Had posted this as a reply to a previous post, figured it deserved it's own thread, for those interested.
Nathan (from EA) did my 200 amp alternator for my 1999 Pontiac Firebird.. Shipping was fast, the alternator was great, first one died after about 2 weeks though...
Mailed it back (UPS takes a damn week from him to me - and vice versa), and contacted him on the day he got it. He didnt get it until around 3:30pm that day, though. However, paypal'd him some funds (like $45 for overnight shipping), and early the next day, he had a new alternator back in the mail. I guess USPS couldnt guarantee overnight shipping from his destination to mine (USPS was considerably cheaper than the UPS alternative), but, I still had it the next day.
Only thing wrong with this alternator was cosmetic.. (I think? A piece of the plastic grate near where you insert the plug was broken, but, nothing on the plug itself, and it works fine, so hoping it dosnt effect anything in the future.)
Been running the hell out of this one, and it's been a little over a month so far.. Nathan was more than courteous, and willing to take care of the problem I had, and took care of it extremely fast..
The price of the Alternator was $275 after shipping. So all in all (including the return shipping/overnight shipping back) it came to around $340 for the 200 amp alternator. Direct bolt-on, dosnt get much simpler than that to change any engine part.. (took less than 15 minutes)
Thats good to hear seth, nathan is a nice person to talk to about HO alternators and is helpfull. I bought a 180A HO alternator from him and recieved it like over a week ago. I havent installed in my car yet but will in the near future. Mine is a direct bolt on aswell for a 95 mitsu montero sr. I will make a post on how it is once its setup. By the way did you upgrade your big 3 ?
Yes, MO, I've upgraded my big 3. I'm Running a Phoenix Gold Xenon 1200 RMS amp (1-4 ohm puts out 1200 regardless), a Hifonics Brutus 1605d, and a Jensen 60x4 RMS (cea rated) amp. I'm using 0/1 gauge for all big 3, and running 0/1 to the back battery, as well as another 0/1 gauge for a dedicated ground instead of using my chasis.
Only problem I'm having is, my alternator dosnt really kick on until about 900 rpm... Anyone suggest how to raise my cars idle to about 900? Right now it idles at 650-700. (1999 Firebird with a 3800 Series II engine).
James.. best I could get was 200 amps, or actually, he said it'd be tough, but he could make one for like 215 amps, but it'd have been $85 more...so I'd rather just get the 200 amp and pay $85 less, heh.
Nathan said he could go 200A for me, but it would require slight bracket and wiring mods. I don't consider myself mechanically inclined, so I'll probably stick with the 160A direct bolt-on. The 200A is actually cheaper than the 160A, though. LOL.
I'm Running a Phoenix Gold Xenon 1200 RMS amp (1-4 ohm puts out 1200 regardless), a Hifonics Brutus 1605d, and a Jensen 60x4 RMS (cea rated) amp. I'm using 0/1 gauge for all big 3, and running 0/1 to the back battery, as well as another 0/1 gauge for a dedicated ground instead of using my chasis.