angrysmileyface

Is there a larger alternator that will fit a 93 Civic ex coupe with the 1.6 Z6? Looking through the forums I didnt find anything, but I could have missed it. Basically Im not looking for massive amounts of power but some extra amps would be nice. So does a different alt from say an integra or other similar honda fit with little to no retrofit?

NotAJDMFanBoy

With a custom upper mount and a different belt, probably could work. I think you gain like 20-30 amps or so. Or you can get a hi output alternator or get an alternator rewound to put out more power.

What do you need more amps for? You should clean your battery connections and test the battery and your current alternator before thinking about upgrades. If you have an amplifier, you need to get a capacitor. 1/2 farad is good up to 500 watts I believe.

angrysmileyface

Battery and everything are just fine, I am adding some electrical accessories to the car (heated seats and mirrors) and some other things so I just want to have a significant amount of power which is why i dont need much more than the 20 or 30 extra amps. Car already has most of the other electrical stuff such as pw, pm, pd. Plus I might want to update the headlights at some point.

apexi_rsx

unless u have a big amp and/or audio system u dont need it.

NotAJDMFanBoy

The power windows and locks and such are only ran intermittently and aren't going to draw a whole lot. Heated seats may draw some more. HIDs are known to draw a fair bit of power, they're also illegal most everywhere to retrofit so just another reason to stay away from those if thats what you're talking about. Most likely without an audio system or enough lights to illuminate an office building, it shouldn't be an issue.

Idle is when your power will be low if ever. The alternator puts out power based on how fast it's spun. So at idle, it's not going to put much power out and while cruising it will put out the rated amount. If you want to put out a little more power, find a larger crank pulley or smaller alternator pulley. You should get a multi meter however and check the power however and make sure the alternator is keeping the battery charged. Make sure your grounds and power cables are clean and shiny, the battery is full of electrolyte, and it's healthy. Finding out your charging system can't keep up while a half hour away from home at night on a date isn't the time to find that out.

Here's a good deal on the same multi meter I have been using for a few years now. $12 from Sears. Far far less than getting a tow. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...00010000100312

If you end up needing more power, the B series alternator isn't a bad idea. I put a D series alternator on my B series once for a temporary fix to get to and from work while my new B series alternator was in the mail. The bottom mounting tab is the same size, but the top tab is at 12 oclock and 6 oclock on a D series and 6 oclock and 11 oclock on a B series. The top tab is also positioned over on one from the other. Either washers or a hacksaw will fix that though. The body of the alternator is bigger on the B series, which could present an issue if you have a power steering rack since it will be a bit tighter squeeze to get it in.

vartok

If im not mistaken, whats illegal about putting HIDs in cars, is putting them in the stock halogen reflectors. If you swap out the whole headlight for projectors, preferably ones designed to use HIDs, then it it perfectly legal and you wont be a and blind every one on the road

NotAJDMFanBoy

If I recall correctly, it's just simply illegal to put them in a car not originally equipped with them. Retrofitting them the "correct" way with the fresnal lenses with the cutoffs makes them less obnoxious, but it doesn't change the fact they are illegal. It's like swapping an earlier year motor into a later year car. For the sake of argument, it could be a motor from the year 2000 that could have sat in a crate for 5 years and going in a car from 2001 but it's still illegal despite having all the emissions equipment and would otherwise pass just fine.

I wanted brighter headlights at one time and looked into the HID conversion, I found some lenses from a Mazda 3 I think, but it's still illegal so...I have lenses just sitting on my shelf collecting dust and I'm dissatisfied with my current headlights still. Plenty of people get away with HIDs, but plenty of people drive around with poorly retrofitted lights and there are plenty of OEM equipped cars that are obnoxious.

jbpnoman

If you want something that'll just bolt up, give Ohio Generator a call. They set me up for a 1000w stereo for a good price.

As for the whole HID conversation, different states have different laws. Look into your local law books if you want to know, or tell us what state you're in and maybe someone here will look it up for you.

NOFX

All vehicle lighting is federal law btw. So anyone who thinks that something regarding vehicle might be legal in your state, that's unlikely.

The laws regarding vehicle lighting are FMVSS 108 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 108).

So far I haven't found it (and this info was hard to find; it's not even on the .gov site), but this file is probably your best bet if you'd like to find the actual citation.

http://www.drylaunch.com/108.pdf

NotAJDMFanBoy

What I want to know is how people on eBay sell HID ballasts and lights MEANT for retrofitting into non-HID equipped cars. You can't even really argue that they're for track use and I don't recall seeing any saying for "offroad use only".

NOFX

I imagine at least some say on the box exactly that. Even most foglights and such from Autozone say that. lol

I'm not for sure of the law yet though. I've seen people regurgitate that it's illegal, but I want to see the exact law.

NewtoCivics

The HID thing seems a bit odd to me. My rinky dink town of 12,000 is FULL if obnoxious high school kids who think its funny to put 12k HID's on their truck, crank the lights to point at oncoming traffic and blind the holy hell out of them. And cops around here are aholes.

Case in point: I got pulled over 3 times by three different cops in town on the way to the DMV to register my civic. The first gave me a warning and the other two just let me go. Although one of them did actually say he thought I was "just some punk high school kid". I was a little shocked, and offended, but what can you do?

Anyways I'm gonna wait to see cold hard facts saying it's illegal before I believe it.

jbpnoman

Here ya go, 5 seconds and google and BOOM, the full text of FMVSS 108. Thanks for pointing that out to me, I wasn't aware it existed.

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_20...cfr571.108.htm