1500watts and factory alternator, not enough?

[WarDrumz 10+ year member]

I visited the High Ouput Alternators website and enter my information. Their little calculator said I need a 220amp alternator!

All I have is a Brutus 1500D and a second battery. Nothing more.

They have a 200amp alternator that fits my car. That is what I'll probably look into, because I don't use my amplifier's full potential on a regular basis, so 220amps isn't really needed.

I've read posts on this forum where people get advise that 1200wrms on a factory alt is just fine. And many similar to that. Others with a sub amp of similar power, AND a 4channel amp.

Why are they telling me I need a 200amp alt?

I mean, I can kinda see why. My amp has a max current draw of 120amps + my car's electronics. My car supposedly has a 90amp alt. So I can see upgrading, but damm, 200amps?

Let me know what yall think.

Thanx

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[DJ FURY 10+ year member]

Yeah im in the same boat ur in.Looking at some h.o alternators.I ran across one that was 200 amps but only 100 amps at idle.i was wondering if thats even good or not for a system like urs.Hopefully u will get some decent feedback on this thread.

 

[WarDrumz 10+ year member]

Hopefully u will get some decent feedback on this thread.

Yeah, I hope so too bruh.

 

[DJ FURY 10+ year member]

alot of people think an alternator upgrade isnt needed.But i beg to differ as im not a big fan of voltage drops everytime i stop.Thats why i was looking at that 200a alternator but like i said 100 at idle doesnt seem like alot.

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

1500 watts on a stock alt is a lot. my pg tantrum 1200.1 is really draining my alt. i ordered a 200 amp alt and will have on next week. a lot of amps are rated at 14 volts and my alt can only give 11-12 so i have a decrease in power from amp plus that strain will kill a stock alt. also try doing this: http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=007801 it will even help your stock alt and if you need a new alt you should do it anyways. and please do not buy a cap at all it will not help. 100 at an idle isn't bad. most stock alts i believe are only 10-20 and a lot of ho alts cut on at like 1500 rpms so you will have 200 amps.

 

[pavengmike6 10+ year member]

What you have to figure is this. Most car makers put the smallest alternator on there cars that will power all the stock systems with just a little left over. So when people say upgrade your alternator they mean this. Under normal operating conditions your car is drawing around 50 to 80 amps (with a/c. ignition, headlights, and so on) and your amp will have a max draw of 120 amps. Which means if you are making the amp push everything to its max ( you will not do this because of distortion) it will draw up to 120 amps. So with you car running and drawing 50 to 80 amps and your amp drawing around 50 to 100 you are requiring you alternator to put out from 100 to 180 (180 under worse case) but it can only provide 90 amps. So with your car running you have about 10 to 40 amps extra (40 is a high number) to play with . If you amp draws around 75 amps you are about 30 or so short. Then you amp will take the extra power it needs from the battery (that has to be replaced sooner or later unless you want to be stranded).

To make this short I do not think a 200 amp Alternator is need, but I would upgrade to a 150 at minimum. If you plan on expanding your system in at a later time go big now so you do not have to later.

One last thing you also have to consider that some people are running later model cars that usually came stock with a 110 amp alternator. So they have more to play with than you do. Some people have full sze trucks that come with a bigger alternator (used for the trailer lights it is made to pull). That is one small disadvantage to owning smaller, and newer cars.

Do not fear that the alt only puts out 100 amps at idle, because your car is above 1500 rpm more than it sits idle.

 

[DJ FURY 10+ year member]

Where did u get ur alt from ice?

 

[DJ FURY 10+ year member]

Well paven i was just wondering how big of a system could that 200a/100a alternator at idle could handle.could it handle wars system?

 

[WarDrumz 10+ year member]

Pavengmike6,

Thanx A LOT man. That was very informative. And EXACTLY what I needed to know. I think I'll just get the 200amp alt. I am a fan of having more than I need, just in-case.

I think it's safe to say though, that I'll have to change my 80amp battery isolator,lol.

Hey, thanx man.

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

Where did u get ur alt from ice?

i got mine at http://www.mean-green.com but they can be had for cheaper at http://www.excessiveamperage.com or e-mail dominick (he hasn't e-mailed in 5 days now so i don't what the hell is up) dominick@tds.net. i liked the mean-green one because it came with a 2 year 300,000 mile warranty the others are 1 year or less and it didn't cost to much more only about $20 more than doms but i don't know how good excessiveamperage is haven't seen anybody use them and they only offer a 90 day warranty but there cheap.

 

[DJ FURY 10+ year member]

Yeah i also saw h.o alternators at alterstart on ebay.but that 200/100 at idle might not be enough.but im no electrical expert.

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

Yeah i also saw h.o alternators at alterstart on ebay.but that 200/100 at idle might not be enough.but im no electrical expert.

what amps are you running? most all 200 amp alts put out 100 at idle. doms does 110 and mean-green and excessiveamperage does 100. when you are in your car you are not idleing all the time and most alts get the full 200 amps at 1000 rpms.

 

[DJ FURY 10+ year member]

Any other electrical people out there like to help out wars on this?

 

[WarDrumz 10+ year member]

Any other electrical people out there like to help out wars on this?

Nah, I'm str8 now. I'm going to just get that 200amp alt from HO if it's not too high. They will send me a quote soon.

Thanx for everyones help.