what would be better for the time being

[boxpontie on24]

a high output altenater

or

anther batt.

i plan on gettin both now but i want the most afective thing for now.

?????

[pornstar]

if you play your system more with the Car off sittin in parking lots. then a battery would be better.

if you play your system more with the car on while daily driving. then an alternator.

if you have a good high output alt, and all you do is daily drive, there isnt even a real need for asecond battery, though it doesnt hurt.


the alt puts out more Power than the battery does.

and if your electrical system is having a hard time keeping up right now. a second bat will actually make it worse, because now your stock alt will have to try to power your system and charge TWO batteries.


if you plan to get both, and have the money for it now, get the alt first.

and of course, make sure you upgrade the wiring under the hood. its the second best thing you can do to the electrical system.

[FocalRock4Life]

well the most effective thing is gonna be the HO Alternator, if you have that you don't really need the battery but it wouldn't hurt to get one. whereas if you got the battery first you would eventually need the HO Alternator because thew attery won't help as much as you would think.

Hope this helps

[boxpontie on24]

the reason i ask is becaue last night i was drivin and i notice that the lights in my dash was beatin to the music,but i have a 1 farad cap. and i wasnt expecting that so i figured that i need a new alt cause is a old Car as u see in my sig.

thanks for the help i love this forum :P

[pornstar]

get the alt. and get rid of the cap.

[boxpontie on24]

what are some good prices to look for and a good ampage

[pornstar]

depends.

are you looking for good prices. or good quality.


the amperage depends on what you are runnign for amps. and how you use your system.

ie do you daily drive, or do you compete.

if you compete, what org and class do you compete in.

how many amps, what brand and model of amps, what DCR are you wired to. how many watts, etc...

then you can determine how many amps your alt should be for best performance in yoru vehicle with your system.


and a big factor on the alternator, is what you want out of an alt. whether you want a cheap price for something that may or may not last. or whether you want a higher price for something that is proven to work and you know will last.

feed us some more info and we'll go from there.

[boxpontie on24]

its in a daily car and when i drive i play it loud.

and i would like to get a good alt for a good price.

i got a 895 watt mtx amp(04 model)

i think i got the questions u asked is there anything else u nee to know.

[ROE]

if you are planning to get something other than an oem/oem equivalent alt., be sure to look for one that has a turn-on speed equal to around your idle rpm as it's known for ho alts to have a higher turn-on.

[galacticmonkey]

^ yeah, it would suck to have to be at 2000 rpm to have your alt running.

[pornstar]

all alts are going to "turn on" anytime the car is on.

but they all do thier rated amperage, at 2k rpm. that's just the way the industry is.

but they also will do that power when its being drawn on.

ie: a 200 amp alt is going to be 200 amps at 2k rpm OR when there is a draw from the system.


its not going to put out 200 amps just with the car sitting at idle. if there is no draw, there is no need for the amperage.


good alternator - ohio generator
decent alternator - high output alternators
fair alternator - 4alterstart
expensive product, shady service, great alt - irragi

i recommend ohio generator. not because they are one of my sponsors, but because they have a proven product and a warranty.

high output alts have a fair price and a decent product, but i have also heard horror stories.

4alterstart has a great price, but i have heard lots of horror stories. about them failing. they have a 1 year warranty, but while you are shipping it back and waiting for a new one, you dont have an alt.


irragi. is a good product, when and if it ever arrives, and its expensive. and if it doesnt work good luck with getting a replacement. people who have an irragi that WORKS, love them, he makes a great product. but all i ever hear about are the ones that show up and dont fit or dont work, and poeple spend literally months tryign toget it replaced with something that does work.


for your equipment, unless you plan on going buck wild with amp upgrades, a 160-200 should be more than enough for your needs.

[ROE]

thanks for clarifying things up. an alt will "turn on" whenever the car is on like what pornstar said. however, the design of a ho alt will sacrafice the amperage you will get at idle. if you don't sit through traffic like i do, los angeles traffic , you won't have a big issue with output at idle. i've been in the market for a ho alt for sometime. unfortunately my idle rpm is in the low 500-600. so far most every ho alt other than an oem/oem equivalent has performed very bad at idle in my case. nate from excessive custom built one for my vehicle, hopefully it will perform well at my low idle rpm's. he modified the stator and installed a resistor in it to help increase the output at around my idle rpm.

avoid 4alterstart if you can, i gave them a try and the alt was definitely not up to par. i had it benched at sears and autozone and it didn't come close to producing it's rated amperage of 180A. i know they don't have the best equipment to test, but it's at least something.

btw, nate from excessive is a great guy to deal with

[boxpontie on24]

thanks for all of ur info,but i plan on gettin (4)12s i have two now so do u think a 150 or a 200 amp alt should do good?

once again thanks for the help.

[FocalRock4Life]

well 4 12" doesn't really say much its dependant on your amps and if your gonna have 2 or 4 amps i would go with the 200 amp.

[pornstar]

sears and autozone have no clue what they are doing when it comes to testing a high output alternator


a month after i got my 200 amp, i had them test it.

they freaked and told me i needed a new alt right away because it was only putting out 30 amps.

i tested it myself, just before taking it to them...

90 amps at idle (stock was only an 80 amp at 2k)

240 amp during a burp.

not bad for a 200 amp alt


and yet they turn around and tell me its only 30 amps lol


i had OG check it for me a few months later at a show, just as preventive maintenance.

91 amps at idle, 243 during a burp.

[ROE]

unfortunately i don't have the tools to test. i would love to get a clamp meter in the future for general testing all around. i know that autozone and sears aren't the best at testinig, but oddly enough both measured similar results. they both used different machines with variable loads.

so, i basically i go by voltage testing . at idle with the 4alterstart, i would average 12.3V until i rev past 1800rpm. many days of the week, i spend over an hour in bumper to bumper traffic so i can't afford to be running off the battery. with my oem/oem equivalent, i idle with a voltage of 14.1V.

[pornstar]

i have heard MANY similar stories from people with 4alterstart equipment


a friend bought a 200 amp, and he dropped down to 12.1 volts


my og idles at 14.4 (no external regulators)

[ROE]

hopefully nate can pull through with a good alt.

[ROE]

if you are still looking for a quality alternator, nate from excessive is offering a group buy for forum members.

http://forum.realmofexcursion.com/viewtopic.php?t=2423