The Frankenstein Build! LT/Expo/Trail rig..and BS

Starting my alternator swap




Much bigger GM CS141 alternator

Only difference for mount is the top part. Will fix with washers



And of course the wiring on the back will be different.

 

Why I made mine fold down

Granted the roof rack doesn't move away...haha

Lol

 

Hmm, yeah... I think I'll set it up like this except with some quick disconnects so I can remove it when I want.

 

its like 1 am for you...why are you starting an alternator swap now haha.

 

That would work great I bet. Could remove it for high way use too.

It's 12:30... Haha

I started a bit earlier but I like working late.

 

oh, you are mtn time as well...I thought you were an hour ahead. oh well. At least you have a lighted shop to work in...i have my garage with a pool table and no tools lol. The entire time I was tearing apart my front end and taking off the bumper and all the front trim pieces (the ones that hold the plastic shield you trim that sticks down below the bumper) I had a basic wrench set, some screwdrivers and a pair of pliers lol.

 

Lol yea I have been spoiled. Am at my dads shop now which is nice but doesn't have quite the tool selection like Tim's shop. But I still have quite a few tools

Although I'm going to have to get some soldering stuff to continue my setup now ha.

Hoping to get the alternator installed and wired how I want. The get the title finalized and re register the truck! So then I can drive it again.

Then I need to weld in my second battery tray and weld on ,y camp light mounts. Probably do my new bumper latch at the same time. So freaking tired if that damn thing rattling.

Going to redo the Jerry can holder too. Just to get it up a bit higher...but I might leave it. I want to re angle the tire holder too so the tire isn't tilted back so much.

And then skid fabrication.


Then ill save up for gears and a rear locker I think.

That's my plans for the spring and most the summer.

 

I am a huge fan of LED's. LED technology (from boards, drivers, reflectors, and bulbs), as a whole, is getting more and more advanced and impressive. They are getting more and more bright, they are super efficient as far as power draw goes, and their size is amazing.

However, I've gotta agree with Blackdawg; LED's do not put out nearly the distance of a good quality HID or even halogen driving light.

Lumen output only measures the lumens out the front, the lux measurement @ a given distance is (IMO) a better measurement. LED lights can definitely give you some amazing light, but if you compare an LED bar to good HID drive lights, it's gonna be the HID's all the way.

You should make a thread about your light bar build, I'm interested.

 

Agreed.

I do honestly think that in the next 5 years or so led bars will surpass HIDs and halogens. But it'll take another 10 years for them to compete on the same level in terms of distance AND price point for normal people. 900 bucks for a 40" bar that equals about the same as two HIDed Hella 500s is retarded.

Hopefully the prices will come down.

I have two 21s hawk bars from Blitzpro that aren't bad. They don't have optics tho. And I'd never use them as a main driving light.

 

Yea, the good thing is the market is flooding with small led companies, selling decent/bright lights for cheap, and you can import your own from China if you really want. I absolutely agree that some of the pricing is insane, a single Lightforce Genesis Halogen spot has 1 lux (1 lumen per Sq meter) at 820 meters... Granted it's a 100w halogen, for ~200.00. Not a cheap light by any means... But a Rigid, Dual Row 50", biggest light they make, for $1500.00, has 1 lux at 748 meters.

I know they're different beam patterns, and I know the Rigid 50" is bright as hell, but you definitely don't buy an LED bar for the distance.

Now as far as the technology goes, CREE, the LED manufacturer is making some incredible gains...

The LED that Rigid uses in their brightest lights is the XP-G (I think), single die LED, up to 493 lumens per led; 93 lumens/ watt. 4.9w max.

They have a single die out now (XM-L2) that can put out 1198 lumens/led, or 116 lumens/watt. 10w max.

They've also got some multi-die LED's out...
In December 2012, they broke their record for Lumen per watt, with the MK-R led. It can put out 200 lumens/watt, up to 1769 lumens @ 15 amps.

A week ago they just re-broke the record, they now have an LED that maxed out at 276 lumens/watt.


I think it might take less than 5 years for the technology to surpass HID, but like you said, it's also gonna be super expensive once companies start using the new technology.

 

I agree with you guys on the difference of hids vs leds. Its going to be a good day when the price per output rival each other. I am just going with leds cuz I can build them, and they are small enough you can put them anywhere!

 

yea the price point is just stupid right now.

But they are making great strides in the tech no doubt.

Yes i do like how they fit almost anywhere.

but you DIY for HIDs too haha

 

What if you set the heat sinks up with a little fan like computers do?



If you could wire those fans to come on with your LEDs then you should be golden Computer CPU's run way hotter than those LED bars do, although they are capable of handling higher temps... Temps up to 194*F are hot but still acceptable for a CPU... haha

 

194 is too hot. 160-180 is ideal. That what we shoot for when you over lock the CPU

Fan also would be a bad idea for weather reasons. And it really wouldn't help that much unless the heat sink was all copper and huge haha

 

Yeah 194*F (90*C) is the "oh shit" temp for most CPU's. haha


Just find a waterproof fan or find a way to protect it and make the heat sinks huge haha They would probably have to be to keep the LED at a safe running temp anyway. There are some pretty effective cpu cooler designs out there although that might be a bit too costly for an LED bar. You could water cool it maybe Again a bit costly though but would be more effective than fans and heat sinks and easier to weatherproof. haha

 

And say good buy to small foot print..ha

And yea I have a HUGE cooler on mine. Well my pc. Noctua dh14. Thing weights a full kilogram haha dual 140mm fans. Keep my quad core over clocked to 4.2ghz at a nice 78* under 100% load.

 

I was running one of those Corsair water cooled one piece kits, an H60 IIRC, with dual fans. It did pretty good with my Phenom II but it had a locked multiplier so I couldn't get it past 3.7GHz without constant BSOD's.

 

I almost went that route. But I have an antec 1200 case that moves air like crazy. Was going to do a custom water loop with both my 460gtxs and the CPU and my NB cooled. Didn't get that far tho. Or need too. The 460s over clock super easy and with the upgraded coolers do great.

I have a qx9750 never publicly released haha it's a hybrid of a qx9770 and qx9650. It's an engineering sample. So it over clocks like a champ. unlocked everything. But was never released cause the new i5s and i7s came out

 

I want an ivy bridge really badly!! When i got home from Iraq i was going to drop $3000+ on a desktop and water cool everything. Instead I bought a taco and started modding it. Haha

 

Nerds.