I have a 2005 Subaru Legacy and recently purchased a new Champion battery for it. I looked in the book at the store and found the battery that is supposed to be for my car. When I got it home I noticed a few differences. First, the new battery is slightly taller than the original. It still fits ok though. But my real concern is the numbers on the new battery don't match the numbers on the old battery. The original battery size group was 85 and the new battery size group is 35. The original battery cold cranking amps was 430 and the number on the new battery is 640. Does anyone know if this is going to cause problems? Might I be running too much power if I keep the new one?

Cold Cranking amps - higher is better. You're fine.

More CCA is better. As long as it fits and the hood (or anything else metal) doesn't contact the terminals, you are good to go.

As others already indicated....more cranks are always good.

I would only be concerned if the battery is too tall for the hood and hold down or if it's situated in the car's cabin and vent hose is not connected.

Other than that you're good to go.

Man this site is great. Thanks for all the quick replys. There is good clearance between the hood and the top of the battery so I think I am all good. Thanks again guys.

Enjoy your new battery! Having additional CCA's in the Winter is a really good idea--especially if you like to listen to the radio without the car's engine running.

 

A slightly larger battery has more charged plate surface area, so will last longer on a "dead draw" scenario, as outlined above. It's still ONLY 12 Volts, so it can't "over-power" your electronics.

 

Some of those crazy-loud boom-boom cars driving down the road had dual battery systems installed to run those gigantic speakers. Still ONLY 12 Volts, so the rest of the car's electronics are fine. So your little battery being just a smidge taller won't amount to a hill of beans, unless you leave the lights on by accident and then need to start the car. Then that lil' extra will help you out.......

 

Dave

I am a deka battery dealer i just looked up your battery it is a group 35 and their are 3 diffrent ones offered from deka..

 

so as long as you have a group 35 battery you are good to go..

When the battery went in my truck, It would go dead every other week. the dealer would not warranty it, 3years and 1 month old and 4,200 miles. he had the balls to ask me if I wanted to replace it with the same delco batt. I just looked at him an said its getting a optma red top.

ps. more cca the better.