I'm planning on adding a 1000w RMS sound system to my Lancer (500w for the subs + 125w*4 for the speakers). I already have an idea of what speakers and amps I want to get, so I'm not looking for suggestions here. I am just wondering if the Lancer's stock alternator is up to the challenge of handling a 1000w RMS of power. If not, is there any way to "upgrade" the stock alternator's amperage output (stupid question?)? I'm on a tight budget, so buying a new alternator is already out of the question for now.

Tell me, people, what's the biggest sound system you've put in your Lancers (leaving the stock alternator intact?)

 

Do your own math:

Watts = Amps x Volts
Watts / Amps = Volts
Watts / Volts = Amps


Carlos

 

Yes, I already know those formulas. They don't help, considering that I don't even know the amp rating of the stock alternator.

On top of that, there's always the factors such as the fact that amplfiers rarely ever put out their maximum amount of amps, which is why I wanted to know what everyone else has in their Lancers to get a general idea of what the alternator can handle on average.

 

yes it can, formulas and math dont help at all, i can push 4000 watts at times and it handles fine, it will be fine with whatever u get.

 

85 amps on stock alt according to other posts I've read. Supposedly newer Lancer's <'05 & '06> come with a 115 amp alt. Maybe start there...

 

4000 watts? Really...? So that's 4000w RMS power, correct?


Im gonna go ahead and install my 1000w RMS dream system and not worry about the alternator. If worst comes to worst, maybe I can nab one of those 115 amp alts from a newer Lancer.

However, I'd still like to hear some opinions and find a little bit more about what kind of systems people are throwing in their Lancers.

 

nah its about max, im only pushin 2000 rms... your amp wont get much higher than RMS once u get to a certain status anyway

 

Im running one jl 1000/1 amp pushing a 12 W7. So far its doing great. I did have to add a 2.0 farad cap. Next up is components, rear speakers and another amp. still on stock battery.


sorry wrong forum. mods delete if need to

 

Haha, but a least your post is relevant to this thread.

 

howdy,
i'm runnin a mtx 1501d class d amp. 1500+ watts rms on stock batt/alt. with 2 farad cap. all that madness goes to one 10 inch flame q. my rig beats that sub to death at about 60% gain and maybe 40% bassboost. head lights dim like crazy. in my opinion the batt/alt is not enough its not keeping up. that amp could prolly make way more power but not the way i'm runnin it right now. not that i need it to.
i'm bout to add 4 channels and speaks so i'm wondering the same thing man. i suspect the head light blinking will get worse with the addition of another amp.
i'm pretty sure i read some where the alt only good for 100 amps. my amp requires 150. so at this point batt/alt upgrades is neccesary to go further. you might want to seriously consider it. unless you dont mind the light show drivin at night.

 

yeah, its a strain on it, my kicker amp is 150 and my MTX amp is 60 and you can tell the difference but its not bad just your alternator will die out instead of lasting forever

 

I made the stupid mistake in thinking two batteries are better than one. I ended up losing my alternator in about 2 years time. I found out later that 2 batteries are more of a strain on the alternator than any help. And amps with unregulated power supplies require volatge to stay at 14.4 to go at max power, while my system always falls below 12 volts.

A cap is useless too, I've got a 3 farad cap. The best thing you can do is get an alternator rebuilt to at least 160 (200 is best). Cuz remember at idle they only produce 50-60 % of the rated output. And i've got 2 PG XENON 600.1 (1200 WRMS total) hitting two PG XENON subs and another 4 channel PG XENON 400.1 (400 WRMS) hitting 2 XENON compoent sets.

And also, you can't do a simple math calculation because it depends on how efficient your amplifier is too. D class amps are 80% efficient, while a/b are about 50%.

 

Oh and what if you want your a/c running with your headlights on? Your stock alternator will not suffice. A good cap is around 200-300 dollars while a rebuilt alternator is aobut 300 installed. Alternators provide more power to your system even faster than a cap. So don't waste money on caps like i did

 

i have a hard time believing you are getting 2000rms off of a factory charging system. The lights dim when using factory car accessories for god sakes.

 

If they print the number on the box it must be true! I'm in Hong Kong right now looking at the 'new' amps for next year and how they can manipulate things to get bigger numbers. It is amazing what you can do with a board that looks like a "D" project at DeVry.

It doesn't matter what the amp is rated in most cases, music is dynamic and impedance changes with frequency. So an amp is only making power half the time and not at full capacity. Then you get impedance rises and I have measured impedances of over 60 ohms in a car. That would yeild 1/16 of the power half the time. Here is a few formula to help.

Power x2 (amps are 50% efficient at best) / voltage (should be 13.2 at least witha healthy charging system) = current

2000*2/13.2 = 303 amps of current, so your charging system would never provide enough power to deliver 2000 watts for more than an instant. nnIt also shows that that amp should have 300 amps worth of fuses to protect itself if it could produce 2000 watts. since it would likely pull down voltage the fuses should actually be larger 4000 /12 = 333 amps. Also remember that it is extremely unlikely that the amp is 50% efficient and that would likely get worse also.