Which alt to choose?

[stephens30228 10+ year member]

Well I have gave up on finding a used alt for my truck so I have decided to go the new route. My question is which one should I go with? My budget is only $300ish, so Tenney and a local company both were in question. Tenney has a 270amp shipped for $275, and the local company has a 240amp for $250ish. I will be running an AQ3500.1 with two DC lvl 4's @ .5 already did the big 3 and have a BT60 up front, and a BT100 in the back. Would the 240 be enough? And is there any other brands that have quality parts for around that price? Thanks.

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[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

Well I have gave up on finding a used alt for my truck so I have decided to go the new route. My question is which one should I go with? My budget is only $300ish, so Tenney and a local company both were in question. Tenney has a 270amp shipped for $275, and the local company has a 240amp for $250ish. I will be running an AQ3500.1 with two DC lvl 4's @ .5 already did the big 3 and have a BT60 up front, and a BT100 in the back. Would the 240 be enough? And is there any other brands that have quality parts for around that price? Thanks.

from what i seen Tenny is pretty good. the 240 should be enough. but you can never have to much support... i run a 3500 from a 220a alt and it does fine

 

[bhsdriller 10+ year member]

what is the local company....both those prices seems way too cheap for any kind of quality alternator

 

[stephens30228 10+ year member]

It is a local shop called BP Rebuilders I do believe, but I have heard numerous people rave about how they love their Tenneys, and just because you don't pay a lot don't mean it's not quality.

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

what is the local company....both those prices seems way too cheap for any kind of quality alternator

i thought that 2 but my friend just got 2 300a alts and they do really well....

 

[T.I.K]

Save up and get a dc power or mechman.

 

[stephens30228 10+ year member]

Well I was talking to Mechman about one that I was looking at, but he at first said "No it won't fit" then a couple hours later I hit him up again and he was like "I was looking at the wrong engine, yes it will fit" I don't want the questions, and I contacted Singer, but I haven't contacted DC about prices. Thanks. Like I said, I haven't heard any more negative reviews from Tenney than these other companies.

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

Neither is great IMO, but get what you can afford. I'd also add a 2nd batt in the rear for that amp...

 

[sexy 10+ year member]

Why not use the alternator that most of the people that compete in DB drag and all the other spl organizations use ? Ohio generator is the alternator of choice by competitors including myself. If you go to competitions you will see so many ohio generator alts that you will think nobody else even sells alts.

 

[Vincer77 10+ year member]

At what power levels should someone consider upgrading the alternator?

 

[sexy 10+ year member]

There is no right answer to that question because it does not mater what power level or what amp size you run. Let’s say I am trying to run an amp that can deliver 1500wrms and I want to run it in a Subaru that has an 80 amp alternator. That 80 amp alternator will not run the accessories in the car and the 1500wrms amp. Take that same amp and put it in Tahoe with the factory 160 amp alternator and you should be fine.

So its not about power level of the audio system it is about how much power you need and how much power your alternator can produce.

 

[Vincer77 10+ year member]

Thanks. So I have a 900W amp with an 80 Amp alternator. That would be 75 Amps at full power. Is there some rule of thumb as to how big the alternator should be?

 

[sexy 10+ year member]

Thanks. So I have a 900W amp with an 80 Amp alternator. That would be 75 Amps at full power. Is there some rule of thumb as to how big the alternator should be?

There are some people who would say yes to that and tell you to total up how much power your accessories use by adding up the fusses but that really does not work.

There are a bunch of battery salesmen on here that will tell you just to add another battery but that’s not going to fix anything if your using more power than the alternator can make.

A 900 watt amp playing music would only draw maximum power for tenths of a second like on big bass hits. Your power usage on that amp playing music will bounce all over the scale but if your voltage does not drop and continue to drop then your producing enough power to keep up. If you were seeing 14.4 with the engine running and amp off then you turn on the amp and your voltage starts dropping and continues to drop the longer you have the amp playing you need a bigger alternator.

The only way you would ever use full power from that amp for more than tenths of a second would be if you were playing a test tone for an extended period of time and the only people who do that are competing in spl competitions.

I would only consider upgrading an alternator if I could see my voltage dropping on a continues downward path. If your voltage is bouncing around while playing music but always staying near 14 volts I would not worry about it.

Pay attention to what your voltage does when the alternator is warm to be sure because alternators do about 20% less work when they are hot.

 

[tdford5 10+ year member]

i have mine ordered from tenney now $325 for a 270 amp ad244 black powder coated, heard good things about tenney alts so why not plus about $100 cheaper then others , ive had a singer alt also was awesome guy to deal with and no issues with him but he wanted $439 for a 270 amp ad244 alt //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/mad.gif.c18f003ab0ef8a0d9c27ca78d77a6392.gif