Do i need the Big 3 upgrade, or alternator or red top deep cycle battery???

jerad73 · 07-09-2007, 09:28 PM

right now im pushing 3 10" mtx 7500 series and they are wired in series parrallel which they are pulling about 2.67 ohms. well i have a 500 watt rms ma audio amp right now ( obviously not enough power)

AND i want a 1200 watt RMS @ 2ohm Phoenix Gold RSD series amp
or a
MA Audio hk2000d Amp 1000 watts rms @ 2ohns

Do i really need a new alternator, because if i do i will say screw it most likely

Which amp is better you think?

What upgrades do i need to make?

I OWN A 2005 FORD ESCAPE XLS 2.3L DOHC 4CLY. ENGINE
I FIND THAT THE REPLACEMENT ALTERNATORS ARE 105 AMPS

IS 105 AMPS TO LITTLE FOR 1200, 1000 WATTS RMS

scott_fx · 07-09-2007, 09:42 PM

we have no idea what car you even have :-\
you could get away with just doing the big 3 or you may need to do the whole shabang. it's very car dependant and since it is you probably wont get a lot of responses here either unless you happen to luck out and have the same car as me, and then i could help you

Arrow · 07-09-2007, 10:40 PM

Is the stock 105 amps? if so, you'll be fine. I ran a 1200W RMS amp in my escort, and it only had a 90W alternator. I just had a 1farad capacitor and it never gave me any trouble.

iamgnat · 07-10-2007, 12:46 AM

In an Escape, your stock AMP is really more in the 90 Amp range (it's a real POS). What else do you have on the system? For just that AMP you *should* be ok, but if you have a couple other heavy hitters plus your carputer it might just as easily be under powered.

If you don't know about it, check out www.escape-central.com (specifically the modifications forum). There are some serious stereo mods there and some people that can go into the dirty details that will cover more than you want to know.

I can speak from painful experience, do anything and everything you can to avoid having to replace your Alt. Ford's designers really screwed every Escape owner in where they decided to put it. If you do decide/need to replace the Alt, go overboard and talk to Nathan at Excessive Amperage. He makes great Alts that are roughly drop-ins.

-dave

meddler · 07-10-2007, 12:51 AM

i would try the big three first. It's the cheapest thing to do and your system will benefit even if you have to change you alternator later

RedGTiVR6 · 07-10-2007, 01:45 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by iamgnat

I can speak from painful experience, do anything and everything you can to avoid having to replace your Alt. Ford's designers really screwed every Escape owner in where they decided to put it. If you do decide/need to replace the Alt, go overboard and talk to Nathan at Excessive Amperage. He makes great Alts that are roughly drop-ins.

-dave

God - I sure hope you don't have to remove the entire front clip and pull the radiator to replace the alternator like you do in a VW...

If the OP is EVER planning on anything more than just that amp, I would SERIOUSLY consider a new alternator...and something more than just a 105er.

Look into the aftermarket for one.

If the OP is just planning on sticking with the one amp and not going much more beyond that, the big 3 and a bigger battery should help out a good deal.

iamgnat · 07-10-2007, 10:18 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by RedGTiVR6

God - I sure hope you don't have to remove the entire front clip and pull the radiator to replace the alternator like you do in a VW...

No, it's nice and easy. You just have to unmount the engine, take of the right wheel and axle, remove a structural brace, then jack up the engine about 6 inches or so. Nice and simple.

Because the bottom rear of the engine is the ideal location on a 4WD vehicle. Alternators never go bad, so why make it easy to replace?

Quote:

If the OP is EVER planning on anything more than just that amp, I would SERIOUSLY consider a new alternator...and something more than just a 105er.

Look into the aftermarket for one.

If you have to go through the pain, absolutely go after market for the new one. I think EA's smallest Alt is 200 and he goes up to 300 now

(I put a 250 in). Given the pain, go overkill so you don't have to do it again.

-dave

RedGTiVR6 · 07-10-2007, 10:22 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by iamgnat

No, it's nice and easy. You just have to unmount the engine, take of the right wheel and axle, remove a structural brace, then jack up the engine about 6 inches or so. Nice and simple.

Because the bottom rear of the engine is the ideal location on a 4WD vehicle. Alternators never go bad, so why make it easy to replace?

Yeup - sounds like it's a similar process.

On the VWs there's two options, remove the front clip or unbolt the engine mount and jack up the motor to where you can work on it.

and I'll second the go overkill thing.

BenOBS · 07-10-2007, 11:04 AM

Are we talking about a 200amp alternator to power a 1000w amplifier for music use only???????

Look at my setup, 3 amps and a Carputer. Stock 90amp alt, a yellowtop, the big3 and good wiring and i have no voltage drop at all... My work is at less than 10min of my home (not the best to recharge a battery) and i never had any problemes...

In music use, a amp whit draw around 25% of is total power at very high level... So personnally, I would begin whit a good battery, good wiring, the big 3 and a voltage gauge.... After this, if you have a probleme whit voltage, change alt...

like the Proverb say : If its not broken, dont fix it...

My 2 cents...

*There is alway someone to say the opposite... hehe

BenOBS · 07-10-2007, 11:08 AM

And plz, forget about the capacitor...

iamgnat · 07-10-2007, 11:52 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by BenOBS

Are we talking about a 200amp alternator to power a 1000w amplifier for music use only???????

Hey, I can do some light arc welding with my 250!!!!

I won't deny that my 250 (technically I ordered a 200, but he sent me a 250 as he didn't have any stators for a 200 built at the time) is waaaaay overkill. Hell, there is a 120AMP fuse between it and my electrical system in the distro box so I know i'm not close to tapping it's power. In my case, my Alt got fried due to a short so it wasn't producing enough power to charge the battery (I also have a 10-15 minute commute). Before the short, I ran ~1000W of Amps and my Mac just fine off the factory Alt.

I would only recommend replacing the Alt (at least in the Escape, my wife's BMW is right there at the top, so I may replace it for the hell of it cause it's so easy

) if there is something wrong with it or you are indeed maxing it out. And if you do, go BIG so you have more overhead than you need. When I replaced mine, the 200 that I ordered was only $50 more than the factory replacement but at least twice the power. Kind of a no brainer really...

-dave

P.S. Red, at least you have an "easy" alternative

meth68 · 07-10-2007, 08:40 PM

I am in the same boat as well. I have a 04 G35 Coupe I believe stock alternator is 110a, I added a red top as a 2nd battery and (2) 1f caps. Running a JL 1000/1 and JL 300/2. Hopefully the stock alt holds it own if now upgrade will be due up next.

ephyouckay · 07-12-2007, 04:23 AM

do not get capacitator. itll make it worse....

make sure you run 1/0 throughout and do big 3 first.

im running 1200rms plus the carputer and i have never hit below 12v on full tilt. usually above 13v unless the song realllly wangs. i only have big 3 and stock alt is also 105amps. also on stock batt. You should be fine... only problem i have is i have to have my car on if i want my system playing or battery will die pretty quick... but other than that... never had a problem and batt has a constant 12.4ish volts when car is off and at idle it is like 14.5

binary.h4x · 07-12-2007, 09:22 AM

Capacitors make what worse?

And a big 3 upgrade can't hurt, and its a lot cheaper than a new alternator.

BenOBS · 07-12-2007, 11:11 AM

Good reading...

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t88047.html

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