I Have two amps, JL HD600 & JL HD750/1, Total wattage=1350/12.6v=107amps. 2004 civic Lx coupe M/T

Does anyone have experience with QUALITY aftermarket Alternators? most I reviewed look cheesey and most do not get good feedback.

Would a quality (Kintetic/Optima/Stinger) etc battery be able to compensate 30 or so amp desparity in the load vs. the OEM Alternator output?

 

i would recommend an XSPower D5100R under the hood, and then a storage cell, XSPower of some sort, for in trunk power storage. upgrade big 3 and then see if you need an alt.

 

Not to sound stupid but what is big 3?


Never mind....duh

Already done

Storage cell in the trunk might not be possible due to space, I travel with tools in the trunk.

 

storage cells are typically small, smaller than a battery. you can try just an upgraded battery right off the batt, but i tend to stay away from things like kinetic or anything that's not a group rated battery.

 

Replace the alt., only a bigger alt. can supply more current, bigger/better batt. will only allow longer play time when engine is not running, not saying a better batt. is not a good thing, it just will not add more current. 94

 

You seem to be correct here fcm, I've spoken to several people and the general consensus is that an alternator upgrade is the RIGHT way to go. Most did however, say that I could "try" and upgrade the batt. & add a storage cell as Cobb suggested but if it doesnt then your out a couple of hundred dollars. Would you be able to recommend a Quality replacement alt?

Can I retain the OEM group size Batt. if I upgrade the Alt?

 

Yes, although there is a benefit in also upgrading the batt.

It's actually more like 175A to make 1350 W RMS, but output is dynamic so the average will be less, even less because your never really drive the amps to full output.

With that said, it would not take long to drain the batt. to a point it will not start the car. 94

 

you can retain the stock group/size, just get a better one.

 

those amps IMO arent too much a load for the stock alt.
I run a sub amp-3200rms and a 500.4 for speakers and I have a stock alternator! I upgraded batteries, did the big3 and put a couple(4) runs 1/0 wire to my sub amp as it needed it.
I am only getting dimming right now, as I used one my upgraded batteries from my old car, and its had a beatin. I will push xs batteries as they are beasty!
Also I compete car stereo with my civic so please dont flame me with your math on amps and alts. This is my opinion, I am not going off statistics and numbers, I am basing off of personal experience!

 

Sorry man, you can not beat ohms law. 3200 rms off a stock factory alternator(not listing your front stage amp). Not happing on a honda and for most. Any cars. If I can't do it and others can't do it, How are you doing it? Were not going to flame you. Your going to do that yourself. Batteries do not produce current. Alternators do.

 

I aint gonna flame myself just sayin I aint interested in hearing ppls crap LOL

but anyway, I am just saying, an after market alt is a good thing, however this stereo isnt that high powered as far as I'm concerned, and I personally (unless getting a rippin deal) wouldnt buy a aftermarket alt, if a deal came up, sure I would look into it, as atleast if u upgrade the alt you can have constant flow.
But I am just saying I have had a 3000rms+ amp in every car I have owned for the past 8 years, and not once have I replaced an alt for upgrading or killing it.
I am not stating facts, I am just stating personal experience.

Fact if a bigger alt and a good battery is installed, there will be plenty of power flowing... however if u wanna get into flow that much, why not bring up wiring, is an 8g wire gonna flow as good as a 0g wire!

anyway to poster, if your having power issues, look into a after market alt, since I have never had one, I can only go off of the alts I have heard of which is xs and Irragi, I like xs batteries but have no knowledge at all about there alts sry:/ World finalds for DBDRAG is about to end, so u may be able to find a used high output alt come a week from now, for a bit cheaper then new if u looking to cut any costs!

off topic:
FCM I see your in K-town, by chance u work at andre's?

 

I used to work for Andre's, I now work for Airwolfe Auto air conditioning/Dave Ward Auto Electric... http://www.airwolfeautoair.com/ still doing some car audio/security but mostly air conditioning and auto electric, hot rod wiring harnesses and so on. 94

 

105a isn't that big of a load, but an alt would be a good investment.

 

I figured with your knowledge base that u worked for Dave Oakley at one point!
I competed at his DBDRAG shows every year, till moving to sask.

 

You moved from Kelowna and the Okanagan to someplace in Saskatchewan, why? 94

 

I really appreciate all of the support I recieved from you guys. It got me to thinking, so I went back to the basics... ohm's law. wrx is right upgrade the alt. Just so that there can be any questions i conducted a little test.

I temporarily hooked up my equipment almost as I would for the permanent install. Big three, stock OEM batt. 1/0 back to the amps (1 JL HD600 & 1 JL HD750/1) a 1.2 Farad cap. The 600 was turned down as I have yet to complete that portion and just want to be safe. Cranked the 750 to an old Audibahn lame Q.

With the A/C, High Beams and a laptop plugged into the outlet and engine at idle, the 750 clipped consistently as the voltage at that amp dropped below 10v. This is unacceptable and will put undue stress on the system and eventually will become unreliable.

$400-$500 bucks for a 150 amp alt. is worth it (IMO), and yes I will upgrade the Batt. too. That with a 1.2 Farad cap should eliminate all transients.

PS I can push 500 amps through a 1/0 gauge wire at 1000v all day if the source can support it. But in my case I can only push 60 amps because that is the limit of my source

Thanks again for your support

 

500 bucks would get you a lot more than 150a

Also, no need for a cap. Just get the alt and throw the biggest batt you could fit upfront.

 

oh please enlighten us as to why he shouldn't install a cap.

 

Why does he "need" a cap if he has an alt and a battery?

 

Just remember, when the alternator is going, bigger/more batteries = more load on the alternator. It'd be better to go with a Lithium Ion (but you can only really find those batteries for cars made by Braille and they are something along the lines of $1500+ and I don't remember the power caps of the various sizes). Absorbed Glass Mat would be the next best runner.

As for alternator, I know Stinger makes some nice beefy ones. I recently upgraded a Ford chassis based RV to a stinger 240 amp output alternator (and it produces those high amps even at lower RPMs), utilizing a 500 amp stinger relay/isolator so the system in the back (2000 watt RMS/4000 watt peak full sine-wave inverter + full home theater and tracking dish system) could pull off of 2 yellow tops when the car wasn't running, but at the same time allow the alternator to charge both rear yellow tops and the yellow top under the hood when the RV was started. (Since it's just used mainly for tailgating at Penn State games, we also did a remote start so the guy could start it about half-time to charge up the rear batteries). We were going to go bigger battery capacity in the rear but with the system installed + room and cost the guy was happy with just the two for now and not doing a dual-alternator setup