Alternator Upgrade -- HELP!
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From: http://www.mphparts.com 800-364-1975
Alternator Upgrade -- HELP!
Hi all,
About 1000 watts total on my stereo and dimming headlights -- I have a 1 farad cap and have not upgraded the big 3 wires.
Is there a *maximum* I should aim for on the alternator output? http://www.mralternator.com has a 160 amp and a 200 amp alternator that should bolt-on to my C5.
160 seems like it should do it but 200 means that the alternator will never have to work hard. Is that overkill? Is there anything I should look out for? Any favorites for alternator upgrades (part numbers and where to buy)??
Thanks in advance!
:)
About 1000 watts total on my stereo and dimming headlights -- I have a 1 farad cap and have not upgraded the big 3 wires.
Is there a *maximum* I should aim for on the alternator output? http://www.mralternator.com has a 160 amp and a 200 amp alternator that should bolt-on to my C5.
160 seems like it should do it but 200 means that the alternator will never have to work hard. Is that overkill? Is there anything I should look out for? Any favorites for alternator upgrades (part numbers and where to buy)??
Thanks in advance!
:)
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Joined: May 2003
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From: Iowa
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Re: Alternator Upgrade -- HELP! (diynoob)
With a 1k watts you should not be having a problem.
You DO need to upgrade your wiring though. For 1k watts I recommend you run 4 guage from battery to amp. That is both positive AND negitive wires.
Ohio generator make the best alternators, they have a 200 amp for $900 but I really believe the wiring will do the trick and that will be ALOT less $.
Good Luck :thumbs:
You DO need to upgrade your wiring though. For 1k watts I recommend you run 4 guage from battery to amp. That is both positive AND negitive wires.
Ohio generator make the best alternators, they have a 200 amp for $900 but I really believe the wiring will do the trick and that will be ALOT less $.
Good Luck :thumbs:
Thread Starter
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From: http://www.mphparts.com 800-364-1975
Re: Alternator Upgrade -- HELP! (knewblewkorvette)
Is the amp wiring more important than wiring to alternator and ground from the battery? I saw a few people recommended upgrading alternator/battery wiring but I'm not sure where to get the wiring.
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St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Re: Alternator Upgrade -- HELP! (diynoob)
Yes and no.
The C5 has a decent size wire for those unless you get way up in power.
The C5 ground is not like most cars as in most cars are made of metal, not fiberglass. Try my sugestion, it should work for you.
As where to get wiring, there is a ton of places that will sell wiring kits but with any of them you will need to buy extra grounding wire. Best Buy, Crutchfieid magazine or web page, and E-Bay are all places to shop with E-bay being the cheapest. :cheers:
The C5 has a decent size wire for those unless you get way up in power.
The C5 ground is not like most cars as in most cars are made of metal, not fiberglass. Try my sugestion, it should work for you.
As where to get wiring, there is a ton of places that will sell wiring kits but with any of them you will need to buy extra grounding wire. Best Buy, Crutchfieid magazine or web page, and E-Bay are all places to shop with E-bay being the cheapest. :cheers:
Thread Starter
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From: http://www.mphparts.com 800-364-1975
Re: Alternator Upgrade -- HELP! (knewblewkorvette)
Thanks knewblew,
When the stereo shop in town did my wiring, they grounded the amp to a bolt holding the passenger seat down. It never looked like a great grounding place to me, and it sounds like you are suggesting grounding the amp back to the battery?
When the stereo shop in town did my wiring, they grounded the amp to a bolt holding the passenger seat down. It never looked like a great grounding place to me, and it sounds like you are suggesting grounding the amp back to the battery?
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From: Iowa
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Re: Alternator Upgrade -- HELP! (diynoob)
Yep, run the same guage wire (at least 4 guage) from battery's negitive to amp's ground. It should help alot. Its like having flow of electicity going through the same size hoses, keeping everything equal and thus elemanating a weak link.
Almost all other cars its okay to ground to body of car by keeping a short ground.
Good Luck again :thumbs:
Almost all other cars its okay to ground to body of car by keeping a short ground.
Good Luck again :thumbs:
