Do i have to have a high output alt?

[Cromer]

Is there any way of getting out of having to upgrade my stock 160 alt to run a kicker 1800.1 amp on 2 kicker l7S 12s? Im gonna do the big 3 with 1/0 wiring. If i need a battery other than stock under the hood, what would push these and maybe a few hundred watts for dash and rollbar speakers

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[Jimi77 Premium Member]

Alot depends on how hard and how long you push the system. You can always install the system and see how bad your voltage drops are before investing in an HO alt.

 

[Old_Slapper]

My son is running about 1500 watts in his Ranger. I put a 250 amp alternator on it and a 6 farad cap. When he cranks it up, there isn't a single light flickering or dimming, and that's at idle while playing Bass Head, by Bass Nectar. You'll need a pretty hefty battery bank to achieve that without a high output alternator.

 

[ThxOne Premium Member]

Is there any way of getting out of having to upgrade my stock 160 alt to run a kicker 1800.1 amp on 2 kicker l7S 12s? Im gonna do the big 3 with 1/0 wiring. If i need a battery other than stock under the hood, what would push these and maybe a few hundred watts for dash and rollbar speakers

Here is the thing. All your RMS watts are fine and under normal, reasonable listening you will never see 1,800-2000w rms out of your system. You'd have to be playing sine waves to pull even your rms or be hitting some serious low bass for extended runs.

AGM or Lithium under hood battery - Big 3 or 4 - OFC all day - Ultra Cap Bank in the rear. You should be fine for normal operation. If you plan on nothing but playing as loud as it will get till the cows come home... upgrade the alternator too.
Just my 2¢

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

Takes power to make power.
But a volt meter would answer that pretty quickly.

 

[RobGMN Premium Member]

As said, demand versus delivery.
If you're using more than you are producing, you eventually run out.

You can watch a voltmeter, or do amperage tests on the battery after a "normal" playing session.

 

[1aespinoza Premium Member]

what would push these and maybe a few hundred watts for dash and rollbar speakers

Look into the Glowe Voltage batteries.

 

[dragon.breath 10+ year member]

Lithium batteries are a game changer for car audio. I converted my daily driver to a lithium battery ( JY Power Hp40 ) . With a 2000 watt rms amplifier I have zero voltage drop. This is with the 20 year old factory 105 amp alternator.

 

[Jimi77 Premium Member]

Lithium batteries are a game changer for car audio. I converted my daily driver to a lithium battery ( JY Power Hp40 ) . With a 2000 watt rms amplifier I have zero voltage drop. This is with the 20 year old factory 105 amp alternator.

I'm still using Optima deep cycles, time for me to get with the times.

 

[Old_Slapper]

I guess I should have mentioned this to answer your question the first time I responded.

• Do you need a high output alternator? No. You don't need one. It is recommended but not required.
• Would your amps performance be affected without one? Yes. When voltage drops, the amps power output drops.