ok so ill start with the car I have.. its a 2002 chevy cavalier... I recently bought to drive back and forth to work. ok so I just picked up a bc3500 last night and im gonna order either single 12 or a single 15 ssa zcon.. undecided yet still looking at box designs with frogcase2002 (casey). anyway I need some info on the electrical aspect of it.. gonna do the big three.. just need info on batteries and alternator... I can get yellotop optimas pretty damn cheap the company I work for orders them in bulk and I can get them for their cost.. anyway which company should I go with on alts? I seen ebay alts pretty cheap but idk how well they perform... if you guys could recommend a alt that would be great and how many yellow tops I would need or a better battery substitute? ok thanks guys and any advice is appreciated. . this is gonna be my first setup thats gonna be done right and I wanna try to get everything I need the first time around.. thanks again for any help

Get the biggest alternator you can for your car, don't cheap out on an alt because its a low price. Go with a reputable company, a yellow top under the hood and 2-3 in the rear is a start but nobody can give you an exact number. If not those Diehard Platinum G31s from Sears are the best bang for the buck right now and 2 of them should suffice depending on the rest of the electrical upgrades.

Edited March 19, 201411 yr by jay-cee

Get the biggest alternator you can for your car, don't cheap out on an alt because its a low price. Go with a reputable company, a yellow top under the hood and 2-3 in the rear is a start but nobody can give you an exact number. If not those Diehard Platinum G31s from Sears are the best bang for the buck right now and 2 of them should suffice depending on the rest of the electrical upgrades.

thanks for the advice. was only going yellowtop because of how cheap I can get them.. but from what little research ive done on alts it seems a 250a is big as I can get.. maybe it would be better if I ran stock alt and the 250 just for the system. idk lol.. also if anyone sees or has a used one for a decent price hook me up

250 is not bad at all for an alt !

Work with the Optimas if you hace them so cheap.

Watch your voltage to see if you need more batteries.

 

You're lucky to find HO alts for your car  

 

I know Mechman and Singer make good products. Mechman alts are available on the ssa store too : it's a very good sign !

and welcome to this forum  

250 is not bad at all for an alt !

Work with the Optimas if you hace them so cheap.

Watch your voltage to see if you need more batteries.

You're lucky to find HO alts for your car

I know Mechman and Singer make good products. Mechman alts are available on the ssa store too : it's a very good sign !

thanks for the input and mechman were the ones I was looking at and dc there were many others I browsed but cant remember the names.. I had no idea so many companies made alternators lol.. and thanks for the welcoming. . ooo and I was wrong its 270 and mechman offers a 370a but its almost worth as much as the car lol

Edited March 19, 201411 yr by ohio45113

I am also wanting to upgrade to a H/O alt.  I was told to check out "Ohio Generators" and ask for "Tom".  Just one option...I have had my eye on a "Maniac Electrical Motors" alternator because they have a stock drop in for my car that is double the amps at 180, and they have a fantastic sales lady that is ALWAYS available and answers calls within the first couple rings.  That to me means a lot in itself!  They also do not "overbuild" their alt's, they make sure that their alt's can hang tough at low rpm's which is how must of us are bumping our cars and is important for no voltage drops at low rpm/even idle, while having high output from the stereo. 

 

IMO the yellow top optima's are the way to go if you get them at cost.  However, I am personally interested to see if the DieHard Platinum's would work well in the back of my car with my military grade Odyssey group 65-PC1750 under the hood!

I am also wanting to upgrade to a H/O alt. I was told to check out "Ohio Generators" and ask for "Tom". Just one option...I have had my eye on a "Maniac Electrical Motors" alternator because they have a stock drop in for my car that is double the amps at 180, and they have a fantastic sales lady that is ALWAYS available and answers calls within the first couple rings. That to me means a lot in itself! They also do not "overbuild" their alt's, they make sure that their alt's can hang tough at low rpm's which is how must of us are bumping our cars and is important for no voltage drops at low rpm/even idle, while having high output from the stereo.

IMO the yellow top optima's are the way to go if you get them at cost. However, I am personally interested to see if the DieHard Platinum's would work well in the back of my car with my military grade Odyssey group 65-PC1750 under the hood!

great info and thanks for the tips im looking both companies up now

ok so I did some research and the sears diehards seem like they would work but I can still get the yellowtops way cheaper.. and as far as alts.. I read and read and then read some more and I think I have what would work best for me narrowed down to dc or mechman.. but thats just me.. but still open to suggestions and hands on input from you guys..

I like Singer. Just my .02

I like Singer. Just my .02

does it perform well? high amps at idle? maybe I should of explained how I like to listen to music.. I live out in the middle of nowhere and we pull my car up to the fire pit and get shit faced and bang loud ass music.. I refuse to drink n drive so we basically sit out back n chill.. so I need big output at idle

I just install a 250amp singer on my car at idle it may drop to 13.8.Singer had very good customer service.He keep me up to date on the build returned emails in a timely manner I would recommend singer to anyone.lifetime warranty also

I just install a 250amp singer on my car at idle it may drop to 13.8.Singer had very good customer service.He keep me up to date on the build returned emails in a timely manner I would recommend singer to anyone.lifetime warranty also

hell yeah man thats the kinda shit I wanna hear...

Are you related to Randal? btw, there is no such thing as .. and ... has a very particular use. Made the post really hard to read which is funny since you could have typed everything you asked in the title.

I have a 2002 Cavalier that I want to buy an alternator and battery for to support a BC3500, whose should I look at?

I also have decided to email singer, with my cars specs to see how quick and with what they respond with.  It will be interesting to see if they have something they can do for my specific vehicle at a reasonable price!

Are you related to Randal? btw, there is no such thing as .. and ... has a very particular use. Made the post really hard to read which is funny since you could have typed everything you asked in the title.

I have a 2002 Cavalier that I want to buy an alternator and battery for to support a BC3500, whose should I look at?

lol... my bad?

he is just showing you when you have a question to post how to keep it easy to read/answer, you will get more replys that way

 

...Have not heard from Singer yet, although it is just past 11 o clock there, just testing their response time and hoping for a good estimate on the H/O Alty that I need!

Edited March 20, 201411 yr by THX_Elite

he is just showing you when you have a question to post how to keep it easy to read/answer, you will get more replys that way

...Have not heard from Singer yet, although it is just past 11 o clock there, just testing their response time and hoping for a good estimate on the H/O Alty that I need!

yeah I gathered that much... and the ...s are just a habit that I dont even notice I do. my fault I guess and who is randal? I also looked into ohio generators and it seems like they used to be good... but have slacked off in the past couple of years. i cant say this from experience but all the reviews I read were not good. im going to check into singer as well...

Edited March 20, 201411 yr by ohio45113

ya i gave up on Ohio Gen because they, "Tom", didn't have a unit he could test that fits my car so he hung up on me lol.  Marked them right off the list!

Edited March 20, 201411 yr by THX_Elite

Randal is a chronic ellipse user. His post are unintelligible.

ok so ive heard back from mechman and singer.. they both offer products right around the same price and both have about the same amperage output. waiting to here back from dc still.

ok so ive heard back from mechman and singer.. they both offer products right around the same price and both have about the same amperage output. waiting to here back from dc still.

what about the warranty

ok so ive heard back from mechman and singer.. they both offer products right around the same price and both have about the same amperage output. waiting to here back from dc still.

what about the warranty

mechman has a 2 year warranty... singer says lifetime warranty and covers shipping but not parts

ok so ive heard back from mechman and singer.. they both offer products right around the same price and both have about the same amperage output. waiting to here back from dc still.

what about the warranty

mechman has a 2 year warranty... singer says lifetime warranty and covers shipping but not parts

hmmm maybe I need to reread my email

You are correct sir!

Hello Gary The upgraded unit that I offer for your vehicle is a 230A (250A peak)-suitable for up to 3-4K RMS daily-. This alternator is a direct bolt on design for your vehicle and would plug in just like the factory alternator (includes overdrive pulley for proper idle performance at low rpm). The total price on this unit shipped w/ my lifetimewarrantyon laboris$429. All units come w/ a lifetime warranty that covers any repair labor (parts are at company cost) You can add a powder coating option on any order for an additional $48.