Keeping in mind that most auto makers aren't concerned about parts lasting to long. The average life of an alternator as I was told was 18 months. In building them and working with alternators, the problem is heat. Heat rises and under the hood and mounted at the top the alternator will deteriorate faster and the voltage and current will also drop. I know ours isn't the best place at the bottom and I know it's close to the exhaust manifold. But, It has a lot of air passing over it to keep it cooler when driving to keep it cooler. Some of the new car alternators we won't build to increase current because of being mounted at the top because of the heat. My 2 Cents John Hervey