High Output Alternator

[loudsubz]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by keymaker:<BR><STRONG>Are you guys running your amplifier's ground clear back to the battery?<P>Don't do that... Run it from your amplifier to the floor.. Don't use just any bolt, make sure it has a solid path. <P>Much less interference and resistance when you run it that way instead of clear to the battery!</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR>I dont run it back to the battery, but Im saying it is another alternative, but more work.

[VizualXTC]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by keymaker:<BR><STRONG>Yes, alot more work as well... You always want to keep your power and ground cables as short as possible.<P>And it doesn't hurt to do the same for the speakers... But dont run 50' wire to one and 1' wire to another keep them even </STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Hell no, there's no reason you should have more than a 3' ground wire. I keep my grounds under a foot long. The faster it's grounded the less amount of resistance it has, and you wont get a backup.

[jon8rfc]

Here's my opinion since I've been working with home theaters and car stereos for a while. Capacitors are only good for when the engine is running, and they are good investments, but cannot hold enough power for constant bass. They're good for a big bass boom maybe every 10 seconds or so, but not constant boom, boom, boom like rap does, cause it just gets drained faster than it recharges and ends up adding more resistance in the end. Do I use em? Yep, sure do, and they don't do me any good unless I have a big bass boom every 10 secodns or so. Optima batteries are very impressive and great quality batteries. They will not however, help you very much when your engine is running because the alternator is able to dish out the power more quickly when the engine is running, just like a capacitor. It will help a little don't get me wrong, but they'll help you much more with starting your car and when you're using them as your only power source. My recommendation-bigger alternator, I'm getting the most powerful one that will fit my space requirements while still being able to dissipate heat so it will last long. This is a 150 amp alternator for $550. I would recommend an Optima battery just cause they're great batteries and can be mounted any direction and are VERY safe, they can be mounted inside your car safely because vapors don't escape like they can from other batteries. They're the best for "engine off competition", not for cruising. I'll always have a capacitor because I want them there for when I do play the rare music that doesn't always boom hard every couple of seconds or more. Also, try not to judge how many watts your amps can put out to help you decide what power alternator to get. The magnets on the speakers themselves is what hogs power. Try it...unhook all your speakers and subs and crank up the output of the amps then crank your cd deck, do your lights dim when the bass would boom...nope because there's no magnets to take any power. You can sort of jusge by what your speakers can handle, but not in any way by what you amps put out. Magnets on speakers take power, not amps. If you have a 1000watt RMS amp and hook up a little tweeter and turn it up until it almost blows, your lights won't dim because that magnet is so small to take enough power to do so. Try to find a garage that rebuilds alternators and/or starters, they should be able to measure what amount of power you need to satisfy your system by checking voltage fluctuations when bass booms. Yes higher guage wires are good, but not always. If you want to get THX quality technical like some of you seem to like, you accomodate wire guage for the distance you're taking the power and for how much power you're moving. If you're moving 500watts RMS at 4ohms 5 feet, use 4guage or maybe even 8guage, if it's that same power moving 50feet, then be sure to have at least 4guage, maybe even 1/0. Consult a high end home theater or car stereo store for more information, they're usually trained very well for this sort of thing. Just my 2cents.

[neverenuff]

HEY GUY'S<BR> WELL I GOT A ? I WAS TOLD THAT I COULD PROBLY JUST PUT LIKE A 4 GUAGE WIRE FROM THE ALT BEING THAT THE OEM IS LIKE 12 GUAGE & THAT WOULD GIVE ME A LITTLE MORE UNTILL I CAN GET A BIGGER ALT IS THIS TRUE?I CAN ACUALY GET MORE JUICE JUST BY BEEFING UP THE OEM WIRES FROM THE ALT & BATT & THAT COULD STOP THE DIMMING OF LIGHTS?

[BumpNGlow]

ok, I haven't checked this post in awhile, so I will try to address as many comments as possible:<BR>keymaker -- I can't give ya 300$ for the delco alt, maybe like 200$. I have never heard/used one of these, and I can't through away 300$... also, 140 amp isn't big enough... I think I need 160 minimum<BR>tk1138 -- what good do these voltage regulators do? they sound like they just fool my lights into not dimming... what good is that for my system?<BR>never enuff customs -- yes, upgrading OEM wires will give ya a better current draw, but not really enough to effect anything... Also, you can upgrade the ground wire off of your battery to help a little.<P>I think thats all I needed to add...

[BumpNGlow]

I just called an Alternator palce by me, and he said he can get me a custom fit Delco alternator for 275 + install harness which will put out 200 amps at max, and 60 at idle. Thats what I am going with now. Thanks for the help guys.<P>Also, the Ohio Generator wants $500 for a 200 amp alternator, and Wrangler wants $499 for a 170amp one.

[tk1138]

jon8rfc: the magnets do not consume any power. Power is consumed by the EMF created by current in the speaker coils pushing against the magnetic field of the magnet causing the speaker to move. Some power is also consumed by resistance in the coils. A fair amount of power is consumed by the amplifier changing the Cars 12V power into alternating current to make music. (1st and 2nd Laws of thermodynamics i.e. you can't get something for nothing, and you can't even trade fairly.) Amplifier ratings should be used to match speakers. The load thatt the car sees, while variable is higher than the rated power of the amplifier if the amps are maxed. The most accurate way to determine nesicary current is to measure the current drawn from a FIXED voltage power supply while under full load. You cannot accuratly measure current by watching the voltage fluctuations of a variable load. <P>Sorry if I seem uptight about this, but there's a lot of mis information out there that really bothers me.<P>Bump & Glow, I sent an email to you.

[BumpNGlow]

thanks man -- I got the email. Although, I don't need the regulator anymore. After getting a high output alternator, and a yellow top battery, I think I will be good on the dimming... if I STILL have problems, I will email ya and maybe we can try that... but I am not that worried about the actual lights dimming, its the voltage in my car that I need to stay up. Amplifiers put out more power at higher voltage, and in order for me to get the most out of my amps, I need them to stay up at 14.4V as much as possible...<P><BR>But for anyone looking for a quick fix, that is also cheap, email tk