Alt or Battery first?

[Wiseracing2]

Get the battery first. I run 3k true rms on a stock 90A alternator a XS power D5100 and stock battery. Nothing helps your amps more than reserves.

and the battery will be cheaper and most likely easier to install than a quality alternator

to all those who say alternator first. yes technically that should be the first thing done but with that system the stock alt should be able to keep up recharging his system for the duration he is likely to play. unless he drains the battery completely and continues to play that is only time he will run into problems.

second of all he is not doing competition? or is he?

OP if you are only playing music your rockford amp will be lucky to draw 60 amps. plus rockford amps such as 750.1 are hella efficient. I was only drawing 30AMPs out of my T600-4. which stated it put out 800 rms which theoritically would be approx 80A draw.

second your higs amp I bet is barely drawing 20 amps maybe 25 amps. in the end the impedences which you run your amps at effect how much electrical you need. but with what you have the big 3 and a D3400 will be plenty to run that. The d3400 alone can run that system. I could see your voltage dropping into the low 13s maybe high 12s unless something else is wrong. the best thing you can do is have good wiring OFC preferred. good grounds. the big 3, and a stock battery in addition to D3400. that will be plenty.

you will get out cheaper and youll still be able to bump.

An alt should be the first electrical upgrade after the big three. In no way is adding a battery going to benefit his electrical as much as a high output alt will. The battery is ONLY in a car to help start the car and use as a reserve when too much current is drawn from the alt. The alt is what powers the entire car electrically until its capability is exceeded. Point being if you have an alt that produces more amperage than is being drawn the battery can wait until he runs more power. End of story.

Iirc, before he edited the first porst he seemed to be getting both, but one at a time. Now it seems he's only getting either alt/batt?

If you're keeping your system as is, be sure to have a good "big 3(or 4)" uppgrade, and you should be good with just a battery. Still going to be some voltage drop, but with a good battery it won't drop dangerously low. With a good battery you can also listen to music with the car off for a while, just don't be stupid. Draining the battery will also put more strain on the alt.

With a big alt you could probably play your system full tillt and stay at 14v, so that's a good thing.

You just have to figure out how much you want to spend and what you actually need.

OP if you are only playing music your rockford amp will be lucky to draw 60 amps. plus rockford amps such as 750.1 are hella efficient. I was only drawing 30AMPs out of my T600-4. which stated it put out 800 rms which theoritically would be approx 80A draw.

What are you saying here?

I agree with nite shade for more reasons than one. Think of this now, Suppose you get the battery. system is going great, now suppose your alt fails just from wear and age. now you still need to get an alt on top of the battery you bought. more $.. get the alt and be done with it.. plus if you ever want to upgrade your system later on the alt will be all you need depending on how much wattage you will be pushing. And if you ever sell the vehicle you have the choice to keep the alt and use it in another vehicle if it fits or sell it and recoup cash. With battery theres 50/50 chance you will need more power, with ALT its 100% in your favor. ALT = win win..

Well I hate for any arguments about this, I appreciate all the help but I just got paid two checks at once and now have an extra $750.. I have found I can get a DC power 180 amp alt and a D3400 at the same time... Will this alternator be powerful enough to power a 2000 watt system? Cause I'm soon planning on getting a Rockford T1500.1 and a Fi Bl 12.. is 180 enough??

[Pioneerchuck]

Yeah you should be good with the 180 and the 3400. You said you've already upgraded the big 3 so that's good and those Rockford's (like Bump4Life said) are really efficient, so you shouldn't see major major current draws from that amp. So Id say yeah it'll be a good set up for a daily driver.

[Miguels]

get alt first..

here is my story about alt companies

my brother bought a DC power alt and has been working good with no issues in 2 years.. i bought a mechman and my alt went out in 3 months (bearing issues) contacted mechman and they had it repaired in less than a week. Mechman has better customer service then DC.. sometimes it takes weeks to get in contact with anyone there. though the alts are very good

[Wiseracing2]

Yeah you should be good with the 180 and the 3400. You said you've already upgraded the big 3 so that's good and those Rockford's (like Bump4Life said) are really efficient, so you shouldn't see major major current draws from that amp. So Id say yeah it'll be a good set up for a daily driver.

Thanks! And to my surprise I message Singer about an alternator and he offered me a 250 amp alt for around the same money.. so im probably gonna end up going with that anyways so I believe I should be set on electrical! Thanks everyone for the help!

[Pioneerchuck]

Hell yeah dude, Mike Singer makes some really nice alts! They're right up there with DC Power and Mechman. I would definitely buy Singer over the other 2. And he has great prices. Glad to see you got what you wanted and are able to get both at the same time. Let us know how it turns out and which combo you go with.

[Bump4life]

Get the battery first. I run 3k true rms on a stock 90A alternator a XS power D5100 and stock battery. Nothing helps your amps more than reserves.

and the battery will be cheaper and most likely easier to install than a quality alternator

to all those who say alternator first. yes technically that should be the first thing done but with that system the stock alt should be able to keep up recharging his system for the duration he is likely to play. unless he drains the battery completely and continues to play that is only time he will run into problems.

second of all he is not doing competition? or is he?

OP if you are only playing music your rockford amp will be lucky to draw 60 amps. plus rockford amps such as 750.1 are hella efficient. I was only drawing 30AMPs out of my T600-4. which stated it put out 800 rms which theoritically would be approx 80A draw.

second your higs amp I bet is barely drawing 20 amps maybe 25 amps. in the end the impedences which you run your amps at effect how much electrical you need. but with what you have the big 3 and a D3400 will be plenty to run that. The d3400 alone can run that system. I could see your voltage dropping into the low 13s maybe high 12s unless something else is wrong. the best thing you can do is have good wiring OFC preferred. good grounds. the big 3, and a stock battery in addition to D3400. that will be plenty.

you will get out cheaper and youll still be able to bump.

Just curious, what is your voltage drop? I am going to be running similar watts on a 90A stock alt as well. Equipment is in sig.

i drop to 12.2 at the lowest on some songs. mainly stay 12.5-12.6 @ idle!!!!! stnading outside my car

in my opinion as long as you are above 12 you are fine as long as you charge your batteries with car or other charger.

to all others, yes the point of a battery is to have reserves. sure an alt is the first choice since that is what is making the power, but that is not the cheapest route and a D3400 will run the system just fine and can be moved to any car without any selling of it or trying to "refit" it to a new vechicle. but i guess this question no loinger is necessary since OP is getting both which is the best option!!

[kalilac619]

Alt made more of an impact on my system then the batt did hell even with 2 batts,only thing batts do is help you hold voltage longer at batt resting voltage....

[kalilac619]

Get the battery first. I run 3k true rms on a stock 90A alternator a XS power D5100 and stock battery. Nothing helps your amps more than reserves.

and the battery will be cheaper and most likely easier to install than a quality alternator

to all those who say alternator first. yes technically that should be the first thing done but with that system the stock alt should be able to keep up recharging his system for the duration he is likely to play. unless he drains the battery completely and continues to play that is only time he will run into problems.

second of all he is not doing competition? or is he?

OP if you are only playing music your rockford amp will be lucky to draw 60 amps. plus rockford amps such as 750.1 are hella efficient. I was only drawing 30AMPs out of my T600-4. which stated it put out 800 rms which theoritically would be approx 80A draw.

second your higs amp I bet is barely drawing 20 amps maybe 25 amps. in the end the impedences which you run your amps at effect how much electrical you need. but with what you have the big 3 and a D3400 will be plenty to run that. The d3400 alone can run that system. I could see your voltage dropping into the low 13s maybe high 12s unless something else is wrong. the best thing you can do is have good wiring OFC preferred. good grounds. the big 3, and a stock battery in addition to D3400. that will be plenty.

you will get out cheaper and youll still be able to bump.

Just curious, what is your voltage drop? I am going to be running similar watts on a 90A stock alt as well. Equipment is in sig.

i drop to 12.2 at the lowest on some songs. mainly stay 12.5-12.6 @ idle!!!!! stnading outside my car

in my opinion as long as you are above 12 you are fine as long as you charge your batteries with car or other charger.

to all others, yes the point of a battery is to have reserves. sure an alt is the first choice since that is what is making the power, but that is not the cheapest route and a D3400 will run the system just fine and can be moved to any car without any selling of it or trying to "refit" it to a new vechicle. but i guess this question no loinger is necessary since OP is getting both which is the best option!!

at 12.5 -12.6 your at battery power now if you were at 13.5-13.6 youd be using alternator power and your amp/amps would be putting out more power then at the 12.5-12.6 and an alternator would help keep the voltage up there not the batt....

[Wiseracing2]

Hell yeah dude, Mike Singer makes some really nice alts! They're right up there with DC Power and Mechman. I would definitely buy Singer over the other 2. And he has great prices. Glad to see you got what you wanted and are able to get both at the same time. Let us know how it turns out and which combo you go with.

Appreciate the kind words man, I'll get back to y'all on how everything turns out! I appreciate all the help i've gotten from everyone and am now set on a Singer 250 amp alt and a D3400... Hopefully will be ordering them after I get back from my trip to Angel Fire next week! Thanks again!

[ds1919]

Ive had a DC alt for about 3 years or more, runs perfect! No probs. Csr service is, well, you gotta call them a few times to get a human, other than that they're nice folks, at least to me. I like the DC alt because they use a larger casing, so they can use larger windings and custom stator stuff (cant remember which stuff lol). A lot of aftermarket HO alts use the same case, and you can only add so many more windings before you run out of room. This makes more heat. Also, these cheap HO alts only put out advertised Amperage at full rpm. At idle, some of them put out less than stock. I do not know Mechman alts at all, but from what I have read, he will prolly give you all the informaiton you need.

One thing tho, if its at all possible, I would suggest an alt with more output. Your 2000wrms amp will try to draw somewhere around 200amps, or somewhere close to that. Then add in your amp for the fronts. Then add in your accessories (lights etc). Then add in the depreciation value caused by heat, wire resistance, battery ESR etc. You might be left with only 140-150amps, maybe less. See how much more it would be for a 200a alt, or even a 220a. Might be worth it down the road, especially if its a lttle $$$ more..

Oh yeah, my vote is for getting the alt first, hands down. In your case, the battery would be a bandaid. The alt would be the fix. After the new alt, then the battery would be the improvement