Any reason not to go with a larger battery?

9

99Saturn

Joined
Feb 25, 2013
Messages
2,065
Location
NY
2013 Chevy Cruze LS with the 1.8L

Time to replace the battery, my understanding is it comes with a H5 originally and the battery tray fits a size H6 or H7. General consensus from a bit of googling seems to be there is no harm in upgrading to a larger size and the CCA and reserve capacity should go up a bit.

I have to shop around a bit but leaning to one from Sam's Club:

H5 @ Sam's Club

H6 @ Sam's Club

Seems like size H7 is not sold in that price range - at least not seeing it online.
 
there is no harm in using a larger physical size battery if it will fit. some will argue that within the same physical case size a higher cca (eg more plates) is not better because the more numerous plates are crammed closer together thereby increasing the chance of shorting between the plates as the battery ages and sheds sulfate. indeed the OEM Lexus 24F is a 582cca battery that will easily last 7yrs whereas the "premium" aftermarket versions are 700+ cca and most don't expect more than 5yrs out of them.

so is this theory true??? hard to say.

I go by price. when the "premium" battery is nearly 2x the price it's not a good deal. that extra plate is not going to make it last 2x as long. it may be worth 7/6 the price (going from 6 plates to 7) but no more.
 
Autozone has the 650 CCA H5, the 730 CCA H6, and the 800 CCA H7.

Duralast Gold…

Same price…
 
99Saturn said:
2013 Chevy Cruze LS with the 1.8L

Time to replace the battery, my understanding is it comes with a H5 originally and the battery tray fits a size H6 or H7. General consensus from a bit of googling seems to be there is no harm in upgrading to a larger size and the CCA and reserve capacity should go up a bit.

I have to shop around a bit but leaning to one from Sam's Club:

H5 @ Sam's Club

H6 @ Sam's Club

Seems like size H7 is not sold in that price range - at least not seeing it online.
Click to expand...
Everything ,else, being equal, a larger battery will last longer than a smaller battery.
 
mattwithcats said:
Autozone has the 650 CCA H5, the 730 CCA H6, and the 800 CCA H7.

Duralast Gold…

Same price…
Click to expand...
atikovi said:
H7 at Walmart for $170 with 4 year warranty, https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Platinum-BOXED-AGM-Battery-Group-Size-H7-12V-850-CCA/660415303, but really, a 1.8L engine doesn't need that much starting power even in upstate NY. Even their $60 battery will be fine. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Everstart-Value-24F-1/257431294
Click to expand...
H5 and H6 @ Sam's are showing $130, hence why I was leaning that way. Duralast Gold is showing $200, at least by me.
 
Not everybody has a shopping club membership nor lives near one, hence the Walmart suggestion. Most of us here are smart enough not to buy overpriced batteries from AZ or AA unless in an emergency.
 
Walmart also has the Ford Fusion size (96R, H5?) for $100, or did until recently. It does NOT show online, might be worth cruising through a B&M store. 2 year warranty red label, worth it if you can get Deka.
 
Why do many of these battery recommendation posts assume you have a club membership? I mean, I could post prices of parts I bought at my Toyota dealer at 35% off list, but if few people can actually buy it at that price, it's not very useful.
 
I upsize when I can. A battery’s capacity reduces gradually over time and generally starts above it’s rated capacity, according to data shown by members here. So if you get a little bigger, you’re adding more padding. H6 is a nice size battery, and H7 gets into “luxury-sized” if you like the extra capacity.
 
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atikovi said:
Not everybody has a shopping club membership nor lives near one, hence the Walmart suggestion. Most of us here are smart enough not to buy overpriced batteries from AZ or AA unless in an emergency.
Click to expand...
atikovi said:
Why do many of these battery recommendation posts assume you have a club membership? I mean, I could post prices of parts I bought at my Toyota dealer at 35% off list, but if few people can actually buy it at that price, it's not very useful.
Click to expand...
Rereading my OP and maybe it could have been clearer. I wasn’t looking for recommendations really - was just curious about any negative impact from a larger size if any (as questioned in the title) and was adding the rest for context.

That said recommendations are fine but I’m just going to go by price and warranty at the end of the day. Was replying above to you and @mattwithcats because I wasn’t sure if pricing was region in the Sam’s links I provided in the OP. The $130 price is attractive to me versus what else is out there.

And sorta off topic but I get it on the club membership, I actually don’t have one either but FWIW there are plenty of sign up for a membership and get the first years membership back in a gift card (I have one for Sam’s sitting in my inbox $45 membership and get $45 gift card.🍻
 
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