high flow alt or bigger battery?

peas247

Member
:
2002 protege es
i recently bought a 2002 protege es, and sold my truck due to a baby on the way and need room for the car seat. i am huge into car audio. i was runnin a 18" re xxx in a 12.4 cubic box tuned to 33 hz off of a orion 2500. well needless to say not happenin in the car. i am going to be running a 15" re mx off of memphis runnin about 1200 watts for now but will upgrading amps when i have some extra cash. i was wondering if anyone knew where i can get a high flow alt for this car? and one other question i have is the battery in this car is tiny. i wouold like to run a yellow top or atleast a red top, and is there any way i can fit it under the hood or am i going to have to leave the small battery up front and run the other out of the trunk? any help or comments would be helpful.
 
With a 15" in the trunk that doesn't leave much space for the carriage, diaper bag, and other stuff. You may want to consider an I.B. setup to save some space.

There is no alternator upgrade available for the Protege. The alternator is controlled by the ECU and no shop thus far will touch it. Upgrade the battery to a Red Top and upgrade the big-3 (bat-alt, eng-bat, chassis-bat). That should hold you for a while.
 
yea i have already built the box, its 3 cubes at 34 hz. and i still have plenty of room on both sides for bags and ect, and enough room infront of the box for the stroller. i have the big 3 done, but will i have to put the red top in the truck, i just dont see it fitting under the hood?
 
Perhaps the one you have won't fit but I do know there is a size that does fit...

scso37.jpg
 
I have the 75/25 (I think) and it actually needs the supplied height adapter to correctly fit under the tie-down.

engine2.jpg
 
If your a looking for a battery for your stereo your really should be running the Yellow Top from Optima. The Red top is made for Starting Power, The Yellow Top Is made for Deep Cycle (Draining and Recharging because heavy current draws i.e. stereo, av system, winches, hydraulics...)

The correct size is group 35.


http://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/optima/americas0/en/config/product_info/automotive.html

"Demand more from your vehicle? Then get more from your battery. OPTIMA YellowTop batteries are made for the extremes. If you have an extreme vehicle, you expect high performance. Whether your vehicle is made to take the abuse of off-road driving or cranking out decibels, you need more from your battery. OPTIMA batteries with patented SPIRALCELL Technology deliver that performance. The deep cycle characteristic of this technology coupled with its extreme resistance to vibration provides performance vehicles with the repetitive power they need in a spill-proof package.

If your vehicle has a lot of accessories like running lights, high-performance stereo/AV system, winches, or hydraulics, your vehicle demands more from its battery. OPTIMA YellowTOP batteries provide the extra performance and deep cycling capability that your vehicle demands."
 
Last edited:
With a 15" in the trunk that doesn't leave much space for the carriage, diaper bag, and other stuff. You may want to consider an I.B. setup to save some space.

There is no alternator upgrade available for the Protege. The alternator is controlled by the ECU and no shop thus far will touch it. Upgrade the battery to a Red Top and upgrade the big-3 (bat-alt, eng-bat, chassis-bat). That should hold you for a while.

don't mean to thread jack, but can u explain the big-3?

btw thanks for the info about the alternator...that sucks. hope getting that red top or yellow top fixes the problem...i'm tired of the blinking headlights!!
 
AFAIK, deep cycle batteries like the YellowTop are designed to be drained completely and recharged many times. It is ideal for people who run their cars off the battery often and then charge them up afterwards with the engine. The downside is that they take longer to recharge than a typical battery. The Red Top is more of a performance battery for every day driving.

Details for the "Big Three":
http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~73496~PN~1

You can find more info on the net by searching for "Big Three" in combination with other words like 'car', 'audio', and 'ground'.
 
AFAIK, deep cycle batteries like the YellowTop are designed to be drained completely and recharged many times. It is ideal for people who run their cars off the battery often and then charge them up afterwards with the engine. The downside is that they take longer to recharge than a typical battery. The Red Top is more of a performance battery for every day driving.

Details for the "Big Three":
http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~73496~PN~1

You can find more info on the net by searching for "Big Three" in combination with other words like 'car', 'audio', and 'ground'.

Thanks for the link...yellow top ftw!!
 
i've had yellow tops in the past in some of my vehicles but have all been wired up for just extra batt's for my amps. but i have one person stating yellow top and one starting red top. all i really care about is getting rid of the tiny factory one. i understand the yellow top is a deep cycle (for stereos,video and so on) and the red top is a daily driver friendly battery. so will the red top or the yellow top hold a better charge, and or recharge the easiest, and i live in wny so it gets cold as hell up here in the winter, so thats sorta why i would lean more towards a red top?
 
I would stick with the Red Top unless you are going to run two batteries. I only ever see YellowTops used in the rear of cars for additional battery support. Note the graph on Optima's website...

starter.RowPar.0005.ContentPar.0001.ColumnPar.0001.Image.0.0.gif
 
Back