School me on EA81 Alternator Upgrades (and if I really need one)

[jmoss5723]

I've read about a 100A GM swap and a 90A Maxima swap. Which (if either) is right for me? I'm not afraid of modifying brackets or wiring, but doing less work is certainly preferred so long as I'm still getting a good end result.

 

My 84 BRAT is noticeably low in the electrical power department. If I blow the heater while running the lights and wipers on a cold rainy night, I am well below 12V on the gauge. If i add the turn signal to the mix, I get a nice little bounce in the needle, but that might be a grounding issue. I'm running a OE spec reman unit from advance auto with only a few years and a few thousand miles on it.

 

Even with no lights, heater, etc. on, I have to be over 4k rpm before the gauge reads over 12V.

 

Does it seem like I just have a grounding issue? Do I need an upgrade? If so, which one?

Edited October 15, 2015 by jmoss5723

[BEECHBM69]

The Nissan swap is easy, and well worth the effort, even if you aren't running a bunch of extra stuff.

 

I did it on my hatch when the alternator went south, liked it so much I did it on my wagon when I did the electric fan swap.

 

Plenty of info here, so I won't bore you with all of that.

 

Dan

[hatchsub]

The swap that everyone used to do is the XT6 alt swap which is an option too.  There is plenty of info on that on here.  The nissan one is probably easier though as the XT6 swap requires a custom spacer to be machined.  

[ferox]

I like to modify my cars so the parts fit off the shelf.  I did the GM 100 amp swap about 8 years ago and have never regretted it.  They're all good options that all require a little modding.  It might depend on whether you would rather make a custom spacer and swap pulleys when you replace alts in the future (Nissan/XT6) or mod the alt bracket (GM) and bolt on the alt out of the box.  

 

Also, the tools and skills you have available can be a factor.  I have a welder and angle grinder but no belt sander (or equivalent), so it's only takes me a few minutes to cut and weld the alt bracket but making a spacer to the level of quality I accept, and swapping pulleys would take a lot longer and be a lot more work...for me.

 

It would be hard to go wrong with any of the options.  I think you stand a far better chance of finding the GM alt in LAPSs throughout the country versus the Nissan/XT6 options, and there are a massive amount of aftermarket options with various levels of output and quality for the GM.  Not an endorsement per se, but those are factors I considered.

 

Either way you'll love having adequate electrical.  As far as I am concerned it's a mandatory upgrade on EA81s.

[jonas]

gawd i need to do this.