 

[rcs]

Don't need to over-react to what SubLGT recommended. While his suggestion is theoretically a good practice to "optimize" the battery's initial state of charge, nearly everyone just installs the new battery and drive away normally without any detrimental effect on the battery's lifespan. If you are that concerned, just request the Batteries Shack store to put it on a charger overnight before you pick it up. Tell them up-front that you want to see their test results for the Deka battery's state of charge % when you pick it up.

Thanks for that suggestion! I will surely have them test it and show me the results. I am having a friend pick it up since I will be at work.

 

[rcs]

No reason to be scared or panic or change your driving routine.

A battery at 80% state of charge can still provide plenty of CCA to start your vehicle at -10F. Just drive as you always have the last 10 years. A 100% state of charge is not required to start your car at cold temperature, but it does increase battery life.

How long did your NAPA battery last?

I had the NAPA battery for 4 years with the 3 year warranty! That to me was a pretty good run. That battery I purchased at the NAPA store and had a friend put it in for me. I did not think about it at all in terms of it being charged or not. Yikes! Live and learn...I am alot more informed now. I just assumed it came charged and ready to go!

 

[SubLGT]

I had the NAPA battery for 4 years with the 3 year warranty! ..

Your new battery will also last at least 4 years with your current driving pattern.

If you want it to live longer, and don't mind "babysitting" the battery, hook it up to a battery charger once or twice a month during the cold half of the year.

 

[rcs]

Your new battery will also last at least 4 years with your current driving pattern.

If you want it to live longer, and don't mind "babysitting" the battery, hook it up to a battery charger once or twice a month during the cold half of the year.

I was just researching those battery chargers on BITOG and on google! Thanks for the advice.

 

[andrew_j]

I put a Honda battery in my 2015 Pilot last year out of convenience when wife ended up with dead battery near Honda dealer. The tech walked over jumped, drove into shop and installed for $220 so no complaints.

I ski and had no issues with -10 to -15F AM starts in northern VT and Maine sitting overnight last winter.

 

[rcs]

I put a Honda battery in my 2015 Pilot last year out of convenience when wife ended up with dead battery near Honda dealer. The tech walked over jumped, drove into shop and installed for $220 so no complaints.

I ski and had no issues with -10 to -15F AM starts in northern VT and Maine sitting overnight last winter.

They are good batteries Andrew, and even though it is only 2 months old at this time I don't like the way my car starts with it. But appreciate your thoughts and the confidence in the battery. The original did last me 3 years.
But it takes 1 or 2 cranks then the engine turns over and it is 60 degrees in my garage and 40 degrees outside. I don't think it is the alternator because I had that checked last month. Their battery is made by Johnson Controls/Clarios.
With the NAPA Legend I had you turn the key and the engine turns over right away.

 

[Nesterenko]

So a very big hug to ALL of you who took your time and especially your patience to help me navigate through this dilemma, and of course provided your expertise.

I am going to have the dealership install it tomorrow when I have my oil changed!

DIY on the battery swap and the OC. Also, you can skip the hugs.

 

[rcs]

DIY on the battery swap and the OC. Also, you can skip the hugs.

LOL,...being a women I like to give hugs...okay I will skip them...

 

[rcs]

Just as an update for today...The Deka Ultimate battery is in and the Honda battery is out. I noticed right away the crank speed started it right up, like a jet engine! So very happy for all of your suggestions,...I knew to stay with East Penn, but was unaware of the Deka name. Thanks guys!
Next week new rotor's and pads.
Honda has changed their OEM choices....they are using Advics in the front and Akebono's in the rear! I am going to put that in the other thread as an information notice for others.

 

[eljefino]

So what are you doing with your two month old Honda battery?

 

[philipp10]

Unless you are driving junk pretty much any battery will start your car. I buy the cheapest batteries carried by Walmart. I think they are 12 month warranty. They start all my cars in Minnesota just fine.

 

[philipp10]

Okay all that video did was scare me I don’t ever want to hear that sound from my car, yikes!

That's nothing. You should of heard the sound of an old Camry I used to drive. At 20 below the car literally screamed.

 

[rcs]

So what are you doing with your two month old Honda battery?

Saving it in my garage

 

[rcs]

That's nothing. You should of heard the sound of an old Camry I used to drive. At 20 below the car literally screamed.

OMG philipp LOL...that would drive me crazy! I had the warble/rubbing noise with the Aisin water pump kit that my indy mechanic put in and it drove me crazy! I went to the dealership and had it changed out and put all new OEM Honda parts in. When stopped at a light and the car next to me has screaming belts or noises,...I just can't understand how people don't take care of their cars and drive around like that. As a matter of fact, I have seen in the last 2 weeks in parking lot's 3 people whose coolant was leaking all over the ground,...geesh!

 

[scoostraw]

Anything made by Deka/East Penn is good, including that Napa battery

Is there a way to look at a battery and tell who manufactured it?

 

[Hall]

Is there a way to look at a battery and tell who manufactured it?

Sometimes

 

[JimPghPA]

Walmart sells the 24F MAXX and it has 725 CCA rating. The Walmart near me had an online only price roolback of $88.00 for a while and I got one and put it in on Sept 11, 2022. It tested 1117 CCA new on my tester in store when it was at the normal warm temperature inside the store. The last time I tested it was 12/21/2022 it tested 1030 CCA and the vehicle had not been driven for a day and my IR temperature gun showed the battery temperature was 38.0 F

They have a 3 yerar warranty.

And while wind chill has no effect on mechanical things that are not alive, it is still something that you personally will have to deal with if you're stuck out in the middle of nowhere and you're walking because the vehicle won't run.

 

[JimPghPA]

RCS, you are 100% right to be looking for the highest CCA you can get if you live where it gets very cold. The actual cranking amps decreases as the battery gets colder. And also the cranking amps your vehicle requires to start increases when it gets colder.

So, you have two curves going on here, the battery dropping CC as the temp gets colder, and the engine requiring more CC as the temperature gets colder. When the temp gets cold enough that the engine requires more CC than the battery can put out the engine will not start. So, a battery with more CC means that too cold to start temperature becomes a colder temp than it would be with a battery with less CC.

Also, an oil with 0W for the first number will flow better than an oil with a 5W or higher first number and if the oil flows well when cold the engine will be easier to start than the same engine with the higher first number oil.

 

[rcs]

RCS, you are 100% right to be looking for the highest CCA you can get if you live where it gets very cold. The actual cranking amps decreases as the battery gets colder. And also the cranking amps your vehicle requires to start increases when it gets colder.

So, you have two curves going on here, the battery dropping CC as the temp gets colder, and the engine requiring more CC as the temperature gets colder. When the temp gets cold enough that the engine requires more CC than the battery can put out the engine will not start. So, a battery with more CC means that too cold to start temperature becomes a colder temp than it would be with a battery with less CC.

Also, an oil with 0W for the first number will flow better than an oil with a 5W or higher first number and if the oil flows well when cold the engine will be easier to start than the same engine with the higher first number oil.

Thanks Jim. I was able to purchase a Deka Battery with 880 CCA's (I think, I know it is higher than the original Pilot one of only 650 CCA's) from a store that sells them. I just Googled Deka and this one store came up. Thankfully it has been very good so far.