Chevyaudio
5,000+ posts
:poof:
Alt...Take it from me, Im in the process of buying an HO alt. In the beginnning I thought I could get away with just getting a yellow top. Now my 105 amp stock Alt is only putting out 43 amps at 3k rpm. If you are running in excess of 1500 watts a HO Alt is def. needed.
- Thread Starter
- #3
Ive never bothered with a HO alt, or a better battery. The new install is going in a 97 bravada, previous ones were in a 92 grand am and an 88 bonneville.
I mainly just want to beef up the electrical since Ill have a sub amp, comp amp, and an alarm/remote start added to the mix.
Looks like Ill start looking at alts too.
Did you replace your starting battery with the Yellow Top, or add it as a second battery?
I mainly just want to beef up the electrical since Ill have a sub amp, comp amp, and an alarm/remote start added to the mix.
Looks like Ill start looking at alts too.
Did you replace your starting battery with the Yellow Top, or add it as a second battery?
FoxPro5
5,000+ posts
Causal wanderer
Pulling 1.5K on my stock 80 amp alt with Big 3 and upgraded battery w/ no problems. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif Battery first.
**Edit: **** I missed # 1000 5 posts ago....oh well, back to being a post ***** //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif ***
tRiGgEr
5,000+ posts
CarAudio.com Veteran
Battery. I have a red top and a stock alt. No dimming.
jgarcia9102
10+ year member
Senior VIP Member
isnt the car powered by the alt if the car is running? if thats the case, which i believe it is, a new battery shouldnt make that much of a difference to an amp in a running car...
always battery first. there are two reasons why.
1) Stock batteries in cars simply cannot deal with 1000Wrms+ of power, lower amounts are acceptable but will kill the stock batt eventually. This is simply due to the design of the battery itself, most stock batteries are designed to start the car by giving one large burst of power and then be continually charged by the alt. After starting, these batteries are only designed to give approx 35A of output constantly for any given time. When you upgrade the battery you will but a deep cycle battery in place of the stock starting battery. These deeps cycles are for a large amount of current draw as opposed to the smaller 35A draw, they can also be drained and charged with no ill effects. Basicly, they are designed to a car audio type application.
2) Music is dynamic, therefore the current demands required by an amplifier isn't as detrimental(sp?) as opposed to a tone. For every bump by the subs there is a time when they are quiet, giving the battery a chance to draw on the alt to charge back up. generally this is enough time for the battery to recover, and since it can catch up there is no need to replace the working alt.
now, you are going to hear a lot of people say "you are going to overwork your alt and kill it much quicker than you normally would." The catch is, you will notice a difference if you add a deep cycle battery (not an alt), if you only add the alt there will be zero difference because the stock battery will not have the current on tap that is needed for higher powered systems. So, you can buy the batt now and the alt down the road (worst case possible), or you can just buy them both now (and maybe not need the alt at all).
edit: by the way. my truck = 3500Wrms w/2 yellows and 150a alt. I have to push everything hard for a good 5-8min to even get dimming. Didn't even do the big 3, just an extra ground for the batt.
1) Stock batteries in cars simply cannot deal with 1000Wrms+ of power, lower amounts are acceptable but will kill the stock batt eventually. This is simply due to the design of the battery itself, most stock batteries are designed to start the car by giving one large burst of power and then be continually charged by the alt. After starting, these batteries are only designed to give approx 35A of output constantly for any given time. When you upgrade the battery you will but a deep cycle battery in place of the stock starting battery. These deeps cycles are for a large amount of current draw as opposed to the smaller 35A draw, they can also be drained and charged with no ill effects. Basicly, they are designed to a car audio type application.
2) Music is dynamic, therefore the current demands required by an amplifier isn't as detrimental(sp?) as opposed to a tone. For every bump by the subs there is a time when they are quiet, giving the battery a chance to draw on the alt to charge back up. generally this is enough time for the battery to recover, and since it can catch up there is no need to replace the working alt.
now, you are going to hear a lot of people say "you are going to overwork your alt and kill it much quicker than you normally would." The catch is, you will notice a difference if you add a deep cycle battery (not an alt), if you only add the alt there will be zero difference because the stock battery will not have the current on tap that is needed for higher powered systems. So, you can buy the batt now and the alt down the road (worst case possible), or you can just buy them both now (and maybe not need the alt at all).
edit: by the way. my truck = 3500Wrms w/2 yellows and 150a alt. I have to push everything hard for a good 5-8min to even get dimming. Didn't even do the big 3, just an extra ground for the batt.
no, everything is powered off the battery because it had the current "on tap." An alt is simply a charging system.
think of a battery as a sort of backbone to an electrical system, it supports all the weight of the current demands and then goes to the alt for replenishing afterwards. Realistically the alt and batt work in tandom, one can't function properly without the other, but i'm just trying to help you understand a bit better.
first electrical upgrade: battery or alt?
Depends on application really.
If you listen to music with engine off, then a battery upgrade is best
as the alternator isn't doing any work.
If you listen to music wth the engine running and want the highest voltage
possible, then you want the alternator to do most of the work.
If you want both scenarios then you need both upgrades as a good balance.
Depends on application really.
If you listen to music with engine off, then a battery upgrade is best
as the alternator isn't doing any work.
If you listen to music wth the engine running and want the highest voltage
possible, then you want the alternator to do most of the work.
If you want both scenarios then you need both upgrades as a good balance.
bamaboy
5,000+ posts
War Eagle!!!
i got a alt and new battery at the same time , then when i added my other a3000 i put in a blue top in the back
jgarcia9102
10+ year member
Senior VIP Member
thats what i thought......
- Thread Starter
- #12
How many of you use Yellow Tops as your primary (starting) battery? Is it better to get a Red or Yellow to be the primary battery?
As far as I know, red tops have higher cranking amperage, making them more of a 'starting' battery. Where as yellow tops have higher nominal output...
depends on the condition of your current battery.
I updated the battery in my last car with a red top because the stocker couldnt hold a charge.
I updated the battery in my last car with a red top because the stocker couldnt hold a charge.
Activity
No one is currently typing a reply...
Similar threads
- Started by Cromer
- General Car Audio
About this thread
