We had problems with Dai Yoshihara’s electrical system, OEM type alternators would only last a few events and batteries would not last too long either. A few times the car would have a hard time starting or the ECU and PDM acted erratically, usually at the worst possible time. We switched to a DC power alternator many seasons ago and have not had a single electrical problem since. The car has been running the same alternator for many seasons as well!
Our current need to fix an electrical system is on the CSF Evo X time attack car. The car has several oil pumps for drivetrain heat exchangers, a large radiator fan, four fuel lift pumps, two main high capacity fuel pumps, a driver’s air conditioning system, and electrical power steering. Our main problem is sometimes erratic electrical issues and power steering that stops working after a few laps. In our testing, we found that the car’s electric system draws about 150-180 amps when everything is going full tilt and the steering is in a turn. The car had a small race battery and the OEM Mitsubishi alternator only put out 120-130 amps. With little reserve capacity, the small battery would lose enough power to not be able to operate the power steering after a few minutes.
We are replacing the OEM alternator with a DC Power 270 amp heavy-duty alternator. With an output of 270 amps, the car now has a normal amount of power headspace even with the power steering going which draws over 80 amps when the steering is being moved quickly or when the aero load is high. The DC Power alternator has a heavy-duty bearing system and brushes for a long service internal. We have been super impressed with the durability of DC Power alternators which has been many times of an OEM alternator no matter how tough the usage is. Going from about 4 alternators a season to one lasting 6 seasons and counting is pretty impressive to us!
With 270 massive amps the alternator and a battery with 40 amp-hours capacity, the duty cycle of the alternator and battery will be more than stock even with the car’s massive power demands. This makes for a really stable voltage for the car’s systems, even with the power steering going full blast. This also means that the battery and alternator will last a long longer as well.
Our Antigravity battery weighs the same as the small race battery it’s replacing and it has more than twice the cranking amps and 2.5 times more capacity. Between this battery and the new alternator, our car should have nice and stable power steering and no more mystery electrical glitches.
In our option, many high-performance cars are operating on the edge of the capacity of their electrical system and parts like this will solve a whole bunch of mystery woes and drivability problems.
