H.O. Alternator = lost Horse Power?

[BryBrySmash 10+ year member]

Will installing a H.O. alternator, like a 200A decrease your horse power?

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[osokrayzay 10+ year member]

My question is would a H.O. Alternator give more HP?

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

yes, but the question will be, will the driver be able to feel it? for my car, I think I somewhat feel it (1.8l LPG, i notice a diff even with just an extra sub in my car).

You have a 5.9 cherokee, don't think the alt will do much.

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

er, i meant dcrease. I don't see how alts can in anyway increase power.

 

[pavengmike6 10+ year member]

Well anything that is driven by the belts can increase drag which reduces HP. The internal workings of an alt can make a difference, but the 1 HP you may loose you will never feel. You loose more get up and go with the weight of your box and equipment than that alt will do.

 

[kuljc 10+ year member]

I remember hearing something about... for every 10 amps you loose 1 hp. I was thinking about getting a new alt right before my other car broke down. So I didn't really go very far in researching about it. But it was something like that.

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

alma gates has like 10 or 20 HO 350A alts.

she's supposed to make another slab of the same arrangement of alts, to double her output.

Hence, if for every 10 amps, you lose 1hp, then the bronco has prolly got negative horsepower figures..lol

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

1 horsepower = 746 watts ... I don't know if it applies to how much loss the alternator causes, but if it does, then a 200 ampere alternator should (by that measurement) cause a loss of 3.86 horsepower ...
Then again, I'm probably wrong ...

Your numbers are correct. But the power only gets used when there's a load. I would imagine that higher output alternators also have more mechanical drag, so they'll drain more HP even with no load. But the difference shouldn't be noticeable on a 5.9L motor.

 

[InhumanAcura 5,000+ posts]

If the size of the pulley is changed in any way, and not compensated by another pulley your going to lose a few ponies.

 

[slick rick 10+ year member]

ive heard ho alts do take some hp away. however, for every 100 lbs you lose .1 on the 1/4 mile. so weight has a more adverse effect than a h.o. alti does. now if you have a stock civic with an h.o. alte and 2 15's.... good luck. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[LostCause 10+ year member]

1 horsepower = 746 watts ... I don't know if it applies to how much loss the alternator causes, but if it does, then a 200 ampere alternator should (by that measurement) cause a loss of 3.86 horsepower ...
Then again, I'm probably wrong ...

Assuming the math is right than that can only be theoretical...no wire is 100% effecient so with a 200 ampere alternator you'll really be losing 5 horsepower. How many watts are in an ampere? Do they even convert into eachother? so...many...questions... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wow.gif.23d729408e9177caa2a0ed6a2ba6588e.gif

- Lost Cause

 

[BryBrySmash 10+ year member]

Do they even convert into eachother? so...many...questions... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wow.gif.23d729408e9177caa2a0ed6a2ba6588e.gif
- Lost Cause

From what I can remember from physics, all units of energy can be converted into one another.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

How many watts are in an ampere? Do they even convert into eachother? - Lost Cause

From what I can remember from physics, all units of energy can be converted into one another.

I'm no whiz-brain, but this is pretty simple stuff.

There aren't X number of watts "in" X number of amps. Power (watts) is a product of both E (voltage) and I (current), or amps.

However, being that the Voltage source in a car is roughly 14V you can estimate that one amp of current is capable of producing about 14 watts - not accounting for efficiency of the component producing the power.

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

ya know, that's a funny thing. MMATS amps are rated by horsepower, not watts.

 

[Acidburn 5,000+ posts]

ya know, that's a funny thing. MMATS amps are rated by horsepower, not watts.

wow that's interesting... imagine having an amp with more horsepower than your car... but it works, watts and horsepower are the same thing just different amounts of it

and for the amp to watt question: Voltage(volts) = Current(amps) x Resistance(ohms) and Power(watts) = Current(amps) x Voltage(volts)