Dick,
I have read the alternator versus "battery only" discussions for some
time now and still am not convinced that the alternator is needed for
our application. I won't try to change the minds of those that support
the alternator, but to date I have not used one on any car I have
campaigned.
We have one Optima Red Top Battery in our car that furnishes all our
electrical needs. The car uses a MSD ignition that is suppose to deliver
maximum at 9 volts or more battery voltage. We run a CSI electric water
pump and start the car with the starter on the starting line. Depending
on the state of charge, the operating voltage will be flat throughout
the run at 10.5 to 11 volts.
The reason I take this route is space issues also. I drive the fuel pump
off the front of the camshaft so a stock water pump is not an option. I
run an automatic transmission, hence the starting on the starter. Bottom
line is that I can't fault our performance due to low battery.
It would be less trouble to maintain the battery charge if I had an
alternator. We use our battery charger in the pits and a hookup between
the push truck and the race car when in line. It works for us.
Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/CC
Dick J wrote:
> I've decided not to run an alternator on the Stude. I want to run two Optima
>(red tops). One battery would be used for starting only. The other would run
>a Holley fuel pump, Weiand electric water pump, and old fashion Mopar dual
>points ignition with a ballast resistor. I figure that after each run, I'd
>run jumpers from the tow truck (97 Dodge) and use the trucks alternator to
>charge each battery for about fifteen minutes each. Anybody got comments on
>this plan?
>
> Dick J in East Texas
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