New alternator

[Mr FaceCaser]

When should I replace my Alternator in my car? I have am extra battery in the back powering the 2 sub woofers and amps I have one amp that's a class d amp it's 3500 watts at 1 ohm and another amp that's a a/b amp that's 4 channel at 225 watts rms per channel. I'm thinking about upgrading the 3500 watt amp to the 5000 watt amp they have (Sundown SIA amp) and I didn't know when or how to know when I need to replace my alternator to a performance one. (The a/b is ds18)

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[Doxquzme Premium Member]

Need some additional info.
Car year, make and model
Actual amplifiers used
ELectrical upgrades such as the big three.
What is the make and model of the 2nd battery
What gauge and length of the +/- to the 2nd batter is in use
How long are the runs,

 

[Mr FaceCaser]

Need some additional info.
Car year, make and model
Actual amplifiers used
ELectrical upgrades such as the big three.
What is the make and model of the 2nd battery
What gauge and length of the +/- to the 2nd batter is in use
How long are the runs,

2012 nissan altima SR 3.5
The 2 amps Sundown SIA 3500D looking to upgrade to SIA 5000D the 2nd amp is ds18 EXL-P1200X4
Not sure of any electrical upgrades
Battery XS SB1050-31
0 Guage postive wiring the run from the trunk to the engine I wanna saw 15 ft not quite sure the negative is maybe 5 ft 0 Guage as well
I normally drive for about 15 minutes on average I never idle the car without the engine running

 

[chillin 10+ year member]

Unless you're metering, you won't notice much difference with that amp, assuming your subs and enclosure stays the same.

 

[Mr FaceCaser]

Unless you're metering, you won't notice much difference with that amp, assuming your subs and enclosure stays the same.

I would be metering soon not for a few but soon

 

[spokey9]

If it's for the meter...I'd think doubling power (or more) would be what you want...a 1500w increase won't push the score much higher

 

[Mr FaceCaser]

If it's for the meter...I'd think doubling power (or more) would be what you want...a 1500w increase won't push the score much higher

If I did increase by 1000w I'm just curious if I would need a new alt or not

 

[Doxquzme Premium Member]

With your setup, maybe, maybe not as you're talking about another 75 to 100 amps draw, from the end battery, not the electrical given the way you indicated you use the system. As for the output, this is how that works. The ear perceives a doubling of the volume at around 10 db, For that to occur, use this as a guide.

For a 3 db increase, you will need to go from 3500 to 7000 watts.
For another 3 db increase (6 db total) you'll need to go to 14000 watts
For another 3 db (9 db total) you'll need to go to 28000 watts.

A 1500 increase is going to give you roughly 1.2 db increase or about 12% increase in volume. Granted, you can see that this is starting from a fairly substantial starting point, but hopefully it gives you and idea of what it takes to go from where you are now to where, if anywhere, you decide to go.

Any of those jumps to obtain another 3db would likely need an alt upgrade, but a substantial investment in subs, multiple cable runs or very large cable runs and massive battery banks and parallel grounding runs back through the 2nd battery and to the front battery with additional motor/chassis grounding reinforcement.

 

[Mr FaceCaser]

With your setup, probably as you're talking about another 75 to 100 amps draw, from the end battery, not the electrical biven the way you indicated you use the system. As for the output, this is how that works. The ear perceives a doubling of the volume at around 10 db, For that to occur, use this as a guide.

For a 3 db increase, you will need to go from 3500 to 7000 watts.
For another 3 db increase (6 db total) you'll need to go to 14000 watts
For another 3 db (9 db total) you'll need to go to 28000 watts.

A 1500 increase is going to give you roughly 1.2 db increase or about 12% increase in volume. Granted, you can see that this is starting from a fairly substantial starting point, but hopefully it gives you and idea of what it takes to go from where you are now to where, if anywhere, you decide to go.

Any of those jumps to obtain another 3db would likely need an alt upgrade, but a substantial investment in subs, multiple cable runs or very large cable runs and massive battery banks and parallel grounding runs back through the 2nd battery and to the front battery with additional motor/chassis grounding reinforcement.

Okay thank you so much for your help

 

[some dude]

What does your voltage look like now?

How low does it go when you are jammin'?

 

[Mr FaceCaser]

What does your voltage look like now?

How low does it go when you are jammin'?

I don't have a volt meter yet I'm getting one soon I know I have this nice sound system but no volt meter it's stupid I should already have one

 

[some dude]

Wait on any electrical upgrades until you get a good idea of what your voltage is doing. That tells you everything. Basically you want it to stay above 13.0 volts.
When you are really jammin', that's when your voltage can dip down low.

 

[spokey9]

I don't have a volt meter yet I'm getting one soon I know I have this nice sound system but no volt meter it's stupid I should already have one

I don't have one...but I check my voltage with a dmm once a week or so