High Performance Automotive Batteries for Cars, Trucks & SUVs

Nothing is worse than getting into your vehicle and turning the key, only to hear a click or nothing at all due to a bad battery. Installing a fresh car battery replacement or high performance battery helps ensure easy starting every time, providing the cranking amps you need to use your vehicle on the street or at the track.

Reducing weight on your race vehicle helps to improve its performance as there is less mass to move from the starting line to the finishing line. A standard car battery weighs between 30-40 pounds. Lightweight batteries can reach as low as seven pounds saving you a considerable amount of weight.

Most automotive car batteries last between four to six years. The amount of battery life can vary depending on the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.) as well as use or charge frequency. In many cases, using a trickle charger while a vehicle is in storage or not used for longer periods of time helps lengthen battery life.

The easiest way to dispose of an old car battery is to bring it to your local auto parts store. Most of these businesses promote recycling and will accept batteries free of charge or in some cases offer a small amount of money for them. Another option is a local community hazardous chemical or item drop off event that accepts car batteries certain days of the year.

Depending on the automotive battery type, the materials they are made from can change. Most batteries use a case or housing made from plastic. Inside the battery are a variety of materials that can include coated lead plates (in 12V batteries, six plates arranged in parallel, creating 12.6 volts), sulfuric acid, and distilled water or a silica mixture additive creating a gel.

To check the car battery voltage, a multimeter is required. With the vehicle off and key removed from the ignition, locate the battery and clean the terminals so that they are free of corrosion. Connect the positive red probe of the multimeter to the positive battery terminal. Place the black lead from the multimeter on the negative battery terminal. If the multimeter you are using doesn't have an "auto-range" function, set it to the 20V DC. If the voltage indicated is below 12.4 volts, the battery doesn't have a full charge and needs topped off before proceeding to the next step. To perform a battery load test, the battery first needs to have a full charge. Next, with a battery load tester, connect the leads to the battery terminal. The cranking amps and battery temperature are inputted. The load tester applies a load to the battery equal to half of the cranking amps for around 15 seconds. Based on the voltage indicated under load and compared to a temperature chart, the battery either passes or fails the load test.

The three most common types of automotive batteries include the following: