Hey guys. I plan on getting a large audio system for my car. What I was wondering was am I going to need a new alternator and/or battery? I plan on pushing around 700-1000 watts at any given time to this system so do I need to get a new alternator? Also, if I do, how much is this thing gunna cost? thx

 

You may want a higher output alternator, but they're pretty expensive. I know Bosch makes a 180 for our car I believe. I run 800 watt amp currently, and I killed my alternator with 600 watts. But I didn't have a farrad cap at that point. I got a new stock alternator, and haven't had any problems with a 1.5 farrad cap. For upwards of 700-1000 I would suggest at least a cap to help out your bat/alternator.

 

700-1000 bucks? holy shit, not expecting it to cost that much. ANy alternatives that are cheaper? I do not have the money to get that kind of alternator.

Edit-Nevermind, now i understand what you meant by 700-1000, u meant watts right? How much is this gunna cost then?

 

No No, I meant 700-1000 watt amps!!! Ok, just saw you know what I mean. You can get a good farrad cap for about $100

 

How much would a new alternator run me?

 

You could get one built for you from an alternator/electrical shop for maybe 1-200, I think someone quoted the bosch 180 amp alts on here at like 250-300?

 

Personally, I think you will be ok with the stock alternator, or you could have it rewound/refurbished for way cheaper then getting a bigger one. But like I said, I have had no problem since I put the cap on my power/ground wires. That's a better fix, anyone with a system should have a cap anyway, to take some load off their alt/battery

 

is that 700-1000 watts rms?


i have the 180 amp unit, i forgot who makes it, do a search i posted about it and so did others.

i was running 2 A2300hct audiobahn amps, which i was running 3 10's off of at 2400watts rms power.

this also had 4.8 farads of capacitence in it. as well as an optima yellow top.

unless that 1000watts is rms power i wouldnt worry about the new alt.

1F capacitor and a new battey would probably help, esp the battery if you intend to use the system when the car is off.

 

i got an old school rockford punch 800a2 amp. puts down like 1000w. my headlights used to dim but i put on a 1 farad cap and an optima red top battery. they still dim but not that much. i still got my stock alternator. just make sure u install it correctly and u will not have a problem.

 

cap makes all the difference

 

just curious suprachicka79....is your screen name implying that you also own a 79 supra?

 

haha, no, i love supra's, they r my fav car, and 79 is one of my fav random numbers lol

My friend said a farrad cap was a load of bull, that it actually works against your alt and gives it more stress...whats up with that?

 

ah, I've got an 84 supra.....love the first two gens the most which is why I was curious, although I'm thinking of selling my MKII for an MKIII sometime just cause mine's beat to shit.

 

You need to run like a 3+ farad cap with that amp. What brand are you using?

 

i think u r almost same as mine..

i have JL 1000/1 and JL 300/4..

and... i just upgraded to 135amp alternator and got it from ebay.. (w/ 2yrs warratny)

also i have 2 farad caps..

i was gonna buy bosch alternators.. but they are just same as stock amperage (80)

so i just bought it from ebay for around $200 shipped.. if u have 3.0, then u can get a 170 amperage alt.. but mine is 2.3 and there's only one.. so i got just 135 amperage alt.

 

Nice nippon, I think I will be getting that 170 at some point. My car's fine with just the cap, but I'm gettin an optima yellow top, so I'd like to have the extra charging capacity.

 

ugh, a lot of misinformation here.

the rule of thumb is 1F for each 1000w

a capacitor is like a bandaid, it is not along term solution, if your lights are dimming, there is a voltage drop and you need a higher output alternator.

 

its also a rockford. that amp draws ALOT of power. i got a 80A square fuse, and its melting it. it hasent blown yet but it did blow a 60a glass fuse after i turned it up bout half way. i think im gonna get a 100a circuit breaker.

 

oh yeha.. i forgot to say.. i also got optima yellow too..

 

Which size optima do you have nippon? I'm trying to figure out which one would fit best in our car. I have a 3.0 if it matters.

 

i dont'know about the size..

well.. i was gonna tell you that 94-97 accords alternator won't fit in our 2.3 CLs

but since u have 3.0, i think it's just fine..

dang.. i went to shop today to install the alternator, but they just noticed that it won't fit...

 

No idea on the size though? Oh well, I can call the interstate store, otherwise, I'll just order one and hope the work. See what interstate says.