sup everyone,my cousin has a 02 civic ex and he's got 3 sets of HID's and a pretty good sound,not to show off but i checked his alternator because he was complaining of lost of power,and when i tested how much the OEM alt of 80amps was pushing out i was shocked to 18.5 volts, so i told him to get a new alt asap,so my question is what alternator do u think i could put that would support his demand of amps without hurting the vehicle,maybe 120 amp alt?? or just stick with the OEM 80 amp??? thanks for any info....

 

Depends on how much current your cousin's system is using. explain a little more what HID's are.

 

HID's, high intensity discharge lights. The light's found on "high end" import's, and euro cars. little spot light blue to bright white VERY bright headlight's. These are far more efficiant than standard headlights. On start up they dram, but when they warm up they consume far less amperage than the factory unit's.
The 120 amp alt would be OK, depending on the amperage draw of the "system" Add up the fusing on the amps themselves, and the potential power output of said amps. I'll bet they add up to more than 80 amps. Simple math tells you the alt. will struggle. The average civic needs 40 amps just to run, with headlight's and heater goin.
If the system is bangin, and your steppin up for the alternator, get a good car audio battery as well. Audio Force, or Kinetik .
Something else to consider.
One more

 

Just get a Stinger alternator, and a gel cell battery. Youll be good to go.