i have lots of car audio/video equipment and i was wondering if i needed to get an upgraded alternator for my car, or will a new factory one be fine? mine took a crap 'cause my car is 8 years old lol, i have 3 dvd screens, ps2, 2 12" subs, 1000w amp, 2 1 farad caps, optima red top battery..

suggestions please? thanks!

 

How long have you had the car with the system? Also, how often do you listen to the music at full volume?
I had alternator go bad on me once a year in most other cars and when I had my first gen, the car would almost turn off because of the system. I thought lexus had weak alternators, but so far the alternator on my 2nd gen has been holding up.
I have just as much stuff as you so, it is up to you if you want to spend the extra money.

 

i've had the car with the system.. almost for 6 years, then i added the TV's and i've had those for a year in the car.

i'll probably just get a stock one.

 

OEM should be fine as long as you're not cranking at full blast all the time. Ours is kind of weak at 80A, but I guess Toyota knew most people were going to keep their car stock.

 

In any case what you might need is more powerful battery.

 

k - going with a factory one

and i'm gonna look at the yellow top instead of red, or maybe run a yellow in addition to red.. thanks everyone for suggestions.

 

has anyone done the big 3 upgrade on their 2gen? if so, how hard is it to do? Iv been wanting to do it for a while, but wanted to get info from someone who has already done it.

 

I got the red top, so far so good.

 

I've seen a few upgraded alternators on ebay. Just search for GS300 alternator. Some are like 180-200A!