High Output Alternator Recommendations

[Ol Scratch]

Not long at all, just a few months

 

[celly]

Not long at all, just a few months

Warranty that puppy. Standard warranty I've seen is a year on most alternators. That's not normal for it to crap out already. Maybe the dimming is related to something else.

Have you tried the "Big Three" wiring upgrade?

 

[BrianDye]

Ive also been looking into a 200 or so amp alternator, and came across this site:

Excessive Amperage


From what ive got so far, he builds them himself, and has been for over 10 years. He sells up to 350 amp alternators, and can also powdercoat them, like the one you showed Celly. (The red one)

I emailed him for a quote (Note: this is for a 95 4.0, so SOHC, 5.0's, etc might be different) This is what I got in reply:

I have the following for your vehicle that will bolt right on:
200 amp $330
250 amp $410
300 amp $480
These are custom built will all new parts and will come with an overdrive pulley installed on it. I will have free shipping in the lower 48 during January. Let me know how I can help. Thank you,
Nate

(Took him about 20 hours to reply, very fast IMO.)


They are a little pricey for me, which is why im gonna pass, and go for the big three first, but I just thought id ad this guy on here.

 

[Ol Scratch]

Big 3 coming soon for me, but not while its 17 degrees out.

 

[celly]

Big 3 coming soon for me, but not while its 17 degrees out.

Luckily I have a garage. I've got all my wiring lined up now. I didn't do big three with the Mr. Alternator. I currently ran a 4 gauge from alternator to battery just because I had some spare wiring around. I'm going 0 gauge all around now since my new alt is at the higher end of output and performance.

 

[BigBoom]

One thing I learned about this process is just how many fanboys and haters there are on all sides of the fence. One side loves a certain brand while the others hate it. I didn't find a lot of middle ground in a lot of these discussions. Lots of immaturity shown on both sides of the debates.

that is definitely true. i'm a member and avid poster on another audio forum...and MAN! soon as someone posts about an alternator you'll see people jump in about getting this alt or that alt. when the original post wasnt even about buying one. you'll just see 'you should buy this' or 'get this brand and you'll be good'. it's ridiculous how many bandwagoners you'll see.

DC Power Engineering caters to one group that seems to hate both Iraggi and and Mechman and their seems to be a certain "snob appeal" to their alts. I never did get a reply back from them. The knock on them is poor communication and slow shipping

i've seen threads where them and dom have kinda gotten into it about alts. a lil heated debate back n forth. i wouldnt say there's hatred there...just some tension. or some serious rivalry/competition. i've seen their communication do pretty well...besides a few unhappy customers...but coulda been due to impatience. due to weekends/holidays, some people just expect people to work 24/7 around the clock no matter what and shipping tends to go out in the bunches it seems. but...i also have yet to hear back from DC power about dual alt kits. i may need to re PM them in case it never went through. but i'm going to PM kyle this time instead of rob

 

[CDW6212R]

... i'm a member and avid poster on another audio forum...

I see an alternator as several parts, and most are unknown to a buyer. The external case, pulley, and peak power don't mean much, but that's the main thing you read about.

What is most important is the guts inside, the continuous capacity of the diode set and windings, plus the terminals and materials. Generally only an alternator shop will recognize anything better than the stock type stuff.

I'd love to find out what real guts are installed in the various brands. I had a local shop(originator of where I go now) build me an 80 amp unit from an OEM 55 amp 1972 alternator. That worked great for 400 watts of headlights, but the diode was the stock 55 amp stuff. It died after a couple of years, and that was before the next generations, 2G etc. I had them re-clock a 3G alternator recently to replace my 1G unit in my Mark VII. They weren't really impressed by the DC alternator I had them repair before that.

I think most shops can order and install more powerful windings, that's simple. The other details though are what should make a high output alternator stand out.

A high power load in a vehicle needs to have the strongest alternator diodes etc, to survive very long. The latest generation units are much better than the old ones, but any aftermarket upgrade parts are helpful. Regards,

 

[celly]

that is definitely true. i'm a member and avid poster on another audio forum...and MAN! soon as someone posts about an alternator you'll see people jump in about getting this alt or that alt. when the original post wasnt even about buying one. you'll just see 'you should buy this' or 'get this brand and you'll be good'. it's ridiculous how many bandwagoners you'll see.

Oh yeah, Fanboy central on some of those sites. I hit a lot of them in my travels over the last week or so. Not a lot of open-mindedness around there for sure.

i've seen threads where them and dom have kinda gotten into it about alts. a lil heated debate back n forth. i wouldnt say there's hatred there...just some tension. or some serious rivalry/competition.

I didn't mean Dom and sellers were haters. More than fanboys of both cliques are. Definitely some tension there. I got some of Dom's perspective on those things and he just blows the haterz off for the most part.

The Internet can be a pretty juvenile place. I call it "keyboard courage". I'm not afraid to say to ones face what I'd say to them on a messagboard though. What you see is what you get, much to the chagrin of some.

 

[celly]

I'd love to find out what real guts are installed in the various brands.

I hear ya Don. I'm going to eventually get my Mr. Alternator re-built if I find a good shop in town. Not only do I want their perspective over what's inside, but I'd like to get one built with solid parts so I have a backup around for the Iraggi.

 

[CDW6212R]

I have my 99 truck as just a spare driver now, not a work vehicle any more. The black alternator is on that still, so I need to swap it before considering selling it. Lot's to do.

I'd like to have a spare alternator also, and I plan to convert my Mark VII to the Explorer system. I only do mild stereos, say 30-40 amps total, and the air compressor from my 99 is a 30 amp unit. So any good high output alternator will do for me.

 

[celly]

I'd like to have a spare alternator also

I do have a spare. It's my OEM 130 amp unit and it's been in place since the 200 amp Mr Alt started dying. Wouldn't mind another HO around. My HIDs still don't like to fire up during startup and always did when the HO was healthy. Now I have to turn on my lights (egad) the old fashioned way. And that's with a Suvlights harness.

 

[CDW6212R]

FYI, here's a good OHV 4.0 alternator on eBay now from Mechman, $204+S&H

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Powe...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

[celly]

FYI, here's a good OHV 4.0 alternator on eBay now from Mechman, $204+S&H

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Powe...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Mechman's pricing is very good for what you get in return. I was probably getting their 270 amp offering for $400 if Iraggi didn't pan out.

EDIT, I didn't realize they sold Powermaster (that's a brand they carry at Summit isn't it?).

That is a great deal. Someone should scoop that up.

 

[celly]

Just got a shipping confirmation from Dom Iraggi. He had mentioned that each alternator is made to order so there would be a few days from time of order (Monday afternoon) to ship. We're on track. Now I'm at the mercy of our respective postal systems.

 

[BigBoom]

i wish it luck on its journey shipping services here SUCK. hate them all

 

[celly]

i wish it luck on its journey shipping services here SUCK. hate them all

Well, us Canadians prefer the USPS option because the maximum handling fee you'll pay is $8. If I were to go with UPS it would be much higher for brokerage. Probably 10X higher. I hate UPS despite the fact it would get here sooner.

It will probably take a few weeks, but I'm in no rush. All my wiring for the Big 3 is in the mail too (Knukonceptz).
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[BigBoom]

very nice choice on wiring. i have some knu myself and it's very beefy

 

[celly]

very nice choice on wiring. i have some knu myself and it's very beefy

Can't beat their pricing either. And fair shipping costs even to Canada.

 

[celly]

The Iraggi alternator was just delivered. A tad disappointed in the paint choice. Didn't really look like the red in the photo. Sort of a burgundy red. Oh well, the alternator is buried for the most part anyhow. As long as it's not pink. I can live with it. In restrospect, I probably should have saved the money and gone with basic grey.

The alternator case is standard issue Ford (Motorcraft logo stamped on the back). He also filed away some of the plastic around the battery terminal, presumably so that it can accommodate a 1/0 wire terminal (OEM alternator can't handle the beefy terminals as is). I tried that already (I still have 4 gauge wired to my OEM, but am going 1/0 with the new alternator). The windings etc don't look like standard issue. I have no intention of opening it up to compare to stock.

The alternator was very well packaged for it's journey from Tennessee to Calgary and I can't complain about the turnaround. The alternator was definitely "made to order". (still smelled like fresh paint when I opened the box).

So far, so good.

 

[CDW6212R]

Is it my red, I could use it for a spare? I chose black, and they don't even paint the whole thing. Show us the terminal if you get a chance when installing it.