Charging system question?

[TravisPittman 2]

One U.s. Amps VLX-25 @ 1/2 mono that draws 400 amps ona 95 Accord and need alternator upgrades badly. . right now i got a stock 100 amp alternator w 3 batteries totaling amps. A friend remommended Ohio Generators and want opinions on them or better options?

[knockinthastreetzof608 1]

One U.s. Amps VLX-25 @ 1/2 mono that draws 400 amps ona 95 Accord and need alternator upgrades badly. . right now i got a stock 100 amp alternator w 3 batteries totaling amps. A friend remommended Ohio Generators and want opinions on them or better options?

mechman dc power and mike singer to name a few

[ssh 924]

The only high output alternator company I have dealt with is DC Power Engineering (https://www.dcpowerinc.com/) They also have a forum on this site.

Their alternators make "rated" power and then some. Very good build quality. Downer is: sometimes they have a long lead time and they are hard to get a hold of at times. I found the best way to get a hold of them is by email, usually received a response in a day or two.

I've seen a few threads here and there where people ordered from DC and their alt didn't quite fit (had to do some minor grinding) or their wiring harness and plugs didn't match.

I ordered one for my last vehicle, got it in about 45 days, wired everything up, worked GREAT. I couldn't complain about anything at all. It fit perfectly, I had zero voltage issues... I was running a saz1500d with no additional batteries, at full tilt my voltage would float around 14v-14.5v

I've also seen people have good success with Mechman, personally I haven't used them so I don't have much input.

400 amp draw is a lot. I know DC Power makes a 390xp, if they have one for your vehicle that would probably be a safe bet.

[ssh 924]

According to the DC Power website, https://www.dcpowerinc.com/vaf/product/list/?category=%3F&year=23&make=145&model=724&engine=1538

They have a 270xp for $630

Hot Idle Amperage @ 200ºF 170

Hot Max Amperage @ 200ºF 240

Dual bracket, two alts maybe? I have no idea if there's any room for that sort of thing.

-------

One thing to keep in mind, a lot of cheap H/O alts have terrible idle amperage and don't last very long.

[TravisPittman 2]

i talked to Ohio Generator and they recommended dual 285 amp in GM housings but i worrried about room under hood but i got an idea of how to make it work but i want quality stuff.

[TravisPittman 2]

Planned on custom brackets and replacing ac compressor w 2nd alternator. In process of finishing engine swap so what better time.

[ssh 924]

Never used Ohio Gen so I can't comment on them.

In my book DC Power is very good quality. If you need the alt(s) soon, perhaps DC Power isn't the best choice though.

One of the employees at DC, Kyle, has a honda accord and one or two of their alts under the hood, with a bunch of videos doing bench testing, stereo equipment at full tilt and voltage, etc.

somewhere on here: http://www.youtube.com/user/dcpowerinc#p/u

[shizzzon 461]

hehe, i've talked with ohio generator before..

they base your requirement on PEAK current pull which is stupid, imo.

Example-

Let's say we had 5 amps that "can" pull up to 300A a piece.

But during playback, they are only pulling around 140A per amp and if we do pull 300A per amp, it's only for a couple seconds...

Well, OG would tell us to get 1,500A worth of alts because they tried to feed me that crap 5yrs ago with my car.

There are many Current options to go with when choosing an alternator and that's based on how the vehicle's electrical system is used.

I was pulling ~1,100A of current on stock alt for months before i tore everything out..

Stock alt still works fine to this day.

Of course i want(ed) a high output alt but the highest possible isn't necessary.

[TravisPittman 2]

I was quoted 285 peak and 225 amp @ 2k rpm wirerd to plug and play gor about $550 each. My amp is extremely power hungry and supposedly 1 of 5

[shizzzon 461]

any amp is extremely power hungry when you wire it below 1ohm. The efficiency is drastically reduced.

[TravisPittman 2]

The amp factory rated to draw 225a but according to a U.am Amp rep who personally followed the particular build said true power unknown but were custom internals just used a VLX-25 case.

[ssh 924]

Not to put anyone down, but you didn't reach 159.8dB with 25watts. Obviously you know that amp was a "cheater amp"...

However I don't care how much power you use, if you manage to reach that mark, that's outstanding.

[TravisPittman 2]

It's rated 12.5 by 2 @ 4 ohms and 11.4 volts. but unregulated, 16 volt max, .25 ohm stable and @ .5 ohm mono now, would say cheater lol.

[ssh 924]

Yep just a tad.

[TravisPittman 2]

I have another VLX-25 in black and labeled.

[TravisPittman 2]

Also looking for two USA-100s and another USA-50, found one already, gonna quad amp the four sets of Memphis M3 components w an old Sony XEC-1000 crossover I have had forever.

[shizzzon 461]

oh, hehe, don't go off of a "guess" about current draw...

You want to know what it's drawing, get an Ammeter.

Without knowing what the amp is "suppose" to put out.. it's impossible to suggest an alternator with some proof of current draw...

So if i was in your shoes, i'd probably get a 270XP from DC Power and just add batts as needed to stabilize the voltage.

[TravisPittman 2]

Car is daily driver and I built it to enjoy and do so I want reliability and clarity.

[shizzzon 461]

in all seriousness, if i am understanding you right.. you are wanting to be able to blast this setup consistently without problem?

If this is true, nothing anyone can tell you will help the longevity and reliability of a setup that is wired at 0.5ohms.

It is unsafe to wire that low for daily driving AND expect it to be just as reliable as wiring to 1ohm regardless of electrical system!

People have been able to run at 0.5 ohm daily.. as I have.. but i do not expect these types of setups to be stable at maximum output for longterm durations as what's expected when wired to a load that is considered safe and others do not either.

[TravisPittman 2]

Not only do i want to blast it constantly, I do and have for two years already and will continue to do it. If you cant crank it, yank it!!! And besides Life begins at 150db!!!

[shizzzon 461]

Heh, i do agree with that! life begins at 150db.. and i think life ends at 160db, lol..

[TravisPittman 2]

Heh, i do agree with that! life begins at 150db.. and i think life ends at 160db, lol..

Yeah but you only live once so enjoy lol

[TravisPittman 2]

this my two 25s

[TravisPittman 2]

Edited October 3, 2011 by onefasth22accord

[TravisPittman 2]