Capable of immense horsepower, torque, and raw power, V8s have come a long way from their lowly beginnings at the turn of the 20th century. Now, more powerful than ever, these brute beasts are also getting more efficient by the day and to a large extent, also smaller.
Not that the size means anything though: the power and numbers keep rising and today, a V8 that is half the size of the L-head V8 engine that General Motors put in their Type 51 can easily produce 5 times the misery 77 horses the 5.1L Cadillac V8 was capable of. Properly tuned, such an engine will easily do 10 (or more times) the numbers without much ado!
However, despite the evolution of these brutes and their fine story of efficiency, what no one has been able to take from a V8 is its finesse and class – at least, relative to four (4) or six (6) cylinder vehicles (turbo/supercharged or not). All other things being equal, such vehicles will always drive smoother and cruise better – the sole reason why they are a must in large, luxury cruiser vehicles (or small sports cars).
That said, the demands of these engines are quite different from smaller ones. What would work on smaller engines without issues will struggle to power or work on a V8. For options that try, they’ll classically pack up sooner than later. One such thing is a portable jump starter.
* * * * *
I’m an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases on Amazon (or any of the merchants recommended herein) if you buy from products or services linked to in this article; without any further cost to you. For my full affiliate disclosure, please follow the navigational links labeled ‘Affiliate Disclosure’ and contained in both the menu above and the footer, below.
* * * * *
How Does An ICE Engine Crank?
The cranking of an Internal Combustion Engine, ICE, starts with the insertion of the ignition key into the key assembly or for keyless models, the depression of the start/stop button with the keyfob in proximity.
When this happens, the Engine Control Unit, ECU, sends a signal to the motor of the vehicle to ‘kick’ in and turn the flywheel of the vehicle, leading to the ignition of the fuel (gasoline or diesel) and its subsequent burning in order to produce power, by means of the piston strokes.
However, this is where it gets very interesting: the starter that needs to turn the flywheel that in turn, turns the engine into life is powered by the starter battery: the starter battery is what gives the motor the electrical power to turn in the first place.
This is why, when you have a weak battery, the process is super sluggish and conversely, when you have a bad/failing motor, no matter the efforts your battery makes indirectly through you, the vehicle remains dead.
The starter, turning the flywheel, which is itself powered by the battery, is thus the most important piece of the ICE puzzle, at least, pre-cylinder ignition and combustion. Pay close note of these components and how they work; this will be very important in the next section.
So, why does a V8 engine need a special jumper?
Photo Credit: Julia Avamotive via Pexels.
Why Does A V8 Need A Special Jumper?
A V8 needs a special, bigger portable jumper because larger engines like it naturally bear larger flywheels and crankshafts.
Remember how the starter turns the flywheel? Now, because these engines, by design, need a larger flywheel/crankshaft to work, they also need a larger-than-usual starter to turn their crankshafts and get things going. This is where the need for a special jumper actually enters.
Do you remember that the battery is what powers the starter (that powers the flywheel that in turn, turns the engine by means of the crankshaft?) With a larger battery 100Amps (or more, most of the time), you need a higher-rated jumper to boost these sorts of batteries, conveniently.
But, won’t a smaller jumper work, since it is just battery boosting? You ask.
Well, if you are really strapped for cash, a less-than-ideal or less-than-recommended jumper for your V8 will work and get you to actually jump and start your vehicle.
However, just like a less-than-ideal starter battery will crank and start a vehicle with a requirement of a higher amped battery, you should be prepared for the damage such a jumper will face and an ‘end of service life’ that will of necessity, come sooner than later.
To avoid this, it is recommended that you actually opt for a jumper that is powerful enough to jump a V8 engine with a larger-than-usual battery, starter, and crankshaft.
What Sort Of Jumper Fits A V8?
You now know that a jumper needs to be large enough to cater for the battery, starter, and crankshaft offset to be able to do its jump-starting duty by a V8.
However, ‘large’ is largely a relative term. How large exactly does the jumper need to be to perform these tasks without either underperforming or giving itself out for premature wear or failure?
Here’s a general guide below.
1. Look For The Guide
The age of making things difficult and relying on experts to decode information for you as a person is long gone. This is why, with a smartphone today, you can Google Albert Einstein’s famous E=MC2 and in a matter of minutes, get a grasp of all that Einstein stood for and instead of being confused like everyone else, actually enjoy the man’s brilliance (the brilliance that has continued to confuse generations of humanity)!
Guides for portable jumpers today are much like the internet today; you don’t need to have a Ph.D in Physics to understand them or what things they fit or will serve. Usually, they are written clearly on the units and in plain English too.
For instance, the Noco GB 150 is rated to be able to conveniently jump gasoline vehicles with up to 9 liters of engine displacement and diesel-powered engines with up to 7 liters of displacement.
With such a guide, all that is needed from your own part is simply to know (not even understand) your vehicle’s engine displacement and that would be all.
The guide is thus all you need to make an intelligent and smart decision and the manufacturer of your chosen jumper will often provide this information to you for free.
2. If There’s No Guide, Consider The Rating
The guide above is awesome; but, it is not always that a guide exists.
As a matter of fact, there are many jumpers today that do not have an express guide badge slapped on their bodies. The implication of this is that bought used or found away from the portal of sale, gleaming this information would be near impossible.
This is where looking for and understanding the rating comes in. As a general rule, a jumper that is rated from 1300 Amps will tackle the job smartly. However, ideally, you should be shopping for an option that has a rating of 1500 Amps or above.
The general rule here is to look at the cold cranking Amps of your original starter battery in the V8 you desire to jump when that battery gets weak. Since you are boosting the entire starter battery, which then turns the crankshaft, it makes absolute sense to ensure that the Amps rating on the portable jumper at least doubles the value on the starter battery (or is as close to doubling it as you can financially get)
If your starter battery is rated at 750 cold Amps, you’re looking at a jumper that is rated 1500 Amps, at least. This is the logic behind the selection of the magic number, ‘1500’ as most V8s in passenger cars and trucks today are powered by starter batteries around that range.
3. As A Rule Of Thumb, Always Go Bigger
Another way of going about this is to simply buy the largest portable jumper you can afford.
This means, for every series or models you’re interested in, simply look at the top of the model and pay for it – it is as simple as that. The logic is that, no matter how conservative a brand is, its flagship models will certainly be designed with the capacity and durability to handle the challenges and stress a V8 traditionally is capable of.
However, looked at financially, this makes little sense. Though, if your pockets are very deep, there are surprisingly many good things to benefit from this route, if you choose it.
Advantage-wise, many companies/brands today give their flagship models their all while sacrificing both the designs and abilities of the lesser/lower models.
Buying at the top of the chain means you’re buying the very best companies have to offer; no stories. This reality will ultimately translate to more power, more vehicle jumps, and usually too, more durability, especially in the long run.
Cons-wise, you’ll be spending more money (as most of the flagships don’t come cheap).
You’ll also need longer times to charge the batteries in the large jumpers you end up getting and ultimately, you’ll need to deal with more weight – which though won’t be very noticeable, will nevertheless still be there.
And, yes, you’ll also be paying more money (sometimes 2-5x) than you should ordinarily have paid (on a lesser model that would still have served).
If money is a challenge or the economy is super tight (as it is now in many parts of the world now), going this route may not be the smartest thing you could do or the best route you should take.
However, assuming money isn’t the problem, I can’t imagine any better method since once you get such a jumper, you’ll be assured of being able to always jump any vehicle you come across without even looking at their starter battery size or the CCAs.
The Best Portable Jumper For A V8
The best portable jumper for a V8 is the Noco Boost GB 50: it is, without any iota of doubt, the only jumper that has passed all the rigorous test I carried out to ensure that the recommended unit for a large displacement engine such as a V8 must possess.
These tests were many and varied; importantly too, they were focused on various areas of the jumper’s ability vis a vis the stress the V8 will put it through. I also considered other metrics, including (but not limited) to portability.
The first test I looked at was what I called ‘the displacement test‘. Here, I was interested in looking at the Amps rating of the jumper carefully and comparing this figure with what a traditional V8 requires. The Noco GB 50 is rated for 1500 Amps; most passenger V8s and trucks also have their starter batteries rated around 750-850 CCA – which is just about half (or a little more) of what the jumper is rated for.
Remember the guide above and how it is instructive to always have your original (weak or dead) starter battery’s rated max, Amp wise and not going over half or a third of this? The GB 50 fitted this bill, perfectly.
Secondly, I carried out what I refer to as ‘the balance test‘. Here, the main aim was to compare all the options available and see which had the best balance of usable and practical features as against models that had non-practical features serving only to boost the final price or simply complicate things.
Many models presented functions that only served to bloat the bill and which, in the true sense of the word, had no direct benefits for a traditional V8 needing a jump.
For instance, the lights on many units beyond the flashlight, SOS, and strobe did not make any sense; placing these lights in many different places was also not the most ideal of placements as it only served to make certain that their fragile covering broke, should they fall down.
Again, options like a compressor (for inflating tires) aren’t what most users who have opted for a jumper for their V8 are looking for. Many who need to also inflate tires will simply opt for models that are sturdier and dedicated tire inflators given that V8 models today are generally equipped with tires that are larger than non-V8 models.
It is no doubt that those who buy and actively use V8 engines love luxury and things that are large (in a great way, of course). They also appreciate the finer things of life and are not afraid to go for them. This is exemplified in the fact that the V8 rides extremely smooth, devoid of any vibrations, and as a matter of fact, ensures the sleekest of rides, even under the most demanding conditions.
However, it is not always that those who are interested in such vehicles, or their engines for that matter are looking for the largest thing in the showroom or display glass. Often, being petit-sized has its advantages and may even be preferred, depending on the situation.
This is the classic situation being played out here. The jumper is a unit that users prefer to have quietly and keep out of sight, only taking the same out and deploying it only when the need actually arises. That is why, it needs to be in the trunk, or if space permits, in the glove box (which V8 models always have enough room in). I
t is classed as ‘portable’, remember?
Many otherwise brilliant units were jumped over in favor of the Noco GB 50 and for the many merits the unit in discussion possessed in addition to portability, it could not be resisted.
Finally, I deployed what I called ‘the simplicity of use test‘. Here, what I did was to ensure that any unit that passed and was selected was capable of being used, by a complete novice, without any instructions.
In other words, units that made it here must be super easy to use by one who knows nothing about the jumping process but must proceed based on common sense and basic intuition.
During the test, I found out that the Noco GB 50 is extremely intuitive and easy to use, lending itself to use even by persons who have no idea what a jumper is or persons who were seeing one for the very first time.
To its credit in this regard, the jumper is more or less a ‘plug and play’ unit that one simply needs to, as the name implies, plug and play for the business of jumping to commence in earnest.
The idea behind this thinking is this: vehicles with V8s are usually large engines that are often, also powered by automatic transmissions. In the unfortunate event that their starter battery fails, it stresses the vehicle user more than a conventional, smaller-engined vehicle that can easily be pushed away or a manual tranny that can easily be rolled and started up, old school style.
Beyond The Above, What (Further) Makes The Noco Boost GB 50 A Solid Bet For A V8?
Over and beyond the facts and little tests I conducted above to come to the conclusion that a Noco Boost GB 50 is your best bet if you’re interested in a portable unit that will brilliantly jump a V8, there are other considerations that I also factored that made me eventually come to the conclusion I did.
The reasons here are safety related: after all, you won’t appreciate a repair bill for a V8 when things mess up with its electricals while you are attempting a jump, or worse, you are harmed while trying to jump a battery that is dead or weak in your vehicle.
Why add gasoline (trouble to yourself or your vehicle) to an already burning fire (battery failure)?
1. Reverse Polarity Protection
Many car owners today actually fear their starter batteries and would rather have nothing to do with it. At face value, this may be confusing and for an experienced hand, wonder may actually flow out.
However, on closer look, thought, and inspection, what these motorists fear is the reality of getting something wrong and the rude consequences likely to follow.
One such fear and anxiety is the mismatch of the terminals and what will likely come of it when/if they are connected wrongly.
Granted, the jumpers/starter batteries are clearly labeled and may even be color-coded to avoid such errors and misjudgment with the negative terminals/cables always black and the positive terminals/cables always coded red.
However, one can be in a hurry, have sight issues, be in the dark, be absent-minded etc. and completely forget to take a proper look. Other possibilities are a kid attempting the procedure or a teenager without experience becoming involved. The options and possible scenarios are truly endless.
This is where the Noco GB 50 portable jumper distinguishes itself: no matter which cable goes to which terminal, there will be no damage or negative effects. For the right cables, connected to the right terminals, power will be delivered and everything will work as intended.
However, if the converse should instead hold true and the cables are routed wrongly, an audible alarm instead sounds, alerting you to the mistake and allowing you the opportunity to correct and fix things right without any damage. This singular reality inspires confidence (in dealing with batteries) in such a manner that is unprecedented.
2. Spark Proof Technology
Connecting the cables of the portable jumper wrongly to the terminals of your V8 isn’t the worst that can happen to you or your vehicle, safety-wise. As a matter of fact, it is just one of the things that can go wrong and cause you both distress and sleepless nights.
A closely allied challenge, capable of causing almost equal (or even more grief) is the presence of a spark, especially when it happens with one who is not experienced in handling such matters and certainly, wasn’t expecting such a spark in the first place.
The most common reaction is a reflex jerk that may see to it that grip is lost on fragile things held, causing damage or for the very delicate of persons, jumping back and injuring themselves in the process.
Unfortunately, this appears to be a pretty normal occurrence when jumping batteries and for the initiated, they don’t even give it much thought. For the first time now, however, novices (and those who are super sensitive) can actually jump their starter batteries without any fear of a spark ensuing.
The built-in spark-proof protection of the Noco GB 50 Boost actively sees to it and prevents any sort of sparks when connecting, when connected, or when attempting to undo a connection; and curiously, this protection holds true whether or not the cables/terminals are aligned in the right order or not.
3. High-Temperature Protection
The challenges circuits and panels have isn’t limited to the dangers of wrong connections and sparks alone. Generally, circuits and panels don’t go well with heat and when both are forced to exist together in a place, the likelihood of a challenge is just around the corner.
It is for this reason that your smartphone will rather shut down than allow you to operate it once its temperature (or the surrounding, ambient temperature for that matter) rises/falls up (or down) to a certain point.
Unfortunately, what many jumpers offer today is just a warning regarding the maximum temperature tolerance of its circuitry and internals. The implication of this sort of design is that they’ll practically keep working even when the temperature isn’t suitable.
This can with time and the right factors, cause melting and even possibly, a fire. Or, on the cold side, extreme contractions leading to catastrophic failures.
The Noco GB 50 jumper recommended here is a step ahead in this regard. The unit, once its immediate surrounding temperature reaches 122ºF (on the hot side) and -4ºF (on the low end) will shut off. This happens as a safety measure to protect the unit and also, protect you, the user.
To get the jumper to work again, you must make certain that the temperature is just right for it. It will work no other way.
Conclusion And Alternatives
A V8 is a joy to drive and own. However, like all good things, it comes with its own special peculiarities. One such is that, because of its often larger-than-normal displacement, not all accessories or jumpers will do justice to its systems, especially when it comes to critical components like its battery, starter, and crankshaft.
This is why, for trouble-free motoring and ease of jumping your V8, I wholly recommend the Noco GB 50.
However, I know that there may be instances when the GB 50 may not be your best bet. For instance, if you own a truly large truck (like the Ford F350 Super Duty), then, you need something up and truly badass.
Also, if you own something that isn’t a truck, but has an immense V8 engine, with a displacement way bigger than what we know and understand in traditional passenger vehicles, then, the GB50 won’t simply fly.
If the above aptly summarizes your situation, then, your best bet remains the Noco GBX 155 or if you still prefer to remain within the GB lane (and there are great reasons why you should), then the Noco GB 150 is a solid option (and will faithfully serve you for years to come).