Alternator suggestions. 165 Amp?

[70chall440]

I run 120 - 160 amp for EFI cars, currently running a 150A on my 5.7 in my 71 Charger. This came with the Holley mid mount kit and is recommended by them for the terminator X max system. While its true that most cars are not going to draw 150A the stability in current at that point is required with EFI and some ignition systems. Another way to look at it, while your car may never draw the full 150A (or more), it does not hurt you to have it however the opposite is not true (not enough power is detrimental to electrical components and reliability).

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

I run 120 - 160 amp for EFI cars, currently running a 150A on my 5.7 in my 71 Charger. This came with the Holley mid mount kit and is recommended by them for the terminator X max system. While its true that most cars are not going to draw 150A the stability in current at that point is required with EFI and some ignition systems. Another way to look at it, while your car may never draw the full 150A (or more), it does not hurt you to have it however the opposite is not true (not enough power is detrimental to electrical components and reliability).

I'm also reading this on other sites that may be considerations:
Many say 140 amp ones will put out less at idle than say a 100 amp version. You need to output curve of the alternator to really know but it is a general rule.
Another side effect of the high current alternators is you can get belt squeal at startup when it jumps into high charge mode.

 

[Unkle Krusty]

I have been reading that 150 amps running tnru the system, may have problems. My guide, other than boat wyring, is a book called Living on 12 volts. It is scary reading, and the subject is a lot more complex than I ever imagined.
In short, too many amps thru too small of wyring, can be a problem.

 

[70chall440]

I'm also reading this on other sites that may be considerations:
Many say 140 amp ones will put out less at idle than say a 100 amp version. You need to output curve of the alternator to really know but it is a general rule.
Another side effect of the high current alternators is you can get belt squeal at startup when it jumps into high charge mode.

Ok, I should have been more specific in that in two cases I am running 120-16A alternators on brand new wiring harnesses with upgraded cables.

On the one other case (my 70 Challenger) I am running a 120A alternator with the original (but inspected and upgraded) wiring harness.

My 71 Charger (5.7 Hemi) uses a Holley mid mount serpentine system with a 160A alternator however my 73 Cuda is using a V belt system and a 140A alternator and my 70 Challenger using also using a V belt and a 120A alternator. None squeal on startup. Good wiring is a MUST as are good grounds, correctly made connectors, etc.

Lastly, none of my cars are using an Amp gauge but 2 of my cars are using the bulkhead connectors, the 73 has the wiring harness coming directly through firewall without a bulkhead connector.

 

[65CopCar]

call John at Powermaster. They can help. I run the biggest on they. Are and it bolts right in with stock brackets. Think max is 175 amp

Talked to Powermaster at PRI today. Of all the alternator vendors I talked to at PRI they were the only ones that refused to provide an output curve. They said we give you idle amps, cruising and top speed (or something like that) amps. I said need to know rpm vs amps. They shrugged their shoulders and were done with me.

Seriously? That is not what I expect from a professional alternator vendor. All others either showed me the curves or said they would email them to me. That is the correct answer.

 

[BergmanAutoCraft]

Talked to Powermaster at PRI today. Of all the alternator vendors I talked to at PRI they were the only ones that refused to provide an output curve. They said we give you idle amps, cruising and top speed (or something like that) amps. I said need to know rpm vs amps. They shrugged their shoulders and were done with me.

Seriously? That is not what I expect from a professional alternator vendor. All others either showed me the curves or said they would email them to me. That is the correct answer.

I'm late to this one, but my 2 cents here - most don't understand the alternator only puts out whats required. A typical restomod with air, good fans, efi, stereo is probably 80-90 max. As mentioned, the issue is at idle. I have not seen ANY MOPAR alternators that can do this. The one alternator that could is no longer made. That said, the next thing is to use a normal regulator, not a one wire for more accurate charging. Lastly, I'd concentrate on non Mopar options, as Mopar was terrible at this. GM CS130 or a Nippondenso.

 

[65CopCar]

I'm late to this one, but my 2 cents here - most don't understand the alternator only puts out whats required. A typical restomod with air, good fans, efi, stereo is probably 80-90 max. As mentioned, the issue is at idle. I have not seen ANY MOPAR alternators that can do this. The one alternator that could is no longer made. That said, the next thing is to use a normal regulator, not a one wire for more accurate charging. Lastly, I'd concentrate on non Mopar options, as Mopar was terrible at this. GM CS130 or a Nippondenso.

I can't disagree. However, I can see some that could pull over 90 but that is why each application needs to be looked at individually.

When I was young and naive, I put a 55 amp mini alternator on my car. Hey - original was only 35 amp, so good to go. Nope, I had a killer fan on the car that sucked a lot of amps. Once I put a data logger on it, it would basically go to battery voltage (11.8 or so volts) going down the track.

Someone smacked me upside the head and called me stupid so I put a 120 amp alternator on the car. Dropped the temperature on hot days 20 to 30 degrees when I got back to the pits. Now the voltage stays in the mid to upper 13's volts during a run. The reason the temperature dropped so much was because of the water pump and fan performance. They are DC motor centrifugal devices. DC motor speed is basically proportional to motor voltage on these motors and the pump and motor follow affinity laws which mean the flow is the square of the speed and the horsepower is the square of the flow or the cube of the speed. So in my case the flow of the water pump and fan increased by about 30% but the amps went up around 44%.

 

[BergmanAutoCraft]

I can't disagree. However, I can see some that could pull over 90 but that is why each application needs to be looked at individually.

When I was young and naive, I put a 55 amp mini alternator on my car. Hey - original was only 35 amp, so good to go. Nope, I had a killer fan on the car that sucked a lot of amps. Once I put a data logger on it, it would basically go to battery voltage (11.8 or so volts) going down the track.

Someone smacked me upside the head and called me stupid so I put a 120 amp alternator on the car. Dropped the temperature on hot days 20 to 30 degrees when I got back to the pits. Now the voltage stays in the mid to upper 13's volts during a run. The reason the temperature dropped so much was because of the water pump and fan performance. They are DC motor centrifugal devices. DC motor speed is basically proportional to motor voltage on these motors and the pump and motor follow affinity laws which mean the flow is the square of the speed and the horsepower is the square of the flow or the cube of the speed. So in my case the flow of the water pump and fan increased by about 30% but the amps went up around 44%.

This is fine, the trick is packaging. Flaming River used to sell a Mechman alternator that was a Ford 4G inside a custom billet Mopar case. It met the depth requirement for Mopars and had 120 max at idle and 150 full fielded. It was $600...I've had mine for years and it solves all the problems.

Has anyone fit a good alternator and ac with a Sanden compressor? Pics?

 

[mmissile]

Having more, is far better than not enough. I ended up using a 165 amp Dakota on my wagon, once the 528 hemi had air and all the other electrical goodies. It had 4 fans on the rad, and another on the trans-cooler. I had a v-belt pulley changed-out from the serpentine one.