Worth getting a capicator?

[shakkas]

Hey everyone,

Finally got my new system in the car for a few weeks now, and starting to notice the lights are dimming.

been reading around and going to get an optima battery to replace the generic one that i have atm, but i was thinking does a cap really make much of a difference? its starting to bug me when i drive that the lights dim.

cheers for your input

[PLSSSE]

get the optima battery, itll get rid of that

[dsp26]

bigger battery won't really prevent it.

get a cap that matches your amp.

a cap is like a fuel or oil surge tank... it provides and releases maximum current from its storage reserve at all times especially for big bass beats.

sure a bigger battery is nice but it still won't provide the needed maximum peak current when required.

[trism]

no.

a cap WILL NOT help

all it does is puts more strain on teh electrical system

think about it. your poor little stock battery has to now run teh amplifiers AND recharge the cap. its just gonna make the prob worse

first thing to do, get a big battery. recomend an optima yellow top, or just about anything odyssey

then, upgrade your vehicles grounding. run a nice big fat length of 0guage cable from teh battery negative to the chassis

that will help the dimming

im not pulling this out of my arse, this is coming from real world experience. i had over 3kw rms in my last stereo that i competed in sound quality comps with, that i spent around 8k on

im not a noob when it comes to car audio

[tron07]

since your car is new, no point changing the alternator or battery.... so capacitor is the way to go. A 1farad with good ESR should do.

[trism]

did you not read my post before you added your own 2c?

[dsp26]

^^^lol 1min difference.

But what you say is feasible on yours and clearly benefits from a bigger or additional batteries... overall capacity becomes a neccesity. i think your car would actually stall on the next big doof lol.

I don't think his systems anywhere that big.


if it was me though and i had a semi-decent setup i would just upgrade to an extended ampere alternator... they go for like $150 on ebay usually with an additional 30-50amps over oem....

[shakkas]

yea i found a place selling optima yellow top bateries. quote was 340. thinking may get that and if it keeps dimming then go cap.

dude says optima has more than enough power to run accessories as well as the engine.

[trism]

The thing with optimas is that they are deep cycle.

Where if you run a normal battery flat too many times it dies and loses it's ability to hold a charge, the deep cycle will never do this. That's why they are popular in boats, planes and most hardcore 4wders use them

And when you compare it to a generic one you feel the differnece. It helps the whole car, it starts better, runs better. A upgrade alternator may be good but when it's charging a stuffed battery it's not helping anyone

Also it may seem cheap at 150 bucks but factor the cost of installation etc

[shakkas]

thanks for all t he help, really appreciate it

sounds like worth getting the battery, heard so much about optima but never thought it would make much of a difference

[tron07]

did you not read my post before you added your own 2c?

so??

While I am not a suppoter of using caps, dimming lights are usually because the alternator is not suppling enough juice, and I dont recomend changing the alternator for a brand new car. Same goes for the battery. If the car is already 2 or 3 years old, a yellow or red top is the way to go.

[trism]

if the alternator isnt supplying enough juice to stop the headlights dimming, how is it gonna be able to cope charging a capacitor up??