170 amp alternator

[bgcb71]

I'm looking at purchasing a 170 amp alt and an optima yellow or red top. Has anyone had any bad experiences with high output alts? Also should I make any other upgrades to the electrical system to help support the high output alt?

[Pacman91EX]

how many amps of the 170amps will be running at idle rpms??
are you building a competition set-up??

[oranger]

Sheesh, OE should be fine, thats gunna bog the hell out of your engine

[bgcb71]

well the deal on the 170 amp went south. I asked the seller for details on the amperage at idle and otherwise. He could not give an answer. I have now found a 135 amp alt. It does 65 amns at 800rpm and the full 135 amps at 1600rpm. My setup is used for comp. I have a 1600wt rms amp for the subs and a punch 4004 for mids and highs. Would this alt work for my situation? Would it cause any electrical damage to my car?

[Pacman91EX]

have you thought of adding a second battery?? a regular battery for your basic car electrical and an optima yellow top for the stereo setup??
On my chevy tahoe i had dual battery setup running with a stock alternator and it worked good. you will need a battery isolater to bridge both batteries.

[oranger]

Thats a lot of work, just install a capacitor.

[Radioactive]

I had a 140 amp alternator on my Accord for over a decade. Never had a problem till here recently. The alternator finally went out. I upgraded to a 200 amp. It is capable of full power at idle. Works gr.eat

[ChIoVnIdCa]

have you thought of adding a second battery?? a regular battery for your basic car electrical and an optima yellow top for the stereo setup??
On my chevy tahoe i had dual battery setup running with a stock alternator and it worked good. you will need a battery isolater to bridge both batteries.

A second battery is only more of a draw on the alternator

[ChIoVnIdCa]

Thats a lot of work, just install a capacitor.

Again just a band aid. Will not fix a serious power supply issue.. May even make it worse

[bruno8747]

I had a 140 amp alternator on my Accord for over a decade. Never had a problem till here recently. The alternator finally went out. I upgraded to a 200 amp. It is capable of full power at idle. Works gr.eat

So you say that you have 200 amps at idle?

I never knew they even made more than 150 amp alternators for our cars. I was always told that these Honda alternators were tightly packed from the factory and you will have to get an after market casing or upgrade 10amps over stock.

[ChIoVnIdCa]

well the deal on the 170 amp went south. I asked the seller for details on the amperage at idle and otherwise. He could not give an answer. I have now found a 135 amp alt. It does 65 amns at 800rpm and the full 135 amps at 1600rpm. My setup is used for comp. I have a 1600wt rms amp for the subs and a punch 4004 for mids and highs. Would this alt work for my situation? Would it cause any electrical damage to my car?

If you cant get real specs on it or the seller is unsure don't buy it. You want a reliable alternator with a high output at the lowest rpm. (idle)

[ChIoVnIdCa]

Sheesh, OE should be fine, thats gunna bog the hell out of your engine

No it wont... Have you even dealt with this before or just guessing ?

[ChIoVnIdCa]

I'm looking at purchasing a 170 amp alt and an optima yellow or red top. Has anyone had any bad experiences with high output alts? Also should I make any other upgrades to the electrical system to help support the high output alt?

Do you have dimming issues at the moment. The first thing you should do before you spend money upgrading something you may not need to is do "the big three"


You want to upgrade


1) Battery negative to chassis
2) Alternator to battery positive
3) Chassis to engine



It will
1) Reduced dimming and smaller voltage drops
2) Help stabilize voltage and better current flow
3) Less strain on your vehicle's charging system


Its an older car not built to facilitate powering the car and a "large" current draw from an amplifier . So upgrade the simple stuff first. And if you end up with a decent high output alternator you will be even better off with your newly upgraded wiring.


I suggest reading up on this too so you can understand some theory behind the H.O. Alternator http://www.zena.net/htdocs/alternators/alt_inf2.shtml

[bgcb71]

Do you have dimming issues at the moment. The first thing you should do before you spend money upgrading something you may not need to is do "the big three"


You want to upgrade


1) Battery negative to chassis
2) Alternator to battery positive
3) Chassis to engine



It will
1) Reduced dimming and smaller voltage drops
2) Help stabilize voltage and better current flow
3) Less strain on your vehicle's charging system


Its an older car not built to facilitate powering the car and a "large" current draw from an amplifier . So upgrade the simple stuff first. And if you end up with a decent high output alternator you will be even better off with your newly upgraded wiring.


I suggest reading up on this too so you can understand some theory behind the H.O. Alternator http://www.zena.net/htdocs/alternators/alt_inf2.shtml

I do have dimming issues now. Thanks for all the advice. I'll be doing the "big three" upgrade this weekend. Never thought about doing it, but it makes great sense. Do you have any suggestions on the wire type to use. I'm assuming that a high quality 1/0 guage would work. If not, please point me in the right direction.

[ChIoVnIdCa]

I do have dimming issues now. Thanks for all the advice. I'll be doing the "big three" upgrade this weekend. Never thought about doing it, but it makes great sense. Do you have any suggestions on the wire type to use. I'm assuming that a high quality 1/0 guage would work. If not, please point me in the right direction.

4 ga would be fine but the bigger ga the better