250 amp or 320 amp alternator

yobertss

CarAudio.com Newbie
19
2
hawaii
2800 watts D4S sub amp
2000 watts D4S 4 channel amp
Toyota tacoma 2014
Do i need a 320+ amp alternator?
Or do i need to upgrade my alternator
I also have xs power d3400R
 
2800w + 2000w =4800w.
x .85% efficiency (which is a rough guess) = 5,647w
5647w / 14.4v = 392 amps.
Thats when it's hitting hard and playing at max. The rest of the time, between it is charging at a rate higher than it is using. If you don't play it on full, and don't listen to medium heavy bass, and don't listen to it for more than an hour at a time, with a little shut off time before you turn the vehicle off to make sure you recharged, you could probably get away with 250. I would definitely go 320 on that so I wouldn't be limited.

That power is just your stereo. You also have the rest of your vehicle. Ecu, fans, and AC are big energy users, if you use those often. Injectors, lights, turns, anything that connects to your dash uses something. If you've added any lights, if you want to add another amp, or change one of them. If you want to charge a couple phones, an inverter, a screen, etc.. Just seems an easy answer to buy the 320, and not be limited right away. I would definitely go 320 with that. I'm at 240 and half that, because I wanted some room.

Personally, electrical is the one thing, if you are going to upgrade it, IT'S DEFINITELY WORTH THE MINIMAL PRICE INCREASE, to upgrade to what you MIGHT need, and not just what you need now.
 
It also depends on which amp you get. I drive a manual transmission so I can control my rev, and keep it up if I need to, to charge. In an automatic, you might be cruising at a low RPM, and you won't be charging at max amperage. If you are near idle, you won't get anywhere near full charge. That 240/320 alt charge is when you are usually around 2k RPMS on a great alt, and over 3K rpms on a crappy alt. Where do you cruise at? What rpm do you usually drive at? You should factor that in too.
 
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yobertss

CarAudio.com Newbie
19
2
hawaii
It also depends on which amp you get. I drive a manual transmission so I can control my rev, and keep it up if I need to, to charge. In an automatic, you might be cruising at a low RPM, and you won't be charging at max amperage. If you are near idle, you won't get anywhere near full charge. That 240/320 alt charge is when you are usually around 2k RPMS on a great alt, and over 3K rpms on a crappy alt. Where do you cruise at? What rpm do you usually drive at? You should factor that in too.
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