Quote:
Originally Posted by pete c
Seems to me that the only was an alternator with a substantially higher weight makes any sense is if you have...
a. increased battery capacity with the ability to charge at a very high rate
and...
b. a smart charging controller which would allow you to go to a high charge rate when you wanted to slow. MAybe even have the ability to go to a low level of power output when acceleration was needed for short periods
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Yep, agreed. I think nowadays they just slap a big alternator onto everything so they don't have to make as many different ones to save cost, and so that the idle speed doesn't have to increase as much for turning on electrical components.
Since there's a battery in the system anyhow to provide intermittent power, it seems more logical to size the alternator for typical operation, which is generally in the 30-50A range I think. If I weren't so concerned about resale value I would definitely try to experiment with a 6-7lb 80A alternator or something like that, because as far as shedding weight from a car goes, 100 bucks to drop 7 pounds off the top of the engine is pretty darn good. Lighter wheels, lighter battery, and lighter exhaust are all around that much or more per pound lost.