Alterstart Alternator
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=48705
Printed Date: May 18, 2024 at 10:20 PM
Topic: Alterstart Alternator
Posted By: Master Asylum
Subject: Alterstart Alternator
Date Posted: January 27, 2005 at 7:13 AM
I'm looking at getting a 180amp alternator for my car, anyone happen to have any good/bad info on the company or products? Just wanna do a little background before I sink $200 into this.
-------------
1998 Monte Carlo w/
Eclipse CD8454
2xRockford 5.25" Power 2-way T152C
2xRockford 6"x9" Punch 3-way FRC4369
1xMemphis 16-MCH1300 5-channel
2xKicker 12" L5 Solobaric-2 Ohm
Replies:
Posted By: Alpine Guy
Date Posted: January 27, 2005 at 12:00 PM
I have had experince with lots of different brands of alternators for my customers cars, and the one brand i can trust for quality and true specs is www.mechman.com , they are well known for there alternators. They have gone as far as to "hot rate" them, all other companys get there rateing from a cold alternator. Check them out. ------------- 2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: January 27, 2005 at 1:22 PM
Actually, Alterstart will hot rate your alternator as well... I love my Alterstart alternator. 165A for a Civic, and it was only 300. WAY cheaper than anybody else I found on the web, and a lifetime warranty...
-------------
It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
Posted By: supradude
Date Posted: January 27, 2005 at 7:00 PM
Funny that this post is on here today of all days. As some of you may have read a while back, I was having problems with my car. Turned out to be the alternator (that I got from Alterstart). When I called them the first time they were very rude and short with me. I criticized them pretty bad for that. I had it checked out at a shop and proved that it was in fact the alternator. Then I called them back and was prepared to blast them for the way that they had treated me the first time. This time I got another guy, and he told me to "send it back", "i will email you a form to fill out and send with it". I sent it back last Friday and to my surprise I got it back TODAY. They said the stator was bad and they fixed it free. I did not have a lifetime warranty, only 2 years, but it was still under warranty. So I guess all in all I can't say too much bad about them. It worked great when it was on the car. They seem to be a decent company. But just my luck, when I opened the box today, the pulley is bent! UPS shipped it, so do I need to call them or alterstart about this problem? Hope I helped answer what you asked. Anybody know who I need to contact?
-------------
'85 Toy
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: January 27, 2005 at 8:38 PM
File a claim with UPS. They can't test an alternator, or even re-assemble one with a bent shaft. (hehe He said "shaft") It had to have happened in shipping.
-------------
It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
Posted By: wheelerdr
Date Posted: January 27, 2005 at 11:01 PM
The new stinger alt ar very good they rate ther alt at rmp of 600. They will run around 540+ s/h but for a alt that will put out 200 amps at 600 rpm will be owrth it. but that just my opinion
-------------
Posted By: Master Asylum
Date Posted: February 01, 2005 at 12:09 PM
Ok, still on this. I'm still looking at the Alterstart 180a for $200. That's the biggest they can get in my car, stupid Chevy. The next up at Mechman is wanting like 550/+ for 200a or 225a and I don't even know if those will fit. The Alterstart guy said I need like 70 amp for every 1000 watts of pull from the system. The Amp is like 2600 watt (1300wRMS or something close to that) so I need like 180a just for that at 100%. Which I do need heating, air conditioning, lights, and all that stuff. So will this amp suffice or not? If not, then what do I do for the next step? So far it is looking like due to my limited space in there and the stupid fitting isn't gonna allow much more, and spending 600 is kinda ew. Now the $540/+ for a 200a at 600rpm doesn't sound bad at all if I'm looking at long lasting capabilities. Just would like if someone could give me some information that I can use myself to figure this out.
-------------
1998 Monte Carlo w/
Eclipse CD8454
2xRockford 5.25" Power 2-way T152C
2xRockford 6"x9" Punch 3-way FRC4369
1xMemphis 16-MCH1300 5-channel
2xKicker 12" L5 Solobaric-2 Ohm
Posted By: Alpine Guy
Date Posted: February 01, 2005 at 3:06 PM
If your pushing 1300 wrms, your draw is most likely in the 100 amp or less range. So you really don't need to big of an alternator, ,but its nice to have headroom. The 180 amp alt will be plenty. Be shure to ask for the specs on the alt. Specifically how much it puts out at specific engine rpm's. You will want it to be able to put out 100-120amps at idle at least. ------------- 2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.
Posted By: supradude
Date Posted: February 01, 2005 at 3:44 PM
I am still having problems with Alterstart. I have sent it back for UPS to inspect to see if it was damaged in shipping or not. The box looked fine when I got it. When I contacted Alterstart they told me "do not send it back to us". Now I am sitting and waiting for UPS and Alterstart to decide who is responsible for the alternator. I think it was damaged when they boxed it up. I still have mixed feelings about them as a company. I would not recommend them to anybody else at this point. Jeff Chilcott told me about a person named Dominick Irraggi that he highly recommends, and if I need a new one that is the way I will go also. He is a little bit higher, but his alternators will do what he says they will.
-------------
'85 Toy
Posted By: Master Asylum
Date Posted: February 02, 2005 at 7:24 AM
I'm gonna go ahead and give this a run. $199.99 for a 180 amp (Apparently because of the a***oles at chevy the car can't get any bigger because of a special mount) plus like $18 shipping. If I have any immediate problems I will let everyone know. And if I do, I'll go with someone else next time as well. If I wasn't on a tighter budget and time frame I'd probably look to a high end like supra mentioned. I'll find out the output at idle before I order today. If It is making like 80 or less on idle I might reconsider.
-------------
1998 Monte Carlo w/
Eclipse CD8454
2xRockford 5.25" Power 2-way T152C
2xRockford 6"x9" Punch 3-way FRC4369
1xMemphis 16-MCH1300 5-channel
2xKicker 12" L5 Solobaric-2 Ohm
Posted By: DDexter
Date Posted: February 02, 2005 at 11:23 AM
I also purchased from Alterstart ... a CS130D (rated at 180 Amps) ... [chevy vortec 5.7] My problem was that the alternator would not perform at idle (my voltage would go down to 12.5 volts when I am in gear at idle (at a red light) ... Idle speed cannot be controlled direclty on my truck since it is managed by the PCM. I have sent them back my alternator, and they are sending me a replacement unit (i requested a CS144 = bigger housing, which should provide me with better low speed performance) .. Customer service is excellent. I should be receiving my replacement next week.
Posted By: supradude
Date Posted: February 02, 2005 at 6:37 PM
I'm glad DDexter had luck with their service. I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I am very easy to get along with. When I don't say something nice, I usually say nothing at all. With all that said, I have had very poor service with them and have been talked to very harshly on 2 occasions. They are still holding me up on deciding what to do about the one that they sent me that was damaged. I have no more use for them. I hope that I am the only one that has this problem with them. Maybe my situation was just a one time thing and it was just my bad luck, but I feel like I need to let everybody know what happened in my situation.
-------------
'85 Toy
|