I just got a new 12" alpine subwoofer and two amps and my headlights and dash lights are dimming with my music. I know i need a new alternator(was tested with no music) but i dont know whats any good or whats not worth purchasing. I might get a capacitor but im not sure how well it would help vs getting a new bigger battery. Plus i wouldnt know what the best option might be. Help me out if you can guys im new to all this and dont know much about all this. Honda civic 1.5

 

How many watts RMS do your amps push? And what gauge wiring are you using? You may want to consider upgrading your power and ground wires in your engine bay. You may also want to post in the Audio/Security/Video forum: https://honda-tech.com/forums/audio-security-video-27/

Most recommendations I've seen are to use a Mechman alternator: https://www.mechman.com/alternators/...-6l/1988-1991/ I kind of doubt you want to drop $450 on a near 30 year old car, though. I've gone the ebay route before with a "High output" alternator and the lights still dimmed with my 360W RMS system.

You might be able to call a few local shops to see if they can do high-output alternators for your application. Might be worth it.

 

Im running on 4ga wire with a 500mrv which I believe is 500watt rms at 2Ω, Alpine Type R 1500 watt peak, 500 watt rms @2Ω

And yeah i did a little bit of research the other day and i found those mechman alternators and yeah dont really wanna spend more than 200 for an alt.
but yeah ill check with a few shops to see what they can do.

 

First off, don't buy a replacement alternator from Advance/Autozone, etc. They are junk. The biggest issue with the stock alternator is very low capacity at idle or near idle. Mechman sells an overdrive pulley which you can install on any alternator. I have one and they work well to boost the idle voltage. Instead of spending $500 with Mechman for a custom new alternator, I would recommend a 170A Alterstart unit (on eBay) and install the overdrive pulley on it. That would be about $275 for that setup.

 

Id hate to ask but can you send me a link to these i cant really find one for my car