Just thought, in case anyone is in the market for a HO alt for 2006+ Civic, that I'd post my review for an alt I purchased from Load Boss (eBay ID: alterstart). Total cost (includes shipping and 4-gauge cable): $340.

Not much to say, really, other than the guy behind the company is really friendly, the product was shipped expeditiously, and the alternator was definitely built with expertise and it so far it is working perfectly. I suppose I won’t know for sure if it is truly pumping out the amps stated in the report that came with it until my stereo is put in.

Anyway, I hope that helps someone.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DC_Civic08 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just thought, in case anyone is in the market for a HO alt for 2006+ Civic, that I'd post my review for an alt I purchased from Load Boss (eBay ID: alterstart). Total cost (includes shipping and 4-gauge cable): $340.

Not much to say, really, other than the guy behind the company is really friendly, the product was shipped expeditiously, and the alternator was definitely built with expertise and it so far it is working perfectly. I suppose I won’t know for sure if it is truly pumping out the amps stated in the report that came with it until my stereo is put in.

Anyway, I hope that helps someone.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

multimeter?


Modified by IT GUY at 11:58 AM 3/11/2008

 

I wouldn't know exactly how to use one. I know where the prongs go, but don't know what the big dial should be set to.

PS. website for Load Boss: http://www.4alterstart.com

 

I was just curious. Did you buy a bigger alt because you were going to put a system in you car. You could of just got a 1 to 2 farad cap. That would of done the trick. Probably would of been a little cheaper also

 

Yes; the alternator was installed because of a soon-to-be-installed system.

A 1f cap will be installed, but that actually increases the demand for power from the battery, which means it will require more current from the alternator for it to be recharged. A cap can quickly deliver power to an amp during musical peaks (usually to the amp powering the sub(s)), which not only ensures that the amp is getting the power it demands (and on time) but that those demands don't take away from the rest of the electrical system (ie, so the lights don't dim when the bass hits, etc). But the more batteries you have in the car, the more electric charge your alternator has to move per second (amps) in order to keep them charged.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DC_Civic08 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yes; the alternator was installed because of a soon-to-be-installed system.

A 1f cap will be installed, but that actually increases the demand for power from the battery, which means it will require more current from the alternator for it to be recharged. A cap can quickly deliver power to an amp during musical peaks (usually to the amp powering the sub(s)), which not only ensures that the amp is getting the power it demands (and on time) but that those demands don't take away from the rest of the electrical system (ie, so the lights don't dim when the bass hits, etc). But the more batteries you have in the car, the more electric charge your alternator has to move per second (amps) in order to keep them charged.
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correct you are i see you know your stereo systems! i do also. that makes 2 of us

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18civicsi00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I was just curious. Did you buy a bigger alt because you were going to put a system in you car. You could of just got a 1 to 2 farad cap. That would of done the trick. Probably would of been a little cheaper also </TD></TR></TABLE>

LOL! at your post man its just wrong, while its cheaper its not the solution and most defo no correct.

to the op while its very useful i wouldnt pay alot for the alt $200 seems right. its just my thought but otherwise its great anit it?

 

you would need a clampmeter to measure amperage...you could use both a clamp and multimeter to figure out how much wattage is being produced from the amps though..

In my experience, HO alts are useless..you dont get the amperage you want at idle, which is where most systems require the extra power. Everyone ive ever had, had a problem producing stock voltage. Won a world championship with a stock 90a alt running 6000+ reactive watts

Are you only running a single run of 4g?

 

Thanks for the measuring info. I probably won't do it, but I'll ask the system installer if he has the tools/ability to do it.

In my life, I have only had one aftermarket system installed. It was put in a 99 jetta glx, which I think comes with a pretty decent alt. The total power demand on that system was, if I can remember correctly, around 550w plus a 1F cap. Stock battery and stock alt -- never had any electrical issues with that car.

My new system will demand 950w and will have a 1F cap. I think the stock civic alt for 08 puts out 85 amps. The new one that got put in produces 125 amps at engine idle. I believe my system will demand an average of 60-70 amps at full volume. This would be too much a load for the stock alt to produce if it is to also power everything else.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but for DB drag racing and SBL, etc, you are running the system at max volumes for short periods of time and probably have the engine off during those times, right? You may have several batteries in the car to be able to play for long periods of time during competition, but then you could charge them with a low power alt if you started the car and kept the system off. I don't know much about how competitions are run, but I do understand the basics of electricity.

As for your question, I am running a 4g cable from the positive alt terminal to the battery. I plan on upgrading the ground from the battery to the car to a 4g as well (by way of adding an additional cable, not replacing). Should I also upgrade the ground from the alt to the car? Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it!

 

Gus,

Well, until I get my system installed (sch for this monday) I won't know if the alt is everthing it is supposed to be.

If I can play at full blast for an hour straight with no issues, then I'd say she's a winner! I did put in an optima yellow as well.

 

Re-running the underhood grounds with atleast 4g would be my first step when upgrading the electrical system. People usually call it the "big 3"..Good choice on the optima, best batteries out there imo.

Usaci used to have a basic stock class (pre-'06) which allowed you to run a single underhood battery in stock location with the car running up to 1500rpm..you could use 1F of capacitance, but in my experience it only hurt the score. You're correct about DbDrag not allowing the vehicle to run though. Theres several other differences aswell, typically a 2.5db drop from usaci to dbdrag rules.

 

lol the last guy beat me to it, if you upgrade your big 3 it would be better :D
the oem alt outputs 85 amp, while the new one only does 75 amp! at idle 800rpm . it does its full power 170 amp at 1600 rpm...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

 

looks to already have the smallest pulley possible aswell, which is just about the only way you can up the amp/voltage at a lower rpm..ive personally tried adding resistors, messing with pulleys, and sending them back to be "re-adjusted" only to be dissapointed..

make sure that you grind or sand down your grounding points to bare metal before re-installing.

 

Thanks for the info guys!

Yeah, I've heard of the Big 3. Guess that would be in order. I'm gonna see if I can task the system installer to do it. I've done one of the three, so if he can ground the batt and alt that should do it.

 

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the third ground point?

You listed battery and alternator....

 

There isn't a third ground point. The third element of the Big 3 in this case would be the cable connecting the positive terminal of the battery to the alternator.

If you google the Big 3 you'll find a bunch of info.

 

That explains my confusion then Thanks!

 

a lot of vehicles will also have a ground or 2 from the block or something to the frame..