Doing some left over winter upgrades that just didn't get done over the winter. I ordered a ND 93 alternator as part of a bigger plan. It is the Powermaster 75A version. I'm blown away by all the instructions about "do this" "don't do that", etc.

Are these things reliable? I run an alternator and charge between rounds. I'm really not into lightweight, looks, bling, etc. at the expense of reliability. I really like the Moroso vac. pump bracket and the ND 93 fits which is the main reason for changing.

Thoughts, experience?

ultra mini alternator is useless on a race car running gas, ok for a car running alcohol

^^^^^^^^^ Why?

less amperage draw due to little or no fan use and mechanical/belt driven fuel pump

The bigger amp will still work on moroso mount

Waste of time ? No... Anything is better than nothing
Wanting to eliminate battery charger from you race day? Probably won’t cut it.
I know guys on alky with belt driven pumps and alternators but they still charge between rounds as much as they can.

It is a waste of time and a waste of money. If you're going to run an alternator, buy the right one for the job and the ND "ultra mini" ain't it.

quote:

Waste of time ? No... Anything is better than nothingWanting to eliminate battery charger from you race day? Probably won’t cut it. I know guys on alky with belt driven pumps and alternators but they still charge between rounds as much as they can.

I ran that mini on my nova with a electric pump on gas with two electric fans and it was practically useless. I'm not opposed to charging between rounds if need be, but with a cs121 style 100 amper I can run all day, 7-10 runs with cool down and never need a charge. That mini simply couldn't keep up .

On alky with a belt pump, I bet it would work ok.

New cars on alky with a belt pump and I'm hoping I don't need a battery

quote:

Originally posted by HS professor:
I ran that mini on my nova with a electric pump on gas with two electric fans and it was practically useless. That mini simply couldn't keep up

me too.

HS professor...KNOWS!

I installed 55 amp one on my car because that’s what would fit, not with intention of not having to charge but with intention of late rounds being able to not worry as much and it does what I wanted it to do.
I haven’t tried to see how long I could go without charging but I did win a race last year running last three rounds in less than an hour plus started car several times afterwards to get pictures and didn’t have a dead battery which I know would have happened without alternator at all. I am not on alky and got electric pump and fan.

what you don't know is that it's USELESS, does NOTHING. If you had a data logger you'd know that.

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:
what you don't know is that it's USELESS, does NOTHING. If you had a data logger you'd know that.

Ed, since I've never run an alternator, I'd like to know if when running one of the small alternators (55-75A), what did your logger show for voltage at low RPM like 1500-2500 vs 4000-7000 while the fans, water pump and fuel pump were running? And how much were you overdriving the alternator?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: "The Bender",

The best way to put it, if you can manage to put a "Super Mini" on, which most of those units put out around 100 amps, will be your best option for keeping the battery charged. On my dragster, I run a House of Payne 16V Super Mini 100 amp alternator in conjunction with an XS D1600 16V battery, which is the heavier, longer reserve battery. With all of this, and being on gas and running an electric fuel pump, I can easily last a whole day of racing, with round robin etc. and still put it in the trailer and unload it and it'll start all day long. If I were on Alky and ran a mechanical pump, I'd put in the XS S1600 battery being that it is 15 lbs lighter with less reserve with the same alternator though knowing it would keep the battery charged with no electric pump and less fan running far less often.

I know it's wordy, but I know plenty of guys who run Alky and the S1600 battery with the smaller alternator, "55 amp Ultra Mini", and still charge between rounds as much as they can and then guys who run the setup I mentioned with the S1600 and 100 amp and they can run all day.

Just food for thought.

I'll post what I've seen...

I just installed the smaller 75 amp HOP ultra mini. I run on gas with an electric fuel pump, water pump, fan,and electric shifter. Here is the data from my Racepak before and after:

RPM Before vs. After
1500 - 15.8 vs. 16.2
2200 - 15.6 vs. 16.3
5000 - 15.6 vs. 17.2
6000 - 15.8 vs. 17.4
7000 - 15.8 vs. 17.5

During the run only values....

Minimum - 15.6 vs. 17.2
Maximum - 15.9 vs. 17.6
Average - 15.8 vs. 17.5

It's the standard pulley on the alternator and the drive pulley is 4 inches. Looking to get a 5 inch drive pulley so if anyone has a lead on a CV Products style twin-pin 5 inch pulley I would appreciate it. Hope that helps.....

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:
what you don't know is that it's USELESS, does NOTHING. If you had a data logger you'd know that.

I have both data recorder and super mini. I have gone 14 rounds without charging winning 2 races in one day.

not with 12 volts you didn't

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:
not with 12 volts you didn't

What do you think I used then? It wasn't 14v or 16v.

HS professor and I have both used the ultra mini and stated the facts that it is useless in the application described. The OP will decide for himself how that info impacts his decision to use the same alternator.

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:
HS professor and I have both used the ultra mini and stated the facts that it is useless in the application described. The OP will decide for himself how that info impacts his decision to use the same alternator.

LOL Just because you can't do it doesn't mean I can't and your facts don't match what I have done for 10 years with the same alternator. I have run my data recorder for the same amount of time so I know what I have and what it does. I'm not telling the OP to do what I'm doing. I'm telling him that what you posted isn't absolute. A higher amp alternator than the 55amp I run would be better but contrary to what you believe I'm using it with zero problems and we often run double points races that I never have to charge while doing.

quote:

Originally posted by Rodney Pryor:
I'll post what I've seen...

I just installed the smaller 75 amp HOP ultra mini. I run on gas with an electric fuel pump, water pump, fan,and electric shifter. Here is the data from my Racepak before and after:

RPM Before vs. After
1500 - 15.8 vs. 16.2
2200 - 15.6 vs. 16.3
5000 - 15.6 vs. 17.2
6000 - 15.8 vs. 17.4
7000 - 15.8 vs. 17.5

During the run only values....

Minimum - 15.6 vs. 17.2
Maximum - 15.9 vs. 17.6
Average - 15.8 vs. 17.5

It's the standard pulley on the alternator and the drive pulley is 4 inches. Looking to get a 5 inch drive pulley so if anyone has a lead on a CV Products style twin-pin 5 inch pulley I would appreciate it. Hope that helps.....

Great info, that's what I was looking for.

Was the first set of readings with fan, water and fuel pump running?

If so, it looks like what you have will keep the battery up, no matter what you have on. Even at only 1500 RPM you still have over 16V.

HOP is good stuff!