ParanahJoe

Hey everyone,

Been a long time reader but never posted often.
But I have a question. I run a 4 channel alpine 300w & a mono block alpine 500w amp in my car(rms). The one amp is powering a 10" type-r and the other a pair of 6x9's and I believe 4x6 up front? I never recall the size of the front speakers. I have all 4 gauge wiring to the back then split at a distro block to 8 gauge for both amps power & ground.
What i want to know is, would adding a cap (not sure on a size) do anything for the stereo? I also did the big 3 upgrade with 4 gauge wire too.

What would adding a cap to the circuit do to my voltage readings? 'Specially while playing loud bass track?
My volt gauge reads 14V at any given time when the sub isint hitting any big notes at high volume.

This is not a huge deal to me but out of curiosity I just want to know is it's beneficial to install one.

BigRedGuy

iTrader: (11)

If you have already done the big 3, are you having voltage issues when the bass hits? Do your headlights flash like a disco? If the voltmeter in the dash is staying steady, then you don't have a power problem.

A cap for you now is nothing more than a pretty neon voltmeter....you can look at it if you don't mind mounting it in the passenger compartment.....

Save your $$$ for larger power wire when you upgrade those amps.....

HTH

jalat

iTrader: (6)

I say your issue is that your entire wiring isnt at least 4AWG

I run a 2000rms system with nothing but 4AWG and I never drop below 12.2V at high volume

ParanahJoe

Alright perfect.
Lights never dimmed since the big three was put in.
Only thing in the car now that will show a change in voltage would be the volt meter. For just a split second too. I wasn't sure if a cap would stop that or what, but I'm happy with how the electrical performs and how the stereo sounds anyway.

But I may as well ask another question while I'm here. I have some crappy tire motomaster eliminator battery in my car and I see people always recommend an optima yellow or red top battery when people are running an aftermarket stereo. Do they make that much of a difference besides their capacity to power a stereo while the car isint running for an extended period of time(versus a conventional battery)?

Thanks again.

BigRedGuy

iTrader: (11)

They don't make much of a difference on a daily basis....as long as your present battery is still charging up, storing power and discharging properly it's fine.....the higher the CCA rating the better, but as long as everything is working OK don't worry about it......

300C SRT8

By using a deep cycle, dry cell battery you can repeatedly bounce back from deep power drains to full energy capacity, and do it quicker than standard lead acid batteries. Optima is one brand but there are several brands avialable just google deep cycle batteries to get a list .

JohnVroom

I am not disagreeing but I must add to your point... Deep cycle batteries ( gel or blue tops) will start your car (barely) but they aren't designed to do that, a deep cycle is good if you run your system with the engine off for long periods. I would not use one in a high power system where you burp for SPL as they dont excel at making a lot of current quickly.
I am not sure I would run a deep cycle as my daily driver, I would stick with a yellow or red top... I generally find upgrading my wet cell the cheapest and a more than adequate solution (though I am currently running with a batcap 2000 and am quite happy with that teeny battery under my hood).

liv2ride

iTrader: (1)

No , it is not worth it

weirdo

i got two of them..... in my closet... lol if they ever make it into the car it will only be for appearance reasons thats all

JohnVroom

I am afraid I do not see much value in caps as an energy storage device in a reasonably sized system, though others have said they have fixed any one of a number of different issues. I do think they are a weapon in the arsenal against alternator noise, I think the digital readouts of voltage are very helpful, and they are great terminal blocks. They add to the 'bling' factor of a build as well.