How to choose a car battery?

Sooner or later, every car owner faces the problem of choosing a battery best suited to their vehicle. At a first glance, most car batteries manufactured today are sold as “zero maintenance” and, as such, do not require from its owner any special knowledge or skills. However, it’s not that simple.

To make the correct car battery choice, one has to understand the basic terms and definitions, such as:

Capacitance – the first parameter worth paying attention to when buying a car battery. It is measured in ampere hours; e.g. “60 Аh” means that during 20 hours, the battery should provide 3 А of current. Remember that the capacitance tends to drop significantly when the outside temperature decreases or the battery ages. The extensive range of AKOM battery capacitances includes 45, 55, 60, 62, 65, 66, 74, 75, 90, 100, 140, 190 Аh batteries;
Reserve capacitance – for a battery with rated capacitance 55 Аh, the reserve capacitance is approximately 90 minutes. It means that the car can be powered by the battery for approximately 1.5 hours.
Cold cranking – current shows the current that the battery should provide during a certain period of time at °−18°С.On average, 480 А is enough. Theoretically, the higher the current, the better.
Polarity – location of the pole terminals on the battery body. Direct and reversed (euro) polarities exist. Direct polarity: positive pole terminal “plus” is to the left when the battery is positioned with its front face to the user. Reversed polarity is the opposite.
Dimensions of terminals – the negative terminal is somewhat smaller than the positive; besides, terminals can be Asian or European type. Asian (thin) terminals are usual on Japanese cars, whereas European terminals are common for domestic automobiles and are a standard option for European and Russian cars. Battery overall dimensions: in addition to the electrical characteristics, battery choice should be based on the design of your car (installation place, mounting method), taking into account the length, width and height of the battery. First of all, it is important for cars with tight engine compartments and atypical battery placement.

If the car does not have additional power consumers installed, then, as a rule, the new battery should meet the recommendations of the automobile manufacturing plant. For cars with minimum options package, we recommend the Bravo battery line, while the AKOM product line is best suitable for cars with standard options. However, if the car is equipped with a powerful audio system, additional security system and/or a major power consumer (winch, searchlights, additional fog headlights, heaters, etc.), then it’s worth considering buying a more powerful battery. In that case, we recommend our Reactor product line..


When purchasing a battery, make sure to carefully study the requirements of the operating manual and warranty terms that ensure longevity of the battery and electrical equipment of the car. Voltage on the battery terminals should be at least 12.5 V. Electrolyte density in all 6 cells should be at least 1.25 g/cm3. During starter discharge simulation, the battery voltage should remain within 10.5–11.0 V for 5–8 s.

To help our customers choose a battery best suited to their car, we offer the applicability catalogue in which we have summarized the information concerning modifications and specifications of automobiles. At our website you can also choose a battery by car model or by battery parameters.

Battery production of AKOM Group CJSC uses an advanced Са/Са (calcium-calcium) technology for manufacturing starter batteries for passenger cars. This technology enables production of direct current sources with significantly improved capacitance and voltage while preserving the traditional dimensions, which helps maintain the performance of a state-of-the-art automobile outfitted with multiple power consumers. Ca/Ca technology makes batteries “low-maintenance”: the electrolyte in such batteries does not “boil out,” i. e. water refill is not required during the warranty period. The technology helps increase battery starting currents at negative temperatures (engine start is ensured down to minus 40°C). Owing to the unique composition of the alloys, calcium batteries are more suited to recharging. The use of calcium and the absence of antimony in the alloy enables tripled longevity of the charge in the battery compared to other batteries. It helps implement the latest design developments of the leading automobile manufacturers.

We guarantee 100 % conformity of our batteries to the declared specifications and provide a warranty for the period up to 48 months.