will new system need new alt and bat.?

Hi, I plan on getting (3) 12's at 400W RMS each, and (2) Amp at 600W RMS each. I will also have (4) Componets on a 400W amp, (1) 7" screen, and (1) 8" screen. I have a 2001 Ford Sport Trac with stock battery and Altenator. My question is, with all this stuff running, would it be wise to get a better Alt. and/or Battery? And if so what would be the best deal to get on the Alt and Battery? Thanks in advanced.

It would be a good idea to upgrade your big three and battery...Then see where your volage sits with everything on.

Forget the caps. Don't waste the money. Doesn't matter if you have 2 or 20000 Farads. Upgrade the big 3, replace the stock battery (optima, Kinetic, Odyssey)and run 2 AWG or larger power cable back to the amps. If then your battery wont maintain a charge or your lights are severely flashing then get a HO Alternator. You need to make energy not just try to store it. Physics.

Yeah. What he said.2013 Kia Rio -90a alternator

DDX470HD GTO14001 GTO1014D (x3)

Big3 in 1/0G

1/0G to GTO14001

I am running a 2000 watt 2 channel, a 400 watt 4 channel and a 600 watt 4 channel off the original car battery and also have a 2 farad caps which arent a waste of money if you understand how they work. I have a gauge in my A pillar to check the volts. When driving, the gauge reads 4.2 volts give and take. When I am idle, have my system blasting, have headlights on, and have either A/C or defroster on, my gauge reads no less than 13.6 and not once does my headlights dim even a tad.

I am not saying that you dont need to upgrade the big 3 though. I just think you should look into it further first before you start handing out big cash on something you might not need. I have a 2002 cavalier with all those gadgets plus entire video system and much more and I have yet to upgrade anything. Caps are not a waste of money though. They are like car batteries but can give out energy quicker and also recharge in a matter of a second. A car battery can give that power also, but cant recharge as fast. So therefore your system will be drawing the power from the cap more than it would the battery.

Forget the caps. Don't waste the money. I stand by this. Yes a Cap can supply current, however this current is instantanious, a flash. The concept behind "Stiffening Caps" is voltage stiffening. The idea is as voltage drops and current rises the Cap fills in lull. Then the Cap must be recharged again and the process continues. A Cap is a band aid for the lack of capability between the Alt and the battery. A quality well designed amp will have on board Caps that will provide what it needs. The Alt. supplies the energy to keep the vehicle running and charge the battery. The battery provides the energy for starting and to supply the needs the Alt. cannot. As the battery ages along with the Alt. it will have less capability to maintain voltage and current.

DYohn said it better in a previous post: The purpose for stiffening capacitors is to help an amplifier maintain peak output during short musical transients. All amplifier power supplies already contain capacitors for this purpose. Adding an external one helps as long as the vehicle's electrical system is capable of maintaining power demand and recharging the cap. They indeed work just as they are supposed to for this function. Where they do NOT work is in maintaining system power when the alternator is already overloaded. In this case, they can actually hurt more than help as they simply place another load on the already overloaded system. They are being sold as a band-aid cure-all for overloaded alternators when a custopmer purchases a large amplifier, and this is simply wrong. The only way to provide sufficient power to a large amplifier is to produce more power and this means a high-output alternator for a running vehicle and/or multiple batteries for when the engine is off. ___________________________________________