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Ok, I searched and didnt really find what I was looking, sorry if this has been covered 15 billion times, but...
I am running an eclipse 5444 HU with JL XR components biamped off a ARC 4050 amp, 7" midbasses off a ARC 2500, and 2 Image dynamics IDMAX 12s off 2 ARC 1500D-R amps. So, in total we are running like 3300 watts RMS at 14 volts. So, not including the power required to run the car I need about 235 amps - Figure peaks at twice that for headroom = 470 + the car ~50 amps, so at least 500 Amps would be nice. I realize that this equates to turning my cars motor into a generator with no power left to turn the wheels but a k20A2 swap is on the horizon. Now, anyone seen dual alternator setups on a d17? I cant seem to figure out where you would stick them. Or, any really HO alternators? I am considering running the IDMAXs off one 1500D-R instead of 2, car is loud enough as is. Oh yea, I have 2 deep cycle Optimas, good grounds, 0 gauge, all that stuff. Thanks for any help ahead of time!

 
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You need to do more research. There is no way your system is pulling 235 amps sustained over long periods because your current alternator would not keep up. A 150-160 amp HO alt would suit you just fine. There really isnt room in our engine bay for a dual setup, and a 500 amp custom alt probably either wouldent fit, or would cost multiple thousands of dollars.

 
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Im not very skilled with Amps running off of alternators but if im gonna be running....

2 480c compressors, 2 batterys (optima yellow top), 2 12 inch subs, and also my car.

WHat should I get for an alternator and what should its amp rating be?

 
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Well, my current alternator doesnt keep up. I am only running some low power stuff in there right now and the alternator doesnt like it. I only have about 500 or so watts rms and have one optima and the stock alternator still dims pretty good. And as far as my research goes, i thought it was pretty good, seeing how amperage = wattage x voltage. I was assuming approx. 14 volts, so car running, which is when the alternator would come into play. I am prettty sure 160 amps is not enough, as a setup similar to this was in my excursion, dual ARC1500D-R and a 4150, and even with 2 diesel batteries (BIG!), 0/2 ga throught, and dual 150 amp alternators you would still see a little more current draw than the alternator could come up with.

 
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My bad in above post,
Amperage = Wattage / Voltage

 
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Ya if you had a similar set-up in an Excursion and you could see some draw...you are gonna blow the civic up!!!! Sounds like a great set-up, maybe just a little over powered! I have a JL 500/5, Focal 5.25's in kick panels, Alpine 6x9's in the rear and a Diamond 12 in the trunk and my **** is pretty loud....could not imagine all of that!!!!

 
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I know, i dont really want to put it all in my civic, but I REALLY dont want it to just sit on the floor. Thats one of my problems, if I have got stuff laying around I have the need to put it on something. I am thinking of just going with one IDMAX and using one of the ARC 1500D-Rs to power both the IDMAX and the midbasses. I just wanted to put both the IDMAXs in my car to see what it does. In the excursion they got REEALLY loud, and that truck has the interior volume of like 5 of my cars. I just might end up blowing a window out or my trunk lid off.... that suck. I was just seeing if it was even feasable to get that much power out of my electrial system before i start making boxes and stuff.

 
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I had 5 tv's in my civic and kicker 300.4 and Jl 1000/1. All i had is spare battery in the back. I used to push it hard evernight. I never had problem with dimming or anything. I have pics to prove you that. Just search under my name is on this site.

 
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But you need to remember you are never going to be getting a full amperage draw....in theory I could pull over 200 amps, but I never will.

 
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Ha....same here....my system adds up to at least 120amp...using 60amp fuse in line at the battery, the fuse never blow.....

 
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I think the answer behind this is, it really depends on the load the amp "sees" and the gain adjustment on the amp. If keeping gains pretty low, the amp will not draw 1/2 of the amp rating. If you put the gains high, a small 4 ohm load will kill the fuse. 2 ohm load and 4 ohm load will see a 1/2 drop in ampere input also.

 
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Your research is a good start. The rms figures are calculated when a test tone, usually 1k hz is played through the amplifier. You would need an obscenely big alternator for your setup, but only if you wanted to play test tones all the time at full amplitude. Which, btw isnt the greatest for speakers. Music is extremely dynamic, rarely ever drawing the full amount of current you figured out. Most of the time, a system will only be drawing about 10% of maximum current draw.

 
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I understand all of this, and thats why i only used 14 instead of 14.2 and the numbers were rough. My biggest thing is i dont want to spend 500 bucks on an alternator just to have it not be sufficient. I would rather go overkill on the alternator so it doesnt have to work as hard. I could probably get away with the stock alternator, but it would die in like 10 minutes. A lot of people drive my car and I need to make it idiot proof. If one of my retarded friends decides to turn the HU up all the way outside the car or something i dont want there to be a possibility of him killing my alternator. Either way, i am thinking somewhere around 200 - 250 amps on the alternator would be nice. Oh yea, I had a 150 amp fuse in the excursion back when it had a differeent woofer setup and blew it up. These amps are class T's tho, so they are pretty efficient.