Do I need a capacitor?
Do not throw away a $100~150 on a 1~2 farad capacitor. For every 1 farad it will support around a 100 watts, so to really make a difference in your setup, you would need a 5 farad cap. I would recommend getting an upgraded battery, like a optima yellow top, or putting the money towards an upgraded alternator.
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well i just replaced my battery and the alternator was replaced recently as well so ill wait till those go bad before replacing em again.
A 5 farad capacitor? seems to me like that would be overkill. I've seen plenty of setups pushing more power than i plan on using with a 1.5 farad unit. Are these setups running at less than optimal with a 1.5 farad unit? What would be the ill effects of running such a system without a cap at all?
Just checked crutchfield and their 1 farad capacitor says it supports systems of up to 1k watts??
A 5 farad capacitor? seems to me like that would be overkill. I've seen plenty of setups pushing more power than i plan on using with a 1.5 farad unit. Are these setups running at less than optimal with a 1.5 farad unit? What would be the ill effects of running such a system without a cap at all?
Just checked crutchfield and their 1 farad capacitor says it supports systems of up to 1k watts??
Last edited by 9silverbird8; Jan 23, 2005 at 09:30 PM.
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had an mtx 81000d and 2 12" rockford power hx2's and it worked fine...light flash was slight problem but my alt...put out for about 2 years on that system.with no problems..then i sold the car....with 150k on it..with the stok alt
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Originally Posted by cjacks7
Do not throw away a $100~150 on a 1~2 farad capacitor. For every 1 farad it will support around a 100 watts, so to really make a difference in your setup, you would need a 5 farad cap. I would recommend getting an upgraded battery, like a optima yellow top, or putting the money towards an upgraded alternator.
1 farad cap is good for 1000 watts rms
I wouldnt do it since most amplifiers have built in caps. Big external caps only really come into play with systems that draw high amperage. All A cap really does is act like a quick battery that charges/recharges very quickly to help with the voltage loss on a heavy bass note. A good easy to tell when you need a cap is to look at your headlights when driving at night. If they dim badly on the bass notes then you would probably benifit from a capacitor
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ditto 1 farad is good for 1k rms. Also look at SVR batteries if anybody carries them in your area. They will outperform yellow top hands down.
One thing to remember though, power doesn't come from magic, it all starts at your alternator, so if your alt can't keep up then a cap won't help either. You will probably be fine with an aftermarket batt like a yellow top or SVR and no other supporting power mods.
Nate
One thing to remember though, power doesn't come from magic, it all starts at your alternator, so if your alt can't keep up then a cap won't help either. You will probably be fine with an aftermarket batt like a yellow top or SVR and no other supporting power mods.
Nate
I ran a 1 farad cap on my amps. Had an orion xtr800.4 and an orion xtr pro 1000. The 800.4 ran my focal k2 components (just the front channel), and a 12" L7 from the 1000. cap only went to the 1000. My orion was a class d though so it uses about half the amps than a sony a class will. You should be fine with a 1 farad, 2 at the most, sony's are a little cheaper b/c they don't have the larger capacitors built in. I would try it without a cap and test your lights, you can always splice in a cap. But if you worry about it like me, just add a 1 farad. It would be a good idea since it will put stress on your electrical systems and gm makes crappy alternators anyway. The point of the cap is quick storage for your system when it is straining like at high volume with alot of sub movement. Your alternator would be fine with a 1 farad.
After a while i sold the 1000 and used the front channel of the 800 for the focal k2's and the rear for my 12" L7 with no light dimming or anything, with the cap.
This was all in my z28.
After a while i sold the 1000 and used the front channel of the 800 for the focal k2's and the rear for my 12" L7 with no light dimming or anything, with the cap.
This was all in my z28.
Get the Cap. In my bonneville I had a sony 1k watt amp and a 12 sub. when I added the cap it cleanned the sound up from being muddy to being crisper and more responsive. Go to a db drag and see if you can pick up a used one for cheap. Also wallmart sells some cheap caps.
