Capacitor

[bigaaron]

edit: <removed rant>

Ok, without me getting all huffy, an Optima battery will help with lights dimming as much as a cap, plus it has a higher amp hour rating then a standard battery, plus it will not leak, plus it costs less then a good 1 farad cap.

Maybe your car audio system makes noise, but all I hear from mine is music bro!

 

[born2drv]

I don't remember how old my alternator and battery were at the time when I added the cap a while back. All I remember is it made a big difference cleaning the sound up... before it would sound very distorted, not engine noise or anything, just you could hear the amplifier was struggling to get enough power and would crap out at high output. After the cap was added that problem went away.

You could possibly get the same results by upgrading your battery and alterator first... (like I did recently), but I still say a cap can't hurt. (just my personal experience don't flame me please)

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

born--what you just said means that your amplifier was drawing too much from your alternator. You pretty much just made me and Aaron's point...

 

[IJ.]

1.21 GigaWatts Baby!

 

[born2drv]

glad i could help out

btw - i got a pic of me next to the delorian from back to the future, i'm gonna try to find it :biglaugh:

 

[bigaaron]

1.21 GigaWatts Baby!

It's a MR FUSION!

 

[IJ.]

Not quite big guy
(No wonder the kids are arguing with ya! )

 

[bigaaron]

Not quite big guy
(No wonder the kids are arguing with ya! )

Oh no! Not you too IJ!

 

[Fuzz420]

caps are a waste of money. Money is better off spent elsewhere like a h/o alternator and better battery(yellow/bluetop, stinger,kinetik)

It all depends on your goals if you just want something to help support a medium small amp to play, lets say some door speakers, then a cap is for you.

Now if your wanting all-out shove then a battery is for you.

Me personally i have run 2 12's on our factory alternator(im n/a 70amp) with an Orion2250 "the beast amp"(raw old school power) Thecurrent draw on this puppy is well in to the 300 amp range.I was advised to use 0/1 gauge but i used 4 gauge instead. Let me tell you i couldnt play jack hard with the stock battery with out watching the stock volt meter dip into the 9's!!!!!!!

I upgraded ONLY the battery, and my voltage would drop below 11.5volts(all readings from a stop while foot is on brake/ w accessories). In a highpower system i wont run optima, they lack relief valves so when they get hot they go boom.My kinetik does have relief valves and they badboy is a bad mamajamma. http://www.kinetikaudio.com/hc1400.asp the prices listed on the page is higher than what they retail for, but as they say quality comes with a price. Ive had mine for a year an 3months now and its still read 12.6 on my multimeter when cold!!!!

*with my setup as mentioned with a major air leak in my box, i mustered a 142.8 on the mic

 

[GrimJack]

I'm afraid we're just going to have to agree to disagree, folks. I already have an upgraded battery and alternator, and the cap still made a huge difference. I rarely turn my system up anymore, it's a leftover from my foolish youth, but when it starts pulling upwards of 80 amps average, there were problems. I managed to pick up a 1 farad cap from a clearance house where they sell off goods from places that have gone tits up for pennies on the dollar, plunked that in, and no problems since.

PS: I rather dislike talking in watts, as every manufacturer spews total BS when it comes to power ratings - unless you are buying competition amps that have been bench tested and certified.

 

[Fuzz420]

I'm afraid we're just going to have to agree to disagree, folks. I already have an upgraded battery and alternator, and the cap still made a huge difference. I rarely turn my system up anymore, it's a leftover from my foolish youth, but when it starts pulling upwards of 80 amps average, there were problems. I managed to pick up a 1 farad cap from a clearance house where they sell off goods from places that have gone tits up for pennies on the dollar, plunked that in, and no problems since.

PS: I rather dislike talking in watts, as every manufacturer spews total BS when it comes to power ratings - unless you are buying competition amps that have been bench tested and certified.

well your case is slightly different considering you already have the battery and alt. Usually at this fork in the road, the majority of people at this stage opt for a secondary battery in the trunk.But im sure since all the priorities are correct in your system your capacitor is behaving how it should, supplying a constant voltage to the amp easing the load on the circuitry. I believe a lot of people dont understand u have to have at least the alt upgraded before the capacitor is acutually running efficiently, and not cause more harm than good, because the capacitor them selves is a huge load in the circuit

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

CEA certified power

Alpine amps have been doing SURPRISINGLY well with this. They all come with one of those "birth certificate"things from where it was tested, and they've been anywhere from 10-100 watts over advertised RMS power!!!

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

BTW--since when is there a "Supra Audio" section???

 

[Fuzz420]

BTW--since when is there a "Supra Audio" section???

Since now, its a kick-ass section, too bad theres only 2 threads right now:naughty:

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

its a kick-ass section, too bad theres only 2 threads right now:naughty:

+173

I'm going to the Acoustic Edge in OKC for 11 weeks sometime in august, I'll be coming back with lots of custom fiberglass pieces in my soop

 

[supraman7mgte]

1.21 GigaWatts Baby!

THAT is friggin' funny!

 

[bluemax]

Capacators act as high pass filters. So if you have a capacator with a low enough cross over point, it will stabalize the power to the amp better. Capacators are used in the speaker cross over (typically). Long time ago my brother had to use a capacator in the power line to his stereo because he had that buzzing noise in it. The amp itself has storage capacators for peak power.

So Grim, what difference did the capacator do in your stereo?

Check this site out:
http://www.bcae1.com/xoorder.htm

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

Capacators act as high pass filters. So if you have a capacator with a low enough cross over point, it will stabalize the power to the amp better. Capacators are used in the speaker cross over (typically). Long time ago my brother had to use a capacator in the power line to his stereo because he had that buzzing noise in it. The amp itself has storage capacators for peak power.

So Grim, what difference did the capacator do in your stereo?

Check this site out:
http://www.bcae1.com/xoorder.htm

What you have just stated is true, however most (read: most) amplifiers have high-pass filters built in; so as long as you've correctly set your HPF you should be all good without a cap.
That buzzing noise your brother had was because of incorrect grounding--it's alternator whine.

 

[GrimJack]

So Grim, what difference did the capacator do in your stereo?

Much higher volume before any type of noise starts to creep in, and the rest of my electrical system doesn't drop to a lower voltage anymore.

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

Grim, you may've encountered one of the "lucky bugs" in fact...I think it ate you and shat you back out--lol. I've never heard of a cap providing less noise at higher volume levels...oh well more power to ya!!