A battery label has a lot of numbers. Here is what the important ones mean.
The group size, set by the Battery Council International (BCI), tells you the battery's physical dimensions, terminal positions and terminal type. Common ones include 35, 51R, 24F, 65 and H6 (also called 48). It has to match what your car was built for. A battery that is the wrong size will not fit the tray or the cables. A letter such as R often means the terminals are reversed, so it is not interchangeable with the same number without the letter.
CCA tells you how much current the battery can deliver in the cold to start the engine. A higher number is generally better for cold starts, but you should meet or exceed what your vehicle calls for, not just chase a big number.
Reserve capacity is how long, in minutes, the battery can run the car's essentials if the alternator fails. A higher number means more buffer.
Many batteries carry a date code that shows when they were made or shipped. Formats vary by brand. A common one is a letter for the month (A for January through L for December) followed by a digit for the year, so a code like K4 would suggest November of a year ending in 4. Some brands simply print the month and year. A battery that has been sitting on a shelf for a long time is not as good as a fresh one.
Use the battery finder on this site to see the group size for your vehicle, or give us a call and we will confirm your exact battery before we arrive.
Use the finder to see which battery your car takes, or call for a test.
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