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Old Mar 19, 2010 | 10:36 PM
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Default Battery CCA

Does anyone have an opinion on minimum requirement for battery Cold Cranking Amps for my LQ4? The battery placement in my '65 Corvette is quite compact so I need the smallest battery that will work. Of course the smaller the batt, the less available cca's. The car will not be run in too cold of weather and will be well maintained. Terminal placement or style is irrelevant - I can wire anything in. I can get a pretty small batt @ 480 - 500cca but I fear that won't do the job. Price is not an object..
Thanks, Frank
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Old Mar 19, 2010 | 11:51 PM
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I have the advance auto special in my 04 GMC LQ4 and 92 Firebird LM7

I dont recall the CCA rating for the batteries, but Ive never had the first issue with either. +5 years on the bird battery and 2 on the truck
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Old Mar 21, 2010 | 02:25 PM
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If you don't have cold weather starts and replace the battery on a regular interval than you can get by with a lot less battery. The battery I am unsing on my LS2 motor seems half the size of the one I had on the original inline 6. But for a summer only car it is more than enough. Bigger CCA is only margin for longer life and tough starts.

I did buy a $40 Battery Tender Junior to the keep the battery alive through the winter. Letting a battery sit partially charged in cold weather really takes the life out of them. The battery tender works perfectly.

I picked out the battery I have by walking the aisle at Sears and Walmart until I found one that looked like the size I wanted.
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Old Mar 21, 2010 | 03:09 PM
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Have you thought about the "street rod / car audio" batteries? I have one in a different (non Gen III) project that is 1/3 the size of a normal battery and is sealed gel style. I can't remember the name of the one I have but it looks similar to this but is a different brand. I'm thinking of putting my second one in the Thunderbird and if I do I will report how it works out.

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Old Mar 21, 2010 | 10:20 PM
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Frank, I know a little about batteries, maybe I can help. Stay away from a 'gel' battery, instead look for an AGM battery. AGM is for Absorbed Gas Mat, it's totally different from a gel battery. An AGM battery can be mounted in any position, even upside down, there are not venting issues or fumes to contend with either. Some of us street rodders will mount these batteries in the passenger compartment, even under the seats. Here is a link to a good source, XS Power batteries.

Also as Pop mentioned, use a Battery Tender (the brand name). I keep them hooked up to our Harleys 24/7 when parked in the garage. The BT will keep the battery at 100% charge all the time, they will also greatly extend the life of a battery, I get 5-6 years life out of the small Harley batteries (they are also AGM).

Hope this helps,
Mike
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Old Mar 21, 2010 | 11:18 PM
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Great info fellas, thanks. I've never heard of agm bateries, I'll look into them. I do use a battery tender and do experience much extended battery life in my Harley's as well. So with keeping the fact that I do 'tend' my batteries I need to know some opinions of the minimum cca's that I could get away with for a 6.0l in non-extreme conditions.
Thanks, Frank

Last edited by 00fxd; Mar 21, 2010 at 11:37 PM.
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Old Mar 23, 2010 | 08:53 PM
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Any thoughts?
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Old Mar 23, 2010 | 09:06 PM
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Running an AGM battery in the coupe.
A little more $ than a standard one, but I won't use another Craptima battery/ gel cell ever again.
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