Hi all, currently looking up battery options and wundered if anyone could help. im running a pinto 1.6 and wishing to know the minimum baytery size for a general road run around 7 im planning on using LED cluster lights but im under the impression it doesnt matter so much as the biggest power user is the starter motor so whats the normal size you all use at what ampage ??

Depends on the money you wish to spend, but i'd go for a redtop bike battery, something like redtop 25. Nice and lightweight but keep it topped up with an optimate charger.

http://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4432

[Edited on 9/4/12 by Ben_Copeland]

A good friend of mine has run a tuned 2.0L pinto on a motorbike battery for years with out any problems. However you must keep up with maintenance of the car and ensure it is in tip top condition so that it will start more or less at first try.

To put it in simple terms the lower the Ah (amp hour) rating of a battery you choose the shorter the life you can expect and the more you need to look after it by charging when not in use.
Every time you discharge a battery (ie use the starter) you damage and reduce the batteries charge capacity to some extent if you discharge a battery by more than about 30% this starts to become noticeable. The more energy is taken from the battery the more damage is done ie you can only discharge a battery to 50% of its capacity and charge it back up a limited number of times.

The standard battery for the Sierra 1.6 is rated at 44 Ah 440 CCA this is the same Ah size as you would find in a typical 1 or 1.1 litre car such as a Fiesta or Rover 100.

A fully charged good quality 14Ah or 17AH battery will start a 1.6 but every start will reduce the amount of Ah the battery can store and the battery will suffer heat damage due to operating close to its rated CCA (Cold Cranking Amps). If you choose such a small battery you will have look after it by maintenance/float charging, avoiding prolonged cranking and connecting a booster battery if the engine doesn't start after the first couple of tries.

Also be aware a due to internal resistance smaller battery won't supply as many amps and volts (ie power) when cranking the engine this will reduce both cranking speed and the volts supplied to the ignition and injection systems.

If you intend to actually use the car for transport rather than purely as a toy I would not recommend choosing a smaller battery than about 35Ah which is typically found in small Asian cars such as the Nissan Micra or Suzuki Swift.
Caterham use a 30Ah battery.

With batteries a a popular fast selling large type will usually be cheaper than a slow selling less popular type.


Battery (short code) type numbers to look at

Type 063, type 007, type 38
or type 83 (Ford lug terminals)
or Type 055, Type 054 (small Japanese terminals)

Known good seller link http://www.tayna.co.uk



[Edited on 9/4/12 by britishtrident]

yeah i use a micra battery in my 2.0L pinto powered car as a daily driver (even through winter) but it does need the occasional charge as i dont drive very far to work (about 4-5 miles) i suppose the point i was trying to make is that huge battery's are not necessary if every thing is kept in good condition. (someone i meet at shows has what looks like a truck battery on his car!)

For anybody wanting to use a bike batteries Looking through the motorcycle batteries at Tayna Batteries I found the Yusa YB16CL-B 19ah but decent CCA at 240 amps. for under £50 inc p&p

http://www.tayna.co.uk/Yuasa-YB16CL-B-Motorcycle-Battery-P8614.html