How powerful an amp on a stock alternator?

by **Jon11582** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 11:53 am

I was wondering how high you think I should go on the stock alternator. I really don't want to switch it out since it'll tack on a bunch to the system tab.

This will be an amp to probably power two 12" subs. Headunit is changed to a Panasonic 983U, but all other electrical outside of a set of indiglos and silverstars in the heads is pretty much stock. I wanna change my speakers, but thats an afterthought, and even then, id probably just run the new speakers off the headunit's amp.

What kind of system are you guys running on the stock alternator? Any problems?

by **HKSV6SLE** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 1:28 pm

uh...the stock alternator will only take you so far... i'm running two subs two amps, aftermarket speakers, but to make everything work with the stock alternator i changed the stock battery to a more power ful cranking one and added two 1 farad caps...a new alternator i think would run around 2-3 bills...

by **kubi** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 1:32 pm

I'm runnin a 2400 watt amp but I keep it turned down in the interest of keeping my alternator running. I've got a couple 1 farad caps and a yellow top, but I'm going to try and get a 160 amp alternator. The Solara comes with an 80 amp alternator which is far from impressive when compared to everything else on the road.

by **Yanks0114** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 2:09 pm

A 160 amp will run you around $400 but is worth every penny if you are running a big system

by **HKSV6SLE** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 2:43 pm

its 80 and yeah i'm gonna upgrade my alternator soon..too...im reaching the limits..of what my electricl system can handle now...

by **dmxtw33** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 7:05 am

I got my new HO alternator from Irragi Alternator (Dominick Iraggi)
Dominick@tds.net. I got the 180 for $339, about $360 shipped. He also makes the 200 $389. Was referred to him by the people of sounddomain.com.

by **kubi** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:22 am

Thanks for the info! I think that's going to be one of my Christmas presents to myself

How long have you had it? I assume no problems?

by **dmxtw33** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 9:11 am

Actually, I just installed it this past weekend. Everything seems to be working smoothly. Installation was pretty straightforward. Make sure that you disconnect the cable on the battery before removing the stock alternator. I forgotten to that and blew out the alternator fuse. Getting the alternator out was a lil rough after I have removed the belt and the bolts. Had to apply some lube and hammered it out. Dom has done a lot of HO alternators for a lot of the people on sounddomain.com and no complaints from them, so I wouldn't think I would be coming across any problems with it.

by **WTF??** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 10:32 am

dmxtw33 wrote:I got my new HO alternator from Irragi Alternator (Dominick Iraggi)
Dominick@tds.net. I got the 180 for $339, about $360 shipped. He also makes the 200 $389. Was referred to him by the people of sounddomain.com.

So how much different does it look compared to the stock alternator? im pretty sure itll weigh more

by **dmxtw33** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 11:47 am

Doesn't look too different. Weigh probably about 5-10 pounds more. I got the picture if you give me your email.[/img]

by **Jon11582** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:42 pm

How big are your amps HKS?

I know the factory alt doesnt push that much, which is why I wanted to check how much I could run on it. I don't want to buy an amp too powerful for it and have to either uninstall and return that amp or foot the bill for a bigger alt. It isnt something I wanna do right now on my paycheck.

Basically, what amp would you recommend on a stock electrical system if I were to power two 12" subs?

I am willing to change the battery if it helps enough, but I'm not really interested in swapping alternators or adding caps. How much bigger of an amp you think I could run on stock electrical + a yellow top swap (or other aftermarket battery)?

by **kubi** » Thu Nov 13, 2003 9:35 am

I've been running my 2400 watt amp for a year and a half. I just played with it to find out when my headlights started to dim and kept it below that. With caps you can run more power without the headlights diming which will wear more on your alternator, so it's actually easier to judge power usage without caps.

by **Jon11582** » Thu Nov 13, 2003 12:10 pm

2400w on stock? Thats insane. I thought the limit was more like 500w.

by **kubi** » Thu Nov 13, 2003 12:40 pm

There is no limit, just how much power the alternator actually puts out. The stock alternator is 80 amps which is enough for about a 500 watt amp once you take out the power required for the electrical system (which I estimated).

I'm also using a Class D amplifier which has improved power handling. Yellow top and 2 caps help get power when I'm running my alternator to death already

by **Jon11582** » Thu Nov 13, 2003 1:25 pm

I was just thinking.
80A x 12v = 960w.
With overestimates, Its about 300w for all exterior lights on full, say about 100w for all interior lights and eletrical, and about 100w for what the headunit amp pushs to the speakers @ max. That leaves a little less than 500w.
Also i know the volts run slightly higher when the cars on, so I think 500w is a safe estimate.

Also I dont know much much the HVAC chews up. Could be much less after that.

How powerful an amp on a stock alternator?

How powerful an amp on a stock alternator?

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