I took some pics of Garfinkle's GM alernator set up and the cutom brackets he made to mount it.

Enjoy.

Any questions should be referred to him.

 

love the strut bar! what one is that?

 

Next question...why?

Tim

 

For one, at least my guess, is that the GM alternator starts off with more initial amps than the stock FD alty. Also it is cheaper and easier to find someone to juice up one of these than the factory alternators.

 

Man, in my personal experience, GM/delco alternators are dogshit. once the first one goes out, you will be changing that bad boy every 2 years for the rest of your ownership of that vehicle. IF said vehicle has even a mild stereo system installed, cut that to 8 months.

I can say that the 140A unit on my denali has done well, it seems to be the original unit and is still surviving well, even with a crapload of electronics/stereo equipment to operate.

On the contrary, 89+ rx-7 alternators seem to be pretty reliable, I have only ever seen one actually go out. Lots of times poor charging is just a problem with connections and grounds that the owner is too lazy to troubleshoot...and these probably get fixed when the new alternator is installed.

I sure as hell don't see a delco alternator tolerating 8krpms for very long at all, especially considering that the stock pulley diameter for the FD spins the alternator pretty hard to begin with.

 

that, and they don't put out enough amps. but you can have them modified when they're rebuilt. most guys are too lazy to open the phone book and find a rebuilder though.

 

I've been told that the series 4 and 5 case isnt big enough to allow for rewinding for more amperage. Then again, I never really pressed the issue, either. I only had 2 7's with a big system in them, and probably won't ever again. If the stock alt. won't run it, then I don't need it.

 

The alt builder , IRAGI Alternators, thinks this unit will do the job,we will see. The unit is modified for higher out put at idle , about 90 amps and 180 -190 on the top end .I am running a smaller crank pulley and he measured that before doing the math and picking the windings ,rotor and internals .The car tested at idle with every thing on drawing 75 amps .That was before I put in the Memphis Bell and the four c4 coils . If the unit does not last but a year or 8 mo I think Dominic , the builder, would know ,that is his busness, If it does not last then I can go back to the stock unit he built me with an output of 150 amps .I make parts and try things out before doing things for my customers .That way I can stand behind the work as I know the results . With out testing ideas I would be driving a near stock car .Alot of things done to the car were done before other people posted the new idea on the forum .I am sure you all know more than me and you all make better designed parts ,but I am just tring to come up with better ideas for my silver junker .If the alt last or not that depends on Iragi s job and his business is very good. Plus he has taken the time to work with me one on one . If the alt fails then my brackets will still be looking good . Any way the alt looks good in there and I am showing the car at Hunters car show this week end ,if the alt will get me to Nashville ,time will tell .,,,, Mono4lamar the shock tower brace mounts are homemade .The alum bar I bought somewere .

 

bling bling.... loll



looks good though, a little too much though I'd say.....how much did he spend polishing all that stuff?

 

Money spent polishing zero ,I can not afford to pay others for work that I can do .

 

hehe, who wouldve thought. first of all, the alternator looks good. very clean install. as for the alternator working. . . the builder is in constant contact with david. im pretty sure david mentioned what kind of rpm hed be turning SOMEWHERE in their conversation. why did he do it? because its a better piece than the FD alternator when it comes to upgrading the windings and such. the builder seemed to like it. . . and this is what he does. im assuming he made a good choice on which case to use based on his previous works and knowledge.

why david did it? the world may never know why he does a lot of things. im sure it had something to do with the added electrical demands that his car thirsts for, and trying to keep the stock alternator from having to work so hard to make his car run. this alternator should give him plenty of room so that he doesnt have to worry about it while driving down the road.

im CONSTANTLY watching my voltage. . . because its almost never high enough for my liking. davids car, however, seems to ALWAYS see good voltage.

as far as the "bling" goes. . . thats his deal. hehe

 

Paul,

What are you running that you are constantly watching your voltage? I'm always watch my knock and A/F numbers, but I have a stock stereo system.

Tim

 

lol so like i asked what strut bar is that? looks like the ebay one i have for my mx6

 

Mono4lamar -I made the shock tower mounts ,the bar I bought from some company about 9 years ago and do not remember the name .I did not get it from E-bay ,I can tell you that . The bends were not angled enough and I had to bend it to fit as i needed .

 

The cases are big enough but they lack low rpm output. Not an efficient enough design.
In Davids car, he spins the alternator very slowly........1000 rpm less than what it is supposed to at idle. There is much more steel and potential of magnetism in the large case GM alt. Thus the better choice in his application.

Dominick Iraggi

 

Why do we do the thing we do?
To be different
To fab thing up
and just because


I personal like to make things but some times it doesnt work out and if it does work out it's the best feeling to know that you made it and not just bought a part for a vendor that ones else has made.

As for the alt. I hope it works out and if it doesnt oh well. What did you lose.

 

my voltage is always on the top. . . on the commander. i set it there long ago, and now it looks funny without it there. . . i guess i got used to where everything was. im running an aftermarket cd player and a 4 channel amplifier. . . msd box. . yada, yada, yada. its simply because the voltage readout IS where it is that i constantly look at it.

watching the knock readings always seemed pointless to me since theres no real guideline for what numbers should be looked at, and its so erratic that it just doesnt make sense for me to be annoyed by its presence. WOT tuning. . . yeah, ill watch peak knock. a/f numbers are something i watch every so often. just to make sure its in a decent range before i go punching it. the car is tuned, checked over and over again. . . im only worried if the weather changes or if the fuel pressure drops (eye level), or if the fuel pump fails due to. . . improper voltage.

 

regardless of the reason that is one clean install! props!

 

Paul,

What setting do you use on the commander? 1 output, 2, 4, or 8? I've always been curious what other settings people use and feel comfortable with. I've 95% of the time have it on 4 outputs, but will have it on 2 for knock and boost sometimes.

Back on topic, yes his engine bay is sparkly and I do think Paul has ate off it!!!

Tim

 

I keep the commander on four checks air temp,water temp volts and inj duty .Yesterday on the way to Hunters auto expo to set the car up I checked volts .On the innerstate 14 .7 volts with the radio and amp on low vol .In town at idle 14.3 , 900 rpm .With the stock alt and the stock modified 150 amp alt I was seeing 14.4 on the road and 12.5 to 13.4 at idle .The car runs better at low speed ,pulls away good at low idle . the brackets and hidden adjuster look well enought that several have made remarks at the show.Some ask if the alt was polished or chrome . If the unit fails in a few months the world will not end .I can change it out in about 2 minutes, unscrew one bolt and remove the wire nut and unplug the weather pac .

 

David is certainly mr. polish, you would be hard pressed to find a cleaner engine bay in an FD

 

that is one clean engine bay

 

You know you could also ask this same question about people who add carbon fiber interior pieces and rear wings that don't even create down force. Upgrading the amperage is always useful.

 

Wings are a different store all together.
I was taking about fabing thinks up for true performance.



Personaly if the alt. works well, I probably love to have one myself. It looks like a great clean installment. Very well done!!