I'm trying to upgrade the stereo in my Sonic sedan... I've gotten as far as adding in a nice 4 channel to power my door speakers. My problem is I don't want to add in my subs without getting a hold of a stronger alternator to power the whole system. I'm wondering if, since our Sonics have the Cruze engine, is the alternator the same model as well? And if so, does anyone know if and where I can get a hold of a high output version? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
High Output Alternator?
- Thread starter havik
- Start date
First off do you know the Amperage of the Alt off hand? Second what kind of wattage are you planning on running?
Basically for every amp the car's alt can kick out you can run 10 watts of power into your system without worrying about draining the battery.
My advice?
Get a battery box and hook up a secondary battery as close to the amp as you can if your that worried about discharging the battery.
And get a volt meter mounted somewhere.
Basically for every amp the car's alt can kick out you can run 10 watts of power into your system without worrying about draining the battery.
My advice?
Get a battery box and hook up a secondary battery as close to the amp as you can if your that worried about discharging the battery.
And get a volt meter mounted somewhere.
Ah good advice. You see, I'm looking at running around 2500 watts total rms, but of course I wouldn't be running it at full volume pretty much ever because I do enjoy my hearing, so let's say 1000 watts is the regular draw. I just love the sound of nice, clear highs and deep lows without all the distortion. My issue is I would like to see my lights not suffer any sort of dimming effect, and I also want to avoid having to go battery shopping as often as I did with my Oldsmobile, which was running half the wattage with an extra 40 amps provided from the alt. Fortunately, I have a very seasoned audio tech doing all of my work and he is the kind of guy who won't install a low-quality system or allow you to disturb vehicle quality for sound quality. Which brought me to wondering if there are any options for upgrading the stock alt while maintaining genuine gm parts (a.k.a. not voiding my warranty) status. Thanks for the advice, but I kinda have my heart set on upgrading the battery and alternator.
Yea I don't honestly know of any genuine GM alts that wouldn't void your warranty simply because it's modding your OEM equipment. It's like changing your springs and then the shop denying you service on your dampers. Even if they are GMPP springs. You could get another stock sonic ALT and have it rebuilt for higher output, or get an overdrive pulley (smaller diameter, like the Balt SS and Cobra/GT500 stangs) setup.
1000 watts though sounds like complete overkill however to me. But then again last time I had a slamming sound system it was 1500 watts total (1000 to a pair of 10s and 500 for the components) and I rarely went about 1/4 volume purely because it was clear enough and it drowned out the 3" duals.
1000 watts though sounds like complete overkill however to me. But then again last time I had a slamming sound system it was 1500 watts total (1000 to a pair of 10s and 500 for the components) and I rarely went about 1/4 volume purely because it was clear enough and it drowned out the 3" duals.
wingman
Active member
What about an Optima battery? Not sure which would be best for your app, but I searched and a lot of the sites I found said for high powered stereos. Some did mention high output alternators, but not all. I know a lot of peeps that just have an Optima and they have extremely badass systems. like 150 db spl badass!
JimmyQ
New member
How to upgrade the Big Three
Just my .02 but might save some money
Just my .02 but might save some money
A larger ALT wouldn't exactly prevent lights from dimming that would be a factor of CAPS since the ALT would provide power after the bass note is over with out CAPS. Also 1000 Watts is about 100-120 amps but that is only while the bass not is active which is ussually about 60% of the time. But at 2500 watts RMS (which sounds insane) would need a 200 amp or a second 100 amp. A lager ALt would require at min a new fusiable link and mote then likely lager cables.... I would run a ground wire (and postive) 0 size wire back to amps and tie the ground to body near the amp
inm
Member
First off, I want a build log 
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say this, but join SteveMeadeDesigns.com forum for a GREAT car audio forum.
Anyway, as for the alternator, contact the awesome guys at DC Power and they may be able to help.
As for a battery, Kinetik and XS are the two top brands for car audio applications.
Good luck with the build! I'll be starting one soon as well!
Also, I didn't read all the other posts, but do NOT let anyone talk you into getting a capacitor. Trust me. For a little extra money, buy a second battery. Capacitors like send uneven waves of power to your amps, and it's just dirty.
edit-
Glanced over the other posts, and saw the Big 3 mentioned. This is a GREAT first step. For something as small as 10k-2.5k watts, I would recommend running the Big 3 with 4awg wire. When I still had my Blazer, I had the Big 3 ran with 0awg, but I was also running two 3kW amps. Man I miss that thing... Definitely don't miss the piss-poor fuel economy though... Lol!
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say this, but join SteveMeadeDesigns.com forum for a GREAT car audio forum.
Anyway, as for the alternator, contact the awesome guys at DC Power and they may be able to help.
As for a battery, Kinetik and XS are the two top brands for car audio applications.
Good luck with the build! I'll be starting one soon as well!
Also, I didn't read all the other posts, but do NOT let anyone talk you into getting a capacitor. Trust me. For a little extra money, buy a second battery. Capacitors like send uneven waves of power to your amps, and it's just dirty.
edit-
Glanced over the other posts, and saw the Big 3 mentioned. This is a GREAT first step. For something as small as 10k-2.5k watts, I would recommend running the Big 3 with 4awg wire. When I still had my Blazer, I had the Big 3 ran with 0awg, but I was also running two 3kW amps. Man I miss that thing... Definitely don't miss the piss-poor fuel economy though... Lol!
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inm
Member
Damn son, you're gonna burn your wire or battery up. Just don't slam it.
Now gimme some build pics
Sent from my ICS DROID3 via Tapatalk
inm
Member
Not bad, what's your box tuned to?
inm
Member
Not bad. I had 3 12"s on 6kW, tuned to 32Hz. Never got it metered though, wish I had. Oh well, I won't be doing anything that extreme in my Sonic anytime soon. I might end up doing 2 12"s but nothing more.
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think I'm going to go ahead with the battery upgrade since the first thing I knocked out was The Big 3 before I did the 4 channel amp install. Glad Chevy gave us the long battery tray even with the short battery. On a side note, I'll have a lightly used back-up battery for sale if anyone wants it lol
