money is an object for sure. but when i think about it, i havent spent all that much on this car considering how loud the system will be when im finished.

2 sheets of the 3/4" birch wood was free, dad had it in the garage, said i could have it.

the sub was about 300

wire i had from wayyyy back (0 gauge sitting in my closet)

suede for the interior was 27 a yard, im at 4 yards so far and only 50 bux in labor for all of it (including side rear panels)

tint, bout 200 in tint (2 layers on front doors, and the whole windshield tinted and a glare strip)

stock s-lites only 60 for all 4 to be painted (major hook up on that by my body shop)

nakamichi head unit was 225 shipped on ebay

um...mids and highs....i may have 16 6.5s, but they are 17 each (dealer) and thats what im paying, the tweeters are a little more (bullet tweets) like 22 each, so not that much. same as buying 1 or 2 really really nice component sets, which would have been pointless becuase thats not what i wanted and wouldnt have kept up with my bass, no way in hell dont care what you say.

but really, thats all. few other little odds n end things, cant think of right now.

tomorow at work ill make a complete list of everything ive bought for the MINI and add it up :/ lol

 

Well Power doesn't seem to be an issue here. Just add the second alternator. It's not like he'll be using the Mini for sporting purposes. All that weight in that back will throw off the balance enough as it is. Sucking a couple more ponies with a second alternator is a minimal issue.
From what I gather by all the posts this will just turn into one of those speaker vans that we used to build back in high school. Just good for SPL, no spatial differentiation or actual sound quality beyond pure SPL.
Seal 'er shut and bump that bass homey!

 

If you have the dime and the time then a second alternator is probably your only real option. If power becomes an issue by a 19% pulley and throw that on.

What was it again? A wall of two 18"s?

 

hahahah thats what im goin for, not SQ or anything, straight up SPL

if i do add a 2nd alt (i want to in the future) how much power would it really draw in reality?

1 18" with 3000w

what kind of pulley do i have stock (04 JCW)

 

just shy of of 15%.

 

so if i get a 19% one, what will that do for me (i dont know nothin about engines lol)

and how much is it?

 

The 19% pulley will spin your supercharger faster. There are other costs that go along with the 19%. Do some homework in the S forum before you go this route.

 

how much HP do you think a 2nd alt would take away?

and the people familiar with the engine and have worked on it, do you think its possible to run a 2nd alt, and leave the stock alt where its at now? problem is getting a pulley to it...running power wires and mounting is easier, i can just have a bracket made and mount it somewhere, but i just need that damn pulley...lol

 

bump.

 

Formula for finding how much power it takes to turn your alternator...

((AMPS LOAD x VOLT CHARGE) / 745.7) +15%

 

so a 300 amp alternator at 13.8 v would be about 6.4 hp.

 

thats only while its at full load tho, isnt it? Anyway, i really dont see how your going to get that to fit, like someone said, check out the RF and the other mini built by the speaker companies, and see what they did.

 

yeah, how much HP is takes to turn the alternator for it's current load. so if your only using 40amps of the 300 it would be a lot less.

 

actually, i will have to check the bently, or someone else can first, but either way, i know the alt on the cooper is in a different spot than on the s. That would have something to do with the SC, but if you had a cooper, i just figured out how to solve your problem, but you dont, and i dont think there is anywhere else under there. You might be able to have a custom braket made to mount another alt beside the current one, and remember, it doesnt have to point the same way (so long as you get one to run in the other direction). You might have to go turbo, to ditch the SC, the put a cooper alt on, as well as an s alt on, and youd be set, hahah, That only a $8k fix. Sorry, but the idea cam to me, and i just had to tell you....

 

Fortunately, the alternator only has to keep up with the *average* current draw, not the *peak* current draw. Unless you're playing full-volume test tones for hours at a time, you'd be shocked at how low the average current draw is from even a big honkin' stereo system. For the short bursts where the stereo needs more current than the alternator can provide, it just gets it from the battery (which is why it's important to use a low-ESR/high-current battery so that the voltage doesn't drop off significantly during heavy current draw).

I'd try your setup with the stock alternator and a high-current battery first and see how it goes. If your battery doesn't go flat over time, then the stock alternator is keeping up with the average current demand.

 

ya i had a Powerbass XA-3000D amp, wired @ 1 ohm in there, with a RF Punch150 "25 to LIFE" amp, on a single Kinetik HC2400 (running the car and the system) and i have the volt meter in my car too, and i would be playing music, gains on the powerbass at about 1/2, and volume on HU at 44 out of 60 (i never go past 44) so you could say i had it "full tilt" and it wasent that bad while driving (voltage drop)

at idle it was worse, but not much. im only going to upgrade the alt if i absolutly have to. im might run 2 batts though, not sure. i really gotta see how much weight this is all gonna be.

i know im gonna need to address the suspension in the rear becuase of sagging....how much will that set me back? i heard just run coilovers? any specific kind?

 

ordered the MTX TA91002 2 channel

$422 shipped.

750w rms x 2 @ 1 ohm, under rated


next up is a TA7804 for the tweets (tweets were ordered yesterday)

 

I've always been an advocate of using separate battery(s) for a monster system, especially if fitting a second, or super high output alternator is close to impossible. With the system having it's own battery, you can use an isolator at the alternator to feed both the car's electrical system as well as the amps. When the system is pounding, the alternator will be working to keep the system at full power, while not dragging the car's battery with it (but also not being charged by the alternator at those times). Granted, you dont get the added benefit of the car's battery powering the system, but at least you wont be dragging the entire electrical system down flat when you are beating the hell out of the stereo. Plus, if you do drag the system batteries flat, you can still start your car and get back to pounding.

Remember, the average power draw of the system is usually nowhere close to the peak, unless you are driving everythig to severe clipping. If that's the case, you'll be replacing gear more than needing more alternators.

I just added a second alt to my truck, but not for a stereo. It was easy, using all factory parts and mountings. Life was easy there.

 

i wish it was easy for my MINI :(

curious- why a 2nd alt but no system?

 

Are you using a capacitor ?(or a few)

 

none

 

Truck has a diesel engine, for one. In addition to glow plugs, the engine has an intake heater grid that draws over 150 amps when engaged for the first couple minutes of running when cold. The 120 amp alternator does not keep up with it, so it relies also on the batteries to make up for it. No big deal really. There is an option for a second alt from the factory. Since I want to install a pretty large inverter (2000-3000 watts) for use when camping and such, I wanted the extra juice. Since installing the 2nd alt, the heater grid can run without any draw from the dual batteries.

And who knows, maybe one day I will install some sort of system in it.

 

nice nice