Yeah, I know about the regulator and all -- don't worry, I was smoking while I was typing. But I guess what I'm getting at is, you mentioned "resistance" but you're talking "electrical resistance" not physical mechanical resistance... So how does the engine actually work any harder by drawing more amps to the battery? Like I said, it seems that the alternator itself will spin at whatever speed the RPM's tell it to, and it won't get any harder to spin just cause you're drawing more power. Again, I may be getting myself into an electrical theory conversation where I can't hang, but all I'm trying to do is clarify. How exactly does the regulator cause there to be more MECHANICAL resistance on the spinning alternator? Do you follow what I'm trying to ask? Basically what I'm saying is this...

The alternator spins at X RPM's given Y Engine RPM's.
The regulator "regulates" the energy being produced to a static 12-volts (well, being specific, usually something more like 13.7 volts). This is a constraint on the output itself, not a constraint on the power it's actually producing. (or is it?) It just simply limits the power that actually gets passed on to the battery.
The battery puts out power in exactly the amount being asked for -- we'll call it Z here.

Now, with that in mind, let's say we increase the amount of power required -- Z. That will not automatically increase X or Y, as they are independent of Z. Yes, the regulator will bump the output of the alternator electrically, but it will still be spinning at the same RPM "X", no? Basically what I'm getting at is, what MECHANICAL issues will cause a HP loss? I'm still not really following.

Keep in mind that all of this is just cause I love the debate -- I will gladly debate the wrong side of an issue if it will spark a greater debate on the subject. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" /> In the long run, I'm positive that regardless of anything else, the HP loss from an alternator will be completely unnoticeable in anything but a racecar or a dyno, and I'm sure that any gains/losses from this "Tornado wannabee" would be completely unnoticeable as well. I sure did turn this post into something different than it started out as, didn't I?

Oh, and by the way, howstuffworks.com, while a great site in and of itself, mentions the word alternator countless times but never tells you how it works. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />