High Output Alternator Recommendations

[sniperelite]

Yes, obviously because you spend more on a part you expect more power/performance/reliability out of it because they state they use "higher end" or "better grade" materials and I am not doubting their claims.

However, I am one who is willing to give the not-so-"name-brand" product a try for most things and hope for the best with it unless I have heard otherwise. Yes there may be more chance of it not matching up to the higher priced alternators, but as long as it meets the needs I have, I will run it until I see sufficient and feel good about it.

And I think most all of us can agree its always nice to get the job done, while also saving more of your hard earned cash.

Thanks for the input again guys!

 

[loudsport]

this is my setup with a mechman alt checkout this video that i took today after increasing my voltage/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HVjP7-V3g8

 

[celly]

Here's my long term review of the Iraggi alternator I scored, as per above.

The unit never really did inspire confidence. At all RPMs, I expected more output. I didn't really notice much more than OEM when it came down to it.

Recently, I started getting a jumpy battery meter and the truck would almost stop at lights. I put the OEM alternator back in and voltage is steady around 14 and all the problems I had recently disappeared. I haven't had the Iraggi alternator tested yet, but I'm pretty sure its toast (been there, done that).

I haven't owned the Iraggi for even 2 years. My system is very basic vis a vis other people on this site. I expected more from this alternator.

I'll just get it rebuilt some day at a local shop to OEM spec.

I wouldn't recommend Iraggi alternators. I was on the fence on his work and the crapshoot I took didn't pay off. He cut me a very good deal on this alternator originally (due to a typo on his eBay store), but I got what I paid for. I can assure you this cost a lot more than an OEM replacement so I'm doubly unhappy.

Live and learn. Can't win them all.

 

[ssp.interceptor]

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[celly]

live and learn celly, live and LEARN......

All I learned was I should have gone with my gut feel scored a Mechman in the first place. Tons of happy customers out there and they're still standing behind their products.

 

[CDW6212R]

That's still a whole bunch of money, triple stock was it?

 

[albi1cnobi1]

Has anybody dealt with these guys. High Output Alternators by Quickstart http://www.alternatorparts.com/4g-series-high-amp-alternator-heavy-duty.html I've talked to their tech support and they're really on top of our particular applications. One nice thing is no core, you keep your alt. They will also sell you just the parts to upgrade yours if you are so inclined. They are a bit of coin, but seem to be quality stuff. I'm thinking of making the jump but coin is one thing I'm short on right now.

 

[biggin1206]

thanks for your thread good info

Thanks to Dan for unlocking this thread. I've been scouring the site looking for real hands on experience and opinions on high output alternators for a while and this one had potential, but Dan had closed it almost 3 years ago.

Let me preface this by saying that I'm trying to build on what Dan has already created. Please don't post in this thread if you don't have any experience with HO alts, or if you're wondering what they can do for you. Especially don't post about whether a 95 and 130 amp alt is interchangeable or which year had which alt. I view HO alts as anywhere above 130 amps for our applications. It is assumed you know you want a HO alternator, or you already have or had one.

I'm trying to make my own buying decision, and hopefully get real world opinions on any of the alternators already mentioned or the ones I learned about recently or alternator suppliers you know about. Ideally I'd like to find a good Canadian supplier, but they're harder to find than those south of our border. Of course I'm hoping this is a good resource for future as well.

I was using a Mr Alternator 200 amp alt that crapped out a month or so ago. It was the same alt purchased by BBQ Hotdogs that I assume was in his beloved EB before it went "whoops" a while back. He sold it to DirtyDog who sold it to me. It spent a few months in my old Sport and had been in my EB for the last 4 years.

I've been using the stock 130 amp alt ever since and it's been OK, but I did notice some small issues with how my HIDs play with the autolamp feature in my '99 EB. Time to get another HO alt, but which one?

Of the ones mentioned above, Excess Amperage, Powermaster, Mr. Alternator and Iraggi are still kicking around. I've heard mixed reviews about EA, Powermaster seem fine, Mr Alternator was good but I'd like something different and Iraggi. I'll get into Iraggi separately.

Dom Iraggi seems to be a polarizing fixture in his market segment. Some people love him. Some people hate him. Doesn't seem to be a lot of middle ground. He has been around for a long time and he does seem to build some nice units, BUT he does have a history of bad service. He seems better lately, but even then I found recent stories that are scaring me away. That being said, I emailed him on New Years Eve not expecting to hear back and did get two friendly emails from him telling me he could ship next week if I wanted. It was this pic of another Explorer alt he did recently that attracted me (my Mr Alternator was red and I have a lot of red stuff under the hood). This is an Iraggi alternation I'm specifically interested in, as is (photo from another site, taken by Dom), painted, not powdercoated.

The thing I am wary about is this guy seems to be getting by on the skin of his teeth. He has no webpage. He does have a url listed on some of his packaging and that url isn't even his (you get one of those "this site for sale" messages). He offers warranties, but can he honor them?

Anyhow, here is his eBay store. His alternators are a bit on the pricey side too, but the people who love Iraggi alternators, really like Iraggi alternators.

DC Power Engineering seems to be a pretty fierce rival of Iraggi as evidenced by some posts I saw on another site. The people who hate Iraggi on that site swear by DC Power it seems. However, the knock on them seems to be poor service and bad communication. I did find posts where people say they have to wait a while to get their order at times. They do list an alt for the 4.0 OHV as "in stock". I have sent them an email on what they can do for the 5.0 and await a reply (it was New Years Day after all when I sent the email so I didn't expect a reply right away).

One supplier that really intrigues me is DB Electrical. They're those guys you see on eBay if you're ever looking for alternators. They have superb feedback and I tried long and hard to find horror stories about them and could not. There are a lot of people out there that do like their products, but for whatever reason, the car audio community hasn't really embraced them despite their excellent pricing and broad product offerings.

The only knock on them for me personally is they want to charge $80 to ship to Canada and use UPS to boot. Canadians know why UPS sucks when bringing stuff to Canada from the US. This $80 covers "Worldwide Express" shipping which covers brokerage etc, but still a lot of coin. Iraggi will ship for $35 and use USPS. I also emailed them about powdercoating (powdercoating not listed as an option for the 5.0 but they do suggest you contact them directly for more info). I'm sure I'll hear from them on Monday. Their service and support receives rave reviews from what I can gather which is a plus.

A real favorite in sites on both sides of the border is Ohio Generator. Their site blows. I shot them an email and got an automated reply soon after. I hope to hear back on Monday what they can do.

Other honourable mentions were:

Knukonceptz. These guys have been around a while and I've had experience (good) with them. Their stuff seems reasonably priced. Of course they were referenced above as well but I thought I'd reference their alternator info. They seem to have good pricing.

Tuff Stuff. Summit carries these but won't have stock until the end of January. I found a local source which could get me one for a great price, but I'd have to wait a month as well. I'd also have to kick in 100% of the cash now and then wait for it to be delivered.

Mean Green. I've seen bits and pieces on them. I shot them an email too I think.

Rush Power Systems. They seem like an OK outfit as well.

So, I've like to hear what you guys know about these companies. If you know of others, post em up.

Remember, this is a sticky so please don't pollute it with tangents like a certain Seafoam/PCV/5.0 thread seems to get (I don't have a 5.0, but.....).

EDIT 01/02/10 (the list goes on!):

Also found this company called HO. I just emailed them for a quote on a 200 amp version (only one they had listed).

And a Canadian outfit out of Vancouver area called Team Shadow SPL. They seem pretty small, but were recommended by some on a Canadian car audio forum.

Quality Power

Mechman seems to have a pretty good following on the car audio forums as well.

Alter Start (no explicit listing for the 5.0L, but have one for the 4.0 OHV)

Thanks again Dan for letting me resurrect this thread and thanks in advance to anyone with some good stuff to add.

yes i did read this thread and found it extremely helpfull. As far as mechman there units look real nice but they dont offer what i need. As far as i know didnt see it listed on there site. But probaby gone check out dc. National didnt offer it either. What im looking for is a replacement 300 amp. cause i just dont want to go to the trouble of having to do multiple alternators which means a custom belt. if i have to i will. But would rather avoid it.

 

[ssp.interceptor]

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[Explorer4SPL]

From what I've heard DC Power alternators are some of the best on the market !

 

[maxifeel]

I have the tuff stuff alt from summit, and at idle the led lights dim, I've been scared the truck was about to cut out before. Guess I'll try the Iraggi next.

completely new here,. just want to thank the forum for giving helpful advice. But this is completely a noob question. whats an iraggi?

 

[albi1cnobi1]

It's a manufacturer/brand of high output alternators. Don't worry about the questions we were all noobs once, and without noob questions there'd be no one giving helpful advice! lol

 

[celly]

It's a manufacturer/brand of high output alternators. Don't worry about the questions we were all noobs once, and without noob questions there'd be no one giving helpful advice! lol

Dominic Iraggi has a bad reputation and his alternators aren't that great. I speak from experience.

I think he left the business.

 

[taylorpro]

anyone ever try to put a BIG alt on a SOHC? I'm talkign 300+ amp. My alternator guy Mike Singer said the stock 4g case on the SOHC can only be built up to 220 or so due to its size. But, the 3g has a bit more potential. buildable near the 300a range. BUT my thinking is, with a little ingenuity with a moutning bracket, I see no reason why a large case GM alt (like on any blazer, tahoe, suburban aka most common alt ever) wont fit. has anyone ever tried doing something like this? or maybe a dual alt setup? I'm all about making something happen that people say can't be done

 

[CDW6212R]

Many have installed 4G's that are 300amps or approach it, or advertise it. I never heard that a 3G has more potential, that wouldn't make sense unless it was physically bigger.

I have a 3G swapped onto my Mark VII, in place of the old 1G 100amp unit. I expect to later convert to an Explorer front dress, and use the easy to get 4G to use.

A second alternator would be more feasible, if one can be added. There is some space below the stock one, but I'm not sure if someone has done that yet. Let us know if that can be done, the tensioner is down below there.

 

[taylorpro]

Many have installed 4G's that are 300amps or approach it, or advertise it. I never heard that a 3G has more potential, that wouldn't make sense unless it was physically bigger.

I have a 3G swapped onto my Mark VII, in place of the old 1G 100amp unit. I expect to later convert to an Explorer front dress, and use the easy to get 4G to use.

A second alternator would be more feasible, if one can be added. There is some space below the stock one, but I'm not sure if someone has done that yet. Let us know if that can be done, the tensioner is down below there.

He was saying that the 4g case is very shallow so it douesnt leave as much potential. The 3g case is deeper physically so it leaves more room for upgrade. Thats my understanding anyway. If you look at a gm alt, though, all you'd have to make are some "u" bracketa that bolt to the engine with the factory holes, then have tabs that bend up on both sides to run through the gm alt. if you make it out of 3/16" or so steel it should be more than strong enough. And, i hate tooting gms horn as much as the next guy but that large case gm alt is the easiest to obtain and best platform for a big aftermarket alt

 

[CDW6212R]

Do some more searching here, I'm sure that there are many examples of higher output stereo installations to see.

 

[taylorpro]

Do some more searching here, I'm sure that there are many examples of higher output stereo installations to see.

Ive looked trhough i just need as big an alt as physically possible. Lol. Ill be running a 8000 or so rms to my subs and want as few xs d3100s as possible to save weight

 

[CDW6212R]

I understand the goals, technology is still behind a bit. The same problem exists for electric cars, the batteries weigh too much, don't last long enough, and pollute horribly right now.

Wait for a big lithium type battery to turn up, LOL.

Seriously though, alternators are not meant to produce max current for long periods of time. Think of duty cycle for other devices. Unfortunately you cannot limit how much current they make, generally they will produce the maximum if the load is greater than their limits.

You want to run the stereo on either batteries alone, or with alternators which can produce much more than the stereo needs. That may have been the case 30 years ago, but I gather that big stereo competitions now deal in tens of thousands of watts. I don't want that for myself, but others do and that's fine.

 

[taylorpro]

I understand the goals, technology is still behind a bit. The same problem exists for electric cars, the batteries weigh too much, don't last long enough, and pollute horribly right now.

Wait for a big lithium type battery to turn up, LOL.

Seriously though, alternators are not meant to produce max current for long periods of time. Think of duty cycle for other devices. Unfortunately you cannot limit how much current they make, generally they will produce the maximum if the load is greater than their limits.

You want to run the stereo on either batteries alone, or with alternators which can produce much more than the stereo needs. That may have been the case 30 years ago, but I gather that big stereo competitions now deal in tens of thousands of watts. I don't want that for myself, but others do and that's fine.

I feel ya bud. I compete myself actually. There will eventualy be a wall in my ex. Have a 350a or so alt and 3-4 good group 31 agm's. Shooting for 155's legal