Hey everyone, my first time posting here. Anyway, I've been searching around for quite a while about alternator upgrades for my Volvo 245 1986 Wagon as I am putting in some very very serious sound equipment and will need one shortly after the upgrade. I am looking for something that can output around 200 amps or pretty close to it, I've read some of the GM CS130 alternators work but require modification. Is there any way I can get one with that high output that fits right onto the current mount? Also I've heard something about a Ford alternator voltage regulator swap or something of the sort and was wondering if I could get more info on that as I don't believe mine has been converted.

Any help would be great, I'm putting in new subs in a few months with a 3000 watt RMS amp and a second Stinger battery so I'll need the extra power if I want to run them loud very often. If you need more information let me know. Oh and just in case you all might need it, the engine I am running is a B230.

Also, I have found some info on this around the web but want more details so please don't just link me to a bunch of stuff lol.

 

So how did you do your calculations to determine you need an output of 200 amps. What is your current draw . There are a lot of replacement type alternators that go up to 150Amps but when you go to a 200+ amp unit the size would be a problem.

 

100 watts of actual sound pressure level in a small enclosed space (vehicle) is sufficient to turn your brains to jello and shatter your windows. talking jet engine at point blank range sound levels.

 

Well 150 amps should do alright, I am getting a really large second battery as well. But I am pushing 3000 RMS from the main amp and then 500RMS from two other amps for the speakers. I suppose thought if I can find a 150 amp even that would be great!

 

if you were pushing 3000 watts RMS continuously into a car, your brain would be jello.

you have amplifiers that claim to be CAPABLE of 3000 watts RMS. I seriously doubt your actual sustained power usage is 1/10th of that unless you're just outputting 0dBA continuous tones at all frequencies. -3dBA is half the power, -6 is 1/4th, and -10dBA is 1/10th the power.

 

Many people pump 3000 watts RMS or even more (up to 32,000RMS is the max I have seen), subwoofers require more power to run than regular speakers, it won't make your "brain jello" as you state. Take note it's not 3000 watts of SPL, it's 3000 watts of power to the speakers.

 

speakers I use at home are 96dB per watt actual power input at 1 meter

100 watts would be somewhere up around 120 db at 1 meter (~ 3 feet), 1000 watts would be around 130 dB (jet engine at 10 feet)

 

I'm just scared to think of the wiring that thing has

I've owned many old cars over the years and only once did I come upon an okay installation. Everything else had dangling wires, broken mounts, boom boxes that weren't even bolted down...

Just get some compact Kenwoods in there, some of us like a little peace and quiet.

 

I'm redoing a huge portion of the wiring myself, the stereo will all be bolted down and I am using 0 gauge wire capable of 300 amps for the rear battery and larger amp. Believe my I'm doing things right, it's just the alternator that I wasn't sure about. As for peace and quiet I won't be playing them extremely loud close to homes and what not.

 

I trust you, imo the best aftermarket speaker setups are the ones "integrated" into the cars, speakers you'd never notice until you turned on the radio.

Might sound like a lot of work but if you really want a heavier duty alternator, maybe you can look into dropping a 5.0' V8 under the hood. More torque, more alternator options, and easily better engine sounds.

 

Yeah I've considered the V8 swap idea, but instead I have decided that I'm going to be dropping in a 940 Turbo (B23FT) and rebuilding it (not for like 2 years though), hoping to push like 350 ish horsepower out of the little thing. I like sticking with genuine Volvo stuff anyway.

As for the "integrated" ones I would do that but the thing is the door speaker section in the front of the car only allows for super shallow speakers that won't really do much good.