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Need some truely pro advice here. My car has a 65 amp alt. with a good battery. My system has two amps in it, one amp draws about 42 amps from the alt. at full power and the other amp should draw about the same. Things were fine for about six months and then ( you all know what happened..) the alt. was fried.. Yeap..! this is true, I am not very sonic right now..LOL. So I will replace the alt. but I want/need more output from the alt. so factory will not be good enough. High output alt will be too costly for me and the factory alt can not be beefed up any. The audio nut that I am, I would say new factory alt and two new bats and two 1 farad caps should do the trick even on the long trips. The new 150 amp alt would be great but that would be 500 plus dollars.... and the other idea should be just as effective but cost less. Since I need to upgrade the charing system why not gain some spl while I am at it? What kind of gain might I see in spl if I add anew 140-150 amp alt compared to a new 65 amp alt. two good bats (marine grade) and one 1 farad cap per amp? And which is the best idea ? Amps in the system, subs driven by autotek 800xi, front stage driven by poweracoustik 1ohm 1200-2.Each amp has it's own 8ga power wire, too small I know. Material I listen to, alittle radio and alot of bass. Bass mekanik type stuff. Now I did read alot of the posts and understand how caps are not that great for spl comps (burps)but this cds do have some very low, long lasting,hard hitting, bass notes. May not be sine waves that I listen to alot but..... Just how do caps hold up under this presure? Any advice would be great guys......
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Posts: 28 | From: St.pete,fl | Registered: Aug 1999
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Since you failed to mention what kind of car you drive, I would call the manufacturer and see if they offered a towing package on it. If they did, you should be able to get the higher output alternator from the dealer or a parts store. It sounds to me like you should be ok with the factory, as long as your not constantly cranking. The idea of dual batteries is good only for key off parking lot listening and spl contests, dual batteries presents dual loads to your alternator, which could mean shortened lifespan. I think I would forget the dual batteries and maybe think of a cap, but definately try to find a higher output alternator. An automotive electrical shop should be able to tell you if an alternator from a different car or truck may work on yours. This may take a little electrical work, but that's ok, if you can get a bigger alternator on it, DO IT!! I would also change out your power cabling to 4Ga. and add a second ground from the Battery to the chassis of the car, 4Ga. Also change the charge cable from the alternator to the battery to 4Ga, if possible. If you have a fusible link from alt to battery, DONT CHANGE IT!! It's there for your protection!!
------------------ If it dont fit, force it... if it breaks, it needed to be replaced anyway... members.tripod.com/Audiophyle
Posts: 3120 | From: nowhere | Registered: May 1999
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You can usually get aftermarket alts that put out around 100amps and they cost about 90 bucks. "This are rebuilt alts" Or you can get a exide alt which you could get one that puts out 150amps for around 200 bucks
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Audiophyle, thanks for your info. I really knew that I would hear something like that because I know you can not get 85-90 amps from an alt that only produces 65 amps. The car is an 91' ford escort gt. I have called in my local area and auto stores only have factory alt and so I looked into an alternator repair shop and they told me they can not even get an extra 25 amps out of that alt due to the fact that the parts to rebuild are hard to get... I am in the St.pete fl area does anyone knows where I can get a high output alt. I really need to go sonic again...... HELP...
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Posts: 28 | From: St.pete,fl | Registered: Aug 1999
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91 escorts had a high amp option alternator with air conditioning (apprx 100 amp). The mount on that alt is also easy to adapt to a lesser expensive case type that puts out higher amps. A good starter/battery/alt shop should have no problem setting you up.
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JLcrossfireJL, winchparts, and doughboy, thanks for your reply. I could always move all my gear to my other car which has a 130 amp output alt, no problem there except it is a sedan. Bigger meaning less spl but I can work with it.............. I will certainly get the new alt for the gt and the highest output I can get, I just gotta find aplace that can help me..
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Posts: 28 | From: St.pete,fl | Registered: Aug 1999
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To all you pros out there, can someone give me an idea of how much spl I would gain if I were to upgrade to a 130 plus amp output alt? I mean my amplifiers were never producing the most power they could because the alternator was only suppling 65 amps. The amplifiers would have been tring to pull 80-90 amps from the alternator. I figure the amplifiers were working at about 70% of their most. I certainly see some room here for spl gains.... Anyone care to put in their two cents for me?
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Posts: 28 | From: St.pete,fl | Registered: Aug 1999
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Something like that is very hard to guess. However going by the number that you think they were giving you of 70% of there potential. I will say 1.2 or so Db because you will have 42.857142% more power out put at there full output. Just remember that this is a guess based on your theoretical number...
------------------ ******************* Founder: Street Sounds Car Audio Club ******************* If It Don't Read 150+ it Ain't Loud......
Posts: 289 | From: Howell, MI | Registered: May 1999
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Audioextreme, thanks for your reply and a gain like 1 to 2 db would seem to be correct. I know I will gain something because the charing system was never what it should have been for those two amplifiers I use.
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Posts: 28 | From: St.pete,fl | Registered: Aug 1999
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