S14 Power problem....

[S14rida]

Do anyone know if they make an high current alternator for a 95 s14. I am in the process of buyin a new amp and need alot of power. I got alot of power drain because of cd player, dvd player, 4 guages, etc...The sub amp im gettin has 325 amp draw...so i need some power...A cap and a battery wont do it i think....any suggestions will be very helpfull......

[PoorManQ45]

Hold on a second there.

Why do you NEED an amp that draws that much power? 325amps, that's ~4680watts when the car is running. I'd recommend that you rethink your sub /amp selection

BUT if you're dead set on that amp then I have a little bad news for you. No one makes an alternator with that kind of output. But don't worry, you can use two alternators. You'll need a mounting braket, you might have to make this, to mount the second one.

I can't really recommend any alternators though because I'm having a hard time finding one for the 240. I know someoen makes one. Do a search through the electronics section, you'll find the link.

[S14rida]

Its the only amp that will go with the sub im gettin....I bout to buy an Orion H2 and i know to many people who have blew the sub because they have had to small an amp. I never figured the amp pulled that much juice until we were talking bout the setup a few days ago. I fugured a hybrid 35 farad cap and a extra batt would work but he was like nope. Hell i had 2 1500 watt amps and a 800 watt amp with a 5 farad stinger cap and a stinger battery and had no major problems. The lights would dim a little at night when i played it wide open at night. The amp im going to by is an Orion 2500d. Im tring to get some major sound out of a small trunk area. But yea the 2 alternator thing is a good idea....ill have to pass that one my my installer....

[PoorManQ45]

...i know to many people who have blew the sub because they have had to small an amp.

To clarrify something. Clipping does NOT kill drivers, power does. Example. If you put a 200w amp on that sub and cause it to clip, it'll put out approximately ~400w. As you can see this is FAR lower then even the RMS rating out that driver. No damage AT ALL, except to the amp, will be done.

Question: Are you going to be competing with this setup, because the H2 is mostly for comps, not normal use. It simply does not have the SQ for normal use.

If you're not going to compete, I would recommend that you look at what Adire Audio has to offer. They known for having SQL drivers.

Another question, what mains are you using? The reason I ask this is due to the fact that alot of people focus way too much on bass, and not enough on the rest of the frequency range. This is most likely because bass is so easy to get, whereas the rest of the frequency range requires a little bit of knowledge to get right. Unfortunately alot of people think like this, "It go boom, that good". These are the people whose head I want to rip off . I mean, it's just a total disrespect to me, and even more so to the engineers that designed their products to sound good over the entire frequency range.

anyways, enough of that rant.

What made you decide on the orion amp? I'd recommend that you take a look at hifonics. They have a very low dollor per watt rating.

[S14rida]

If you underpower the H2 it will lock up....i know to many people that have done it...and the Orion rep i talked to stated that to me. I not building for comp so im not tring to break no SPL records. I just want some serious sound outta a small space. I got my highs and mids took care of. I got Kenwood components but bout to change over to the Orion P series. Im not one of the people that has all bass...i like to listen to my music but at an intense level. But i want to use the H2 beacuse they sound very good and the 2500d was built for that sub. Im just tring to find the power to run the amp. I had to downgrade my last high current amp because it drew to much juce and would overheat way to quick. So i want to solve this problem before it get to deep into my project. My boy told me i could also have a power problem because my main battery is in the trunk. So i dont know....

[PoorManQ45]

First, the Orion reps are full of crap. You can NOT harm a sub by underpowering it.

I've already explained this. So i'm not going overthat again unless you need specific details.

About the power problem now.

First thing you need to understand, when the car is running, ALL of your power *should* be coming from the alternator.

So this rules out the faulty battery, although I recommend you replace it if it's over three years old

Now, with that kind of power draw you WILL need a capacitor, but this is ONLY because electricity is actually very slow, so when you have an instantaneous high current draw the power cannot get from the alternator to the amp fast enough. I capacitor will keep more power on hand specifically for these times.

Now onto actually fixing the problem. Your alternator IS the problem. Liek I said, you're not going to find any one alternator that's going to put out the 300+ amps that you need. You will HAVE TO use two alternators

[S14rida]

Guess ill get into researching the whole concept...but YES you can lock up the voice coils in the H2 by underpowering it. Researce the new dual gap technology Orion uses in its new subs. They are built for huge wattage...they have been tested at 10000 watts for over an hour. I never seen anyone thats blew one due to lack of power. Only underpowered, the voice coil is cooled by the movement of the sub. 1000watts will hardly move the sub...ive see that myself. So if your puttin 1500 watts to the sub and not alot of movement from the sub youll burn up ya voice coils. But enuff of that...the 2 alternator things sound like a good idea....thanks

[PoorManQ45]

...the 2 alternator things sound like a good idea....thanks

You're welcome. That really is the only option.

Only underpowered, the voice coil is cooled by the movement of the sub.

I do know how a speaker works

1000watts will hardly move the sub...ive see that myself.

This is why I recommended that you look into a different subwoofer.

You have to understand that I'm not into this whole high wattage game. I would WAY rather get 120dB from 100watts then 140dB from 1000watts, but that's me. It's obvious that you're going for that ~150dB mark, right?

If I were you, and I was going for that level, then I'd reconsider all the other speakers too to make sure that they can reach at *least* 140dB.