question about dc power 270xp

[irpirate]

so i have a dc power 270 xp for my 4runner. underhood i have a xs power d3100. big 3 is done in 3/0 welding. two runs of 3/0 (1 pos 1 neg) around 10-12 feet each to two more d3100s in the back. all terminals have the shiny crap sanded off. area i grounded to is sanded/grinded down really well and i used a self tapping screw to bolt those down (1 run of 3/0 one of 1/0). i have 16 12's. 300 rms each, amp is a sundown 3500 at .5. mids and highs amp isnt even in right now. while revving the engine or driving, if i try and play completely full tilt, i still have some pretty bad voltage drops. big hits will drop it down a bit below 13. long extended bass notes will keep it there. at that point i always ease off the volume. at idle i cant even play close to full tilt, maybe 3/4 at most. i have a little cigarette lighter socket meter to keep an eye on my voltage. i know its better to have the reading on the back batteries, but i just need an idea of when my voltage is dropping.

my question is how come i see other people running equal or more rms than me not having any voltage drops full tilt, even at idle? granted my car (2002 4runner) idles at roughly 600 engine rpm (was told by robbie at dc power alternator rpm would be around 1900) but still i don't think there should be that much of a difference between mine and theirs. i just saw a thread asking about alts for honda civics. Alex K said with a 270xp he stayed at 13.8-14.1 full tilt with two sundown 3000's @ .5. said he had 4 bats, didn't specify which ones though.

when musics not playing battery sits at 14.7. i'm happy with the alternator, just after seeing what other people are saying about theirs it just makes me wonder....

wuzzzz goinnn onnnn???

thanks all!

[ryderonthestorm]

I dont think dropping a lil below 13 is too bad of a voltage drop. If your dropping into the 11's then you got a problem. But hopefully one of the more experienced guys will answer this for ya. Good luck.

[irpirate]

i never give it the chance to go into the 11's. anytime it hits 12.xx i turn the volume down.

found this one the ssa forum - dc power rob

If your Charger is a 5.7, they'll peak over 200 at idle, but they will do 170-180 at idle, with no trouble at all, continuous.. The XP's on late model '08+ Charger's/Challenger's etc are just ruthless at idle.. We have one local customer that we did a 270 in that although we couldn't clamp it to see what it actually did (no room behind the alt), it would run 4k watts, at idle, at 14.6-14.7v, and the customer damn near smoked 3 amps from running it full tilt at idle for about 45 minutes.. He had never been able to actually enjoy his system so when he finally did, he just railed on it and wouldn't let up. It was classic.. Kyle has a video somewhere of the voltmeter on it, but we never uploaded it anywhere because we couldn't clamp it..

yes its a different car but still, unless it idles at 2k engine rpm i dont see how it can do that. maybe ill just email dc power :/

[bobonit]

Not saying this is definitely your problem, but lose that self tapping screw. Use a nut and bolt to hold your grounds down.

[irpirate]

Not saying this is definitely your problem, but lose that self tapping screw. Use a nut and bolt to hold your grounds down.

is that the best way to do it? i was under the impression that the self tapping screw was for some reason. i dont think i can get access to the back side of the ground though lol. the two terminals are stack on top of each other. would it help if i laid them side by side instead and used two screws to keep them down? more surface area? im pretty sure my ground is good, the terminal i used is really wide around the ring, the things connected really well, doesn't budge at all. if i can get some people to tell me the two screw idea is a good thing ill definitely give that a shot.

[bobonit]

I'm going to assume that since you are using a self tapping screw, you are not going in to the thicker frame metal and are just using the thinner chassis metal. IF that is the case, it may seem tight when you first put it in, but it will not stay that way.

For the grounds in my car, I drilled holes in the actual frame, tapped them and used bolts with lock washers. I check them to make sure they are tight from time to time and they haven't moved yet. But you need something thick enough if you are not going to use a nut on the backside.

I mean think about it. You spent all that money on a DC Power alternator, the welding cable, XS Power batteries and you are going to use a self tapping screw to tie it all together?

[Guest DC Power Kyle]

It may be belt slip call me today at extension 203 at 9515095617

[Guest DC Power Kyle]

And just to let you know I was running a saz-3500d at a half ohm and was dropping to 15 to 14.4 for the entire song full tilt. This was with. 270xp as well.

[AMI CUSTOMS]

Don't do the two screw idea keep them on the same stud and if the screw is tight then u are fine. Just grab the cable and try to move the terminal if you can't then it is fine.

[irpirate]

In class now, ill give you a call in 2 hours or so.