Capacitors in car audio -- not needed in my opinion.
Capacitors in car audio -- not needed in my opinion.
I have seen a lot or talk about capacitors lately on this board. I am not writing this to start any wars or huge confrontations, but hopefully to educate as well as be educated by some adult discussion. I have always thought capacitors were a 'band aid' for a charging/electrical system that had one or more weak links, and I still stand by that belief. I feel that a beefed up electrical system is better for the overall performance of your car audio as well as everything else electrical in the car. My logical progression of upgrade is - Big3 wiring upgrade, gel cell battery, high output alternator. Will a capacitor stop your lights from dimming? Probably, but it does nothing to improve the overall electrical health of your car which is completely electronic. So my opinion is to use the money you would spend on a capacitor and upgrade the wiring and/or battery.......
Capacitor (herein known as "cap"):
A cap is similar to a battery in that it will store an electrical charge, but has the ability to charge/discharge almost instantaneously. The thought here in applying this to car audio is that when the amplifiers need a spike of power, the cap will deliver instantaneously, whereas a standard wet cell battery discharges at a considerably slower rate. Once the demand for the spike is over, the cap will recharge almost instantaneously, whereas a standard wet cell battery will not recharge as quickly. This is great for providing your amps with the power they need on demand, but once that demand is met, the cap needs to recharge, so the strain is still there on your alternator and battery to charge the cap.
Wet cell batteries:
These are your standard batteries that come OEM in our cars (as of the time of this writing). Inside they are composed of lead (mixed with other metals) plates and liquid acid. The basic physical properties and the fact that the plates are not pure lead in the standard wet cell battery prohibit it from charging/discharging at a quick rate. So If your sub amp demands a spike in power to deliver that bass hit, it will draw whatever it can at the expense of 'stealing' power from other electrical devices in the car, most noticeable is lights that we see dimming. Lights dimming is one thing, but think about what these power fluctuations are doing to the ECU and other electronic devices in the car - can't be too healthy. If the alternator were to produce enough amperes to supply your entire electrical system with what it needed 100% of the time, this would not be an issue as power would not be pulled from the battery, but instead delivered by the alternator alone. But high-output alternators are expensive - so what is an alternative?
Gel cell batteries:
These are batteries that use almost pure lead sheets wound into spirals with a glass matting in between. The glass matting is absorbent and is there to 'hold' the gelled acid. This is why these batteries can be safely mounted sideways without spilling. Some can even be mounted upside down. They don't emit any gases, so they are ideal for mounting inside the car as well. Here's what makes these batteries ideal for what we are discussing here.....The fact that the spirals are almost 100% pure lead makes them super efficient. They have charge/discharge rates at least twice as fast as wet cell batteries. So when the amp requires a spike of power, the gel cell battery can deliver faster than a wet cell, and can then recharge much faster after the demand is over. This faster power delivery will help prevent the amp from pulling power from other devices. Gel cell batteries are made by Exide in their Orbital line, and by Optima - which has a red top which is a starting battery, a yellow top which is their deep cycle battery (can be discharged without as much damage to cells), and a blue top, which I believe is a marine battery.
Now, I have in the past heard the argument that "caps flatten out the voltage to deliver smoother power to the amp". News flash -- Every battery does the same thing, so as long as you are not running the power cable to your amps directly from the alternator, you are fine.
I welcome any criticism, comments, questions. I am here to learn just as you all are here to learn.
Capacitor (herein known as "cap"):
A cap is similar to a battery in that it will store an electrical charge, but has the ability to charge/discharge almost instantaneously. The thought here in applying this to car audio is that when the amplifiers need a spike of power, the cap will deliver instantaneously, whereas a standard wet cell battery discharges at a considerably slower rate. Once the demand for the spike is over, the cap will recharge almost instantaneously, whereas a standard wet cell battery will not recharge as quickly. This is great for providing your amps with the power they need on demand, but once that demand is met, the cap needs to recharge, so the strain is still there on your alternator and battery to charge the cap.
Wet cell batteries:
These are your standard batteries that come OEM in our cars (as of the time of this writing). Inside they are composed of lead (mixed with other metals) plates and liquid acid. The basic physical properties and the fact that the plates are not pure lead in the standard wet cell battery prohibit it from charging/discharging at a quick rate. So If your sub amp demands a spike in power to deliver that bass hit, it will draw whatever it can at the expense of 'stealing' power from other electrical devices in the car, most noticeable is lights that we see dimming. Lights dimming is one thing, but think about what these power fluctuations are doing to the ECU and other electronic devices in the car - can't be too healthy. If the alternator were to produce enough amperes to supply your entire electrical system with what it needed 100% of the time, this would not be an issue as power would not be pulled from the battery, but instead delivered by the alternator alone. But high-output alternators are expensive - so what is an alternative?
Gel cell batteries:
These are batteries that use almost pure lead sheets wound into spirals with a glass matting in between. The glass matting is absorbent and is there to 'hold' the gelled acid. This is why these batteries can be safely mounted sideways without spilling. Some can even be mounted upside down. They don't emit any gases, so they are ideal for mounting inside the car as well. Here's what makes these batteries ideal for what we are discussing here.....The fact that the spirals are almost 100% pure lead makes them super efficient. They have charge/discharge rates at least twice as fast as wet cell batteries. So when the amp requires a spike of power, the gel cell battery can deliver faster than a wet cell, and can then recharge much faster after the demand is over. This faster power delivery will help prevent the amp from pulling power from other devices. Gel cell batteries are made by Exide in their Orbital line, and by Optima - which has a red top which is a starting battery, a yellow top which is their deep cycle battery (can be discharged without as much damage to cells), and a blue top, which I believe is a marine battery.
Now, I have in the past heard the argument that "caps flatten out the voltage to deliver smoother power to the amp". News flash -- Every battery does the same thing, so as long as you are not running the power cable to your amps directly from the alternator, you are fine.
I welcome any criticism, comments, questions. I am here to learn just as you all are here to learn.
Last edited by StreetOC192; Aug 26, 2007 at 12:30 PM.
I think you're right when you say that in every car audio system, a capacitor is not necessary. A capacitor is really only needed in a 'high powered' system. 
I, however, would put one in every system if at all possible... 
The function of a capacitor is different from that of a battery in that it does not produce it's own power; it stores electrical energy/power. A capacitor serves to help you get the most from your amplifiers. The power that it stores is available on demand right when it's needed (for instance, when you're playing something with heavy bass).
When your system's amplifiers are not receiving enough power, a common occurence is the light dimming that you mentioned. In that instance, the lights will follow the beat of the music, dimming each time a heavy bass note hits. If, at that moment, you turned off your headlights, your system would sound better.
If someone is going to build a quality system, I would venture to say that they are smart enough to upgrade their battery first. When that is done, a capacitor is surely one of the next things to consider. Then, you're getting every bit of electrical current you need and voltage drops, etc. will not be an issue for you any longer. You say, "This is great [capacitors] for providing your amps with the power they need on demand, but once that demand is met, the cap needs to recharge, so the strain is still there on your alternator and battery to charge the cap." I would say that this is why you can purchase capacitors in different sizes (.5 farad to 3 farad). I would argue that there is a capacitor that is appropriate for every sytem. For every 500 watts of RMS of power output you should have at least a .5 farad capacitor. So, you're right... if you're running a 10,000 watt system, a 1 farad cap would probably not help with the dimming lights and voltage dips.
In that case, you would need at least three 3 farad capacitors. 
Also, they should be mounted as close to the amplifiers as possible.
I hope that's clear and helps you out (or at least let's you see the other side of the argument)...
* As a sidenote, I am running a little less than 1000 watts of power in my current system, and I have two 1 farad capacitors mounted fairly close to my amplifiers (pictured below). I have never experienced the voltage drops or dimming lights. My system sounds nice. Granted, I don't have an overwhelming amount of power, but if I did it over again, I wouldn't ditch the capacitors just to save a few dollars...
I, however, would put one in every system if at all possible... The function of a capacitor is different from that of a battery in that it does not produce it's own power; it stores electrical energy/power. A capacitor serves to help you get the most from your amplifiers. The power that it stores is available on demand right when it's needed (for instance, when you're playing something with heavy bass).
When your system's amplifiers are not receiving enough power, a common occurence is the light dimming that you mentioned. In that instance, the lights will follow the beat of the music, dimming each time a heavy bass note hits. If, at that moment, you turned off your headlights, your system would sound better.
If someone is going to build a quality system, I would venture to say that they are smart enough to upgrade their battery first. When that is done, a capacitor is surely one of the next things to consider. Then, you're getting every bit of electrical current you need and voltage drops, etc. will not be an issue for you any longer. You say, "This is great [capacitors] for providing your amps with the power they need on demand, but once that demand is met, the cap needs to recharge, so the strain is still there on your alternator and battery to charge the cap." I would say that this is why you can purchase capacitors in different sizes (.5 farad to 3 farad). I would argue that there is a capacitor that is appropriate for every sytem. For every 500 watts of RMS of power output you should have at least a .5 farad capacitor. So, you're right... if you're running a 10,000 watt system, a 1 farad cap would probably not help with the dimming lights and voltage dips.
In that case, you would need at least three 3 farad capacitors. Also, they should be mounted as close to the amplifiers as possible.I hope that's clear and helps you out (or at least let's you see the other side of the argument)...
* As a sidenote, I am running a little less than 1000 watts of power in my current system, and I have two 1 farad capacitors mounted fairly close to my amplifiers (pictured below). I have never experienced the voltage drops or dimming lights. My system sounds nice. Granted, I don't have an overwhelming amount of power, but if I did it over again, I wouldn't ditch the capacitors just to save a few dollars...
Last edited by WPPJR30; Aug 28, 2007 at 08:39 AM.
WPPJR30 - I appreciate the counterpoint to my statements. I can tell by your statements you are well educated in the matter and that is refreshing. I definitely see and understand why caps are used. I guess I have an old school (or skool) frame of thought. It probably stems from my stint as an installer in the early 90's. I feel that upgrading the electrical system at it's root is the best way to attack any problems. If someone is dropping big dollars on a multi thousand watt system, they can surely afford a $500 HO alternator. In the Z, I am running 700 watts of all class D power on the stock electrical system, battery included, and I have no dimming at all even at peak volume.
Don't get my statements wrong, I am not saying that caps don't work or they don't do what they are intended to do. I am however saying that I feel a cap is a band aid for a larger issue, and that the money would be better spent on something that will benefit the whole car instead of just the entertainment system.
Perhaps this whole "to cap or not to cap" argument is all in the eye of the beholder.......
Don't get my statements wrong, I am not saying that caps don't work or they don't do what they are intended to do. I am however saying that I feel a cap is a band aid for a larger issue, and that the money would be better spent on something that will benefit the whole car instead of just the entertainment system.
Perhaps this whole "to cap or not to cap" argument is all in the eye of the beholder.......
i think the whole cap or not issue is one of hte most heatly debated in the car audio industry, with well known experts on both sides.
I remember someone, maybe navone or osmeone else iirc had a demo, he had a guy on a standing biycle generator powering something, so he was pedaling fine, then he hooked up some caps, and isntantly, the guy became a lot more strained, and pretty soon tired out and cannot pedal anymore.
I myself, am on the side against caps...
my point is simple:
caps, are at most, a bandaid solution, and never aims to solve the origin of hte problem.
what is the problem? well, namely voltage drops and you dont get the power output of your amps and your lights dim. well, what cuase your voltage to go down? its simply that the eletrical current needed by your car (system, ac, lights etc etc) overcomes the output ability of your electrical system, primarily, your alternator.
so...what does the cap do? it stores some energy and set it aside, so one of those big notes hit, you use the poewr from the cap instead of the battery and alternator, keeping hte voltage constant. obviously, the big advantrage of caps is that it can discharge instantly veruss batteries.
anyway, so this is very good and all, and in my opinion, if you have VERY subtle amounts of lights dimming and on only very few selective songs and only on the very few occassions taht you turn up to a very high volume, if this is your case, sure, a cap will help you eleiminate those rare voltage doprs. though of course, honetsly, i doublt these very small amounts of voltage drops is going to do much to you even with out a cap...
BUT, in my experience, the vast majority of people, who want to use caps, have pretty significant voltage drops, major noticable lights dimming, even rpm fluctuation, and honestly, in this case, i simply do not believe a cap will keep up...it will drain before it can supply the amps with enough current. this is usually true with guys that listen to music with low, prolonged bass notes at high volumes with a relatively large sub amp...
so what happens with the cap drains? well, it now, instead of helping hte electrical system, becomes another obstacle to it, the alternator nowhas to charge the cap, in addition to the other stuff straining it...that, is a sure ticket way to decreasing alternator life.
so, for my customers, 90 percent of suggestions either point to no need for caps, or looking to upgrade your alternator, and varies on the kind of system current requirement we put in. but another one of my opinoins is that you DONT need a boat load of power, especially in a small hatch like hte Z, to get a good amount of bass and overall great SQ, and as a result, you rarely see caps in my installs.
but anyway, this is not to say caps are useless, as within certain parameters, they do their job, but i like to solve the heart of the problem versus plugging in bandaids, whcih IMO, the cap is, and will only work in selected environments.
just ym two bits
I remember someone, maybe navone or osmeone else iirc had a demo, he had a guy on a standing biycle generator powering something, so he was pedaling fine, then he hooked up some caps, and isntantly, the guy became a lot more strained, and pretty soon tired out and cannot pedal anymore.
I myself, am on the side against caps...
my point is simple:
caps, are at most, a bandaid solution, and never aims to solve the origin of hte problem.
what is the problem? well, namely voltage drops and you dont get the power output of your amps and your lights dim. well, what cuase your voltage to go down? its simply that the eletrical current needed by your car (system, ac, lights etc etc) overcomes the output ability of your electrical system, primarily, your alternator.
so...what does the cap do? it stores some energy and set it aside, so one of those big notes hit, you use the poewr from the cap instead of the battery and alternator, keeping hte voltage constant. obviously, the big advantrage of caps is that it can discharge instantly veruss batteries.
anyway, so this is very good and all, and in my opinion, if you have VERY subtle amounts of lights dimming and on only very few selective songs and only on the very few occassions taht you turn up to a very high volume, if this is your case, sure, a cap will help you eleiminate those rare voltage doprs. though of course, honetsly, i doublt these very small amounts of voltage drops is going to do much to you even with out a cap...
BUT, in my experience, the vast majority of people, who want to use caps, have pretty significant voltage drops, major noticable lights dimming, even rpm fluctuation, and honestly, in this case, i simply do not believe a cap will keep up...it will drain before it can supply the amps with enough current. this is usually true with guys that listen to music with low, prolonged bass notes at high volumes with a relatively large sub amp...
so what happens with the cap drains? well, it now, instead of helping hte electrical system, becomes another obstacle to it, the alternator nowhas to charge the cap, in addition to the other stuff straining it...that, is a sure ticket way to decreasing alternator life.
so, for my customers, 90 percent of suggestions either point to no need for caps, or looking to upgrade your alternator, and varies on the kind of system current requirement we put in. but another one of my opinoins is that you DONT need a boat load of power, especially in a small hatch like hte Z, to get a good amount of bass and overall great SQ, and as a result, you rarely see caps in my installs.
but anyway, this is not to say caps are useless, as within certain parameters, they do their job, but i like to solve the heart of the problem versus plugging in bandaids, whcih IMO, the cap is, and will only work in selected environments.
just ym two bits
Last edited by 16psibrick; Aug 26, 2007 at 02:34 PM.
FYI, I won't really argue here with anyone because I just don't feel like it. But being a Electronics Engineer, I can tell you that a CAP in a car audio system is a good idea to provide life to a stock or aftermarket battery or alternator. The Alternator might be strong enough to keep up, but it's also not good for it to have those spikes hit it suddenly. The Caps take care of those spike hits and make a more smooth current flow.
Originally Posted by SOLO-350Z
FYI, I won't really argue here with anyone because I just don't feel like it. But being a Electronics Engineer, I can tell you that a CAP in a car audio system is a good idea to provide life to a stock or aftermarket battery or alternator. The Alternator might be strong enough to keep up, but it's also not good for it to have those spikes hit it suddenly. The Caps take care of those spike hits and make a more smooth current flow.
But, since the alternator connects to the battery before supplying power to the electronics, doesn't the battery act as a buffer to smooth out the spikes?
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i think most people dont' care if it works or not since they always make the capacitors visable to the naked eye. It's always mounted where it can be seen since i guess people think they are cool looking.
Originally Posted by SuperBlack350
i think most people dont' care if it works or not since they always make the capacitors visable to the naked eye. It's always mounted where it can be seen since i guess people think they are cool looking.
Originally Posted by StreetOC192
Hey SOLO, I'm not trying to argue either. I do have a question though....maybe I can even learn something.
But, since the alternator connects to the battery before supplying power to the electronics, doesn't the battery act as a buffer to smooth out the spikes?
But, since the alternator connects to the battery before supplying power to the electronics, doesn't the battery act as a buffer to smooth out the spikes?
I had a Sentra with a 2000 watt system in the back. It's lights dimmed pretty bad. I upgraded the Battery to a very large Interstate Battery with a high CCA higher than Optimas. It wouldn't even fit in the tray. The Battery still couldn't keep up. I put two Caps in the car. That drastically helped the car but it still needed a alternator upgrade. There were none available at the time. So really you need all 3 items upgraded to have a good system. The Battery will smooth it out to a point, but the caps keep the spikes from happening.
Originally Posted by SOLO-350Z
Well think of it this way. When you turn on all your accessories your V drops at the Battery from 13.6 running down to 12 even 11 in some cases. The alternator is trying to keep up with that drop. The Battery can't.
I had a Sentra with a 2000 watt system in the back. It's lights dimmed pretty bad. I upgraded the Battery to a very large Interstate Battery with a high CCA higher than Optimas. It wouldn't even fit in the tray. The Battery still couldn't keep up. I put two Caps in the car. That drastically helped the car but it still needed a alternator upgrade. There were none available at the time. So really you need all 3 items upgraded to have a good system. The Battery will smooth it out to a point, but the caps keep the spikes from happening.
I had a Sentra with a 2000 watt system in the back. It's lights dimmed pretty bad. I upgraded the Battery to a very large Interstate Battery with a high CCA higher than Optimas. It wouldn't even fit in the tray. The Battery still couldn't keep up. I put two Caps in the car. That drastically helped the car but it still needed a alternator upgrade. There were none available at the time. So really you need all 3 items upgraded to have a good system. The Battery will smooth it out to a point, but the caps keep the spikes from happening.
You said you used an Interstate battery. That must have been a wet cell then since I don't think (I could be wrong) Interstate makes a spiral wound gel cell battery? My argument for gel cells is that they have the capacity to discharge at a much faster rate than wet cell batteries. I'm wondering if you would have used a gel cell instead of the wet cell before you added the caps into the mix if it would have improved anything.....hmmmmm
Originally Posted by StreetOC192
WPPJR30 - I appreciate the counterpoint to my statements. I can tell by your statements you are well educated in the matter and that is refreshing. I definitely see and understand why caps are used. I guess I have an old school (or skool) frame of thought. It probably stems from my stint as an installer in the early 90's. I feel that upgrading the electrical system at it's root is the best way to attack any problems. If someone is dropping big dollars on a multi thousand watt system, they can surely afford a $500 HO alternator. In the Z, I am running 700 watts of all class D power on the stock electrical system, battery included, and I have no dimming at all even at peak volume.
Don't get my statements wrong, I am not saying that caps don't work or they don't do what they are intended to do. I am however saying that I feel a cap is a band aid for a larger issue, and that the money would be better spent on something that will benefit the whole car instead of just the entertainment system.
Perhaps this whole "to cap or not to cap" argument is all in the eye of the beholder.......
Don't get my statements wrong, I am not saying that caps don't work or they don't do what they are intended to do. I am however saying that I feel a cap is a band aid for a larger issue, and that the money would be better spent on something that will benefit the whole car instead of just the entertainment system.
Perhaps this whole "to cap or not to cap" argument is all in the eye of the beholder.......
Glad to see your response was not one to instigate a pissing contest. I feel like it's commonplace here when someone has a contrasting view, it turns into a thread of personal attacks or heated argument. 
I understand what you're saying about the alternator, especially in regards to it contributing to the improvement of overall performance. However, I don't think that upgrading an alternator will do the same as a capacitor. I say that because a capacitor's main objective is to address the power needs on demand; meaning, in fast-moving audio loads. An alternator (and batteries) cannot address those needs in the short-term as the capacitors can.
In the ideal system, I think one should have a battery dedicated solely to the audio system, while keeping the stock electrical system intact. I could surely be wrong, but I don't think adding an alternator to a system will do much of anything unless there is already enough battery power devoted to the audio system. Additionally, an alternator will not produce it's maximum output until the engine speeds are well above idle, anyway. So, in the instance that you're at a stoplight or just having your car parked, an alternator will not benefit your audio system at all... Will it?
I do not profess to be an expert. These points are just the extent of my knowledge. I freely admit that I don't know everything about alternators...
Last edited by WPPJR30; Aug 26, 2007 at 02:57 PM.
Not sure but this was many years ago before these newer technology batteries came out. The Optima batterys were the hot thing then as well.
Here is some good info about each device I found:
Capacitors
The first thing to do is to add a stiffening capacitor. A capacitor acts as a secondary battery that reacts very quickly to sudden current demands (i.e. music transients). A rule of thumb is to have 1 farad of capacitance for every 1000 watts of power. The sound system will sound a bit smoother and hopefully the light dimming problem will be either fixed or reduced. Your lights don't necessarily have to be dimming for you to have to add a capacitor. Stiffening capacitors always help a sound system.
Capacitors should be installed as close to the amplifiers as possible, with the positive lead going right into the positive lead of the amp and the ground to a metal part of the car (not to the ground terminal of the amp).
When a capacitor is first installed, it has no voltage in it, so if it is hooked up to a battery, it will act as a short circuit and draw a LOT of current (not a good sight). Capacitors need to be "charged up" first. This is simply done by either putting a resistor (1k-ohm or more) or a test light between the positive post of the battery and the positive terminal of the cap (with ground hooked up to metal). After a few minutes, the capacitor will be charged up, and it can be connected. Every time the capacitor is "drained" i.e the lights were left on in the car and battery is dead, the capacitor should be DISCONNECTED, battery charged, and then capacitor has to be recharged and reconnected.
Capacitors might help, but they do not take care of the fact that your car's system is underpowered. They are a "patch" for a more serious problem
High Output Alternators
Another upgrade is a high output alternator and maybe adding a secondary battery (for car off listening) to keep up with higher system's demands. This should be done by someone who has a fairly good understanding of a car's electrical system, since computers are designed to control the factory components.
Additional Batteries
Always keep in mind that when a car is running the batteries become loads that take power away from your amps. The advantage of secondary batteries is that when the car is off, you can listen to your stereo for longer periods of time.
Adding more batteries will not make your stereo perform any better when the car is running. In fact, a second battery will steal power from the electrical system when the car is running. A battery isolator should be used to avoid batteries draining each other.
Replacing factory batteries with high performance batteries will also improve power output. Companies such as Optima make batteries that take less power to charge and have a higher output, placing lower demands on an electrical system.
Here is some good info about each device I found:
Capacitors
The first thing to do is to add a stiffening capacitor. A capacitor acts as a secondary battery that reacts very quickly to sudden current demands (i.e. music transients). A rule of thumb is to have 1 farad of capacitance for every 1000 watts of power. The sound system will sound a bit smoother and hopefully the light dimming problem will be either fixed or reduced. Your lights don't necessarily have to be dimming for you to have to add a capacitor. Stiffening capacitors always help a sound system.
Capacitors should be installed as close to the amplifiers as possible, with the positive lead going right into the positive lead of the amp and the ground to a metal part of the car (not to the ground terminal of the amp).
When a capacitor is first installed, it has no voltage in it, so if it is hooked up to a battery, it will act as a short circuit and draw a LOT of current (not a good sight). Capacitors need to be "charged up" first. This is simply done by either putting a resistor (1k-ohm or more) or a test light between the positive post of the battery and the positive terminal of the cap (with ground hooked up to metal). After a few minutes, the capacitor will be charged up, and it can be connected. Every time the capacitor is "drained" i.e the lights were left on in the car and battery is dead, the capacitor should be DISCONNECTED, battery charged, and then capacitor has to be recharged and reconnected.
Capacitors might help, but they do not take care of the fact that your car's system is underpowered. They are a "patch" for a more serious problem
High Output Alternators
Another upgrade is a high output alternator and maybe adding a secondary battery (for car off listening) to keep up with higher system's demands. This should be done by someone who has a fairly good understanding of a car's electrical system, since computers are designed to control the factory components.
Additional Batteries
Always keep in mind that when a car is running the batteries become loads that take power away from your amps. The advantage of secondary batteries is that when the car is off, you can listen to your stereo for longer periods of time.
Adding more batteries will not make your stereo perform any better when the car is running. In fact, a second battery will steal power from the electrical system when the car is running. A battery isolator should be used to avoid batteries draining each other.
Replacing factory batteries with high performance batteries will also improve power output. Companies such as Optima make batteries that take less power to charge and have a higher output, placing lower demands on an electrical system.
Whoa... I didn't notice all the other responses before I submitted my last one. This is turning into a decent thread topic!
Superblack350... Good point about the "bling." My install above illustrates exactly what you're talking about! Capacitors have come a long ways in terms of aesthetics to incorporate them into "showy" installs...
I didn't notice all the other responses before I submitted my last one. This is turning into a decent thread topic! Superblack350... Good point about the "bling." My install above illustrates exactly what you're talking about!
Capacitors have come a long ways in terms of aesthetics to incorporate them into "showy" installs...
Originally Posted by WPPJR30
Glad to see your response was not one to instigate a pissing contest. I feel like it's commonplace here when someone has a contrasting view, it turns into a thread of personal attacks or heated argument. I understand what you're saying about the alternator, especially in regards to it contributing to the improvement of overall performance. However, I don't think that upgrading an alternator will do the same as a capacitor. I say that because a capacitor's main objective is to address the power needs on demand; meaning, in fast-moving audio loads. An alternator (and batteries) cannot address those needs in the short-term as the capacitors can.
In the ideal system, I think one should have a battery dedicated solely to the audio system, while keeping the stock electrical system intact. I could surely be wrong, but I don't think adding an alternator to a system will do much of anything unless there is already enough battery power devoted to the audio system. Additionally, an alternator will not produce it's maximum output until the engine speeds are well above idle, anyway. So, in the instance that you're at a stoplight or just having your car parked, an alternator will not benefit your audio system at all... Will it?
I do not profess to be an expert. These points are just the extent of my knowledge. I freely admit that I don't know everything about alternators...
I am no expert on alternators either. Nor am I a battery nor cap expert, but I do know basics in theory and application. It can get confusing thinking about the roles each element plays and how the flow works. I think that is what makes this topic so debated.
As I stated earlier, I am here to learn as well as help. So if I can learn from someone then I'm happy. If I can help someone then I'm happy. It's a win win situation for me here. If one person reads this thread and makes a conscious decision based on what they've read here (for or against caps) then I feel it's all worth it.
Originally Posted by WPPJR30
Whoa... I didn't notice all the other responses before I submitted my last one. This is turning into a decent thread topic!
Superblack350... Good point about the "bling." My install above illustrates exactly what you're talking about! Capacitors have come a long ways in terms of aesthetics to incorporate them into "showy" installs...
I didn't notice all the other responses before I submitted my last one. This is turning into a decent thread topic! Superblack350... Good point about the "bling." My install above illustrates exactly what you're talking about!
Capacitors have come a long ways in terms of aesthetics to incorporate them into "showy" installs...
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 82
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From: c.v. california
You guys have all great points, and i have installed systems with or without caps. One thing i dont think anybody has mentioned is upgrading all the grounds in the car or adding grounds to the chassis. I tried it with or without a cap once i upgraded the grounds and the lights stayed the same. As one friend of mine said, a cap is just a bandaid or cheap solution to the problem.
Originally Posted by SuperBlack350
lol, yeah, there is definately nothing wrong with that. My friends do what you siad, have a seperate dry cell battery in their trunk for their systems. They still hide it in a battery box and show off their capacitors in the trunk. It goes to show people will show off things that look good instead of things that actually work well.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess...
Originally Posted by djscotty
You guys have all great points, and i have installed systems with or without caps. One thing i dont think anybody has mentioned is upgrading all the grounds in the car or adding grounds to the chassis. I tried it with or without a cap once i upgraded the grounds and the lights stayed the same. As one friend of mine said, a cap is just a bandaid or cheap solution to the problem.
