can anyone recommend a good capacitor?

My audio system is slowly coming together, my amps may be cheapos(temp only, i just need some kind of bass when its installed) but the rest of the system is nothing but quality parts.

I just got my 240A/165A Iraggi Amputator today, and will be doing a big 3 upgrade when it's installed.

Im also going to be using StreetWires ZeroNoise 9 interconnects to run from my HU to my amps.

With all of this coming together, I will probably need a cap. Also considering that once this is all installed I will be saving up to buy some more serious amps(no more "Dual", and "Insignia") I dont want to have to go back and tear stuff down to add a cap... I might as well put one in when the rest goes in.

So, the question is, What is a good capacitor that would be good for a system up to about 1000-2000W (My final goal)

As per the rules, the car is a 1996 Mercury cougar, 4.6L V8, Premium sound package(Kenwood HU though)

well just like most people on here will tell you, caps are pretty much useless in the way that most people expect them to work, i do have one in my car mostly for looks but i suppose its doing what it is supposed to do it is a power acoustik 2.0 farad and it looks nice it should work fine for your system as well, but that big 3 upgrade that you are doing should help out with your power issues if not then upgrade to a ho alternator and battery

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mustang GT convertible with lots of performance mods... Alpine M500 amp with sealed enclosure, 10 inch kappa perfect, clarion cz500 head unit, kicker ks speakers all around

did you miss the part in my post where I said I have a 240A Iraggi Alternator going in my car with the rest of the system.

Ive got the power to charge the cap, and will have a good battery as well. I'm not one of those n00bs who thinks a cap is going to solve all problems.

I want to have all the power I need when I do finally upgrade to a beastly system, All I want to have to do is remove the amps and speakers. I don't want to have to go back run more wires, add more stuff etc.

How many Farads would be a good choice?

LMAO, so your saying that I wouldn't need one at all? even with a high power system like 2000W?

a good battery, Big 3 upgrade, proper/solid wiring and 240A is enough to run a system of that power without a cap?

All Caps are basically the same, Electrolytic or Carbon type. Stinger and a few others make a hybrid of the two. Is one brand better than another, No. Digital display, flashing lights, blah blah blah all a waste.

No, you don't need a Cap. You have bought a HO Alt. Upgraded the Big 3.
and with a quality battery you won't need a Cap.

About the only "cap" I would use is the xstatic power pac. Its a 35 fared cap and also has a xstatic 600 series batt all built in. Or maybe a Fosgate 50 fared.Those are about the only 2 i have found that do anything productive to your system.

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I bought a few BatCaps early on and found them to work
ok. I ended up replacing them with a standard battery and
had much better results. The concept is good but $$$ vs
performance is low.

Im not refering to a batcap. I actually run 2 of there batteries a model 2000 under the hood and a model 800 in the rear with the powerpack as well. the best part of the powerpac is it is a cap and a batt used together and for around $300 it is well worth the price. My voltage is at 14.9 idle and never drops below 13.8 on music or tones. Thats with over 3000rms total power on my system. Before the powerpac i was dropping to the mid 12s. It made a huge differance on top of the 1/0, Ho alt  and batteries to help keep my volts up.

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If you already have upgraded the alternator I would much rather spend the money on another battery in the back.

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Custom Enclosure Design

I agree with that fully. I would do an audio batt at the back first.

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I won have room anywhere else for another battery, I don't even have room for my amps, they will need to be mounted to my trunk lid and the proper steps taken to ensure they will survive there.

I will have 7" of space between my two boxes, enough room to stick a cylindrical cap if I decide to go with one, which i am reconsidering at this point.

Its more about future upgradability, I want to reduce the chance that I will have to go back and tear something apart just to upgrade to better components. hence why I'm going with top of the line wiring, extremely HO alt, etc.

With the parts I'm goign to be using, I shouldn't have to tear down my car again to run new/better wires if i upgrade my HU or something later on.

Same with a cap.... do I need one right now?? I highly doubt it, but will I need one later on down the road when I decide to beef up my amps/speakers/etc? probably..... so since I already have the power to charge my system, and a capacitor, and am not looking to use a capacitor as a "miracle device" (I have a good idea of what they are for) I don't see the harm in having one already installed when I add more power.

unless of course there is a down side that I'm unaware of, in which case I would like to be informed.

Where can I learn more about capacitors?

car audio caps that is.

https://explanation-guide.info/meaning/Stiffening-capacitor.html

bigjohnny wrote:

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I won have room anywhere else for another battery, I don't even have room for my amps, they will need to be mounted to my trunk lid and the proper steps taken to ensure they will survive there.

I will have 7" of space between my two boxes, enough room to stick a cylindrical cap if I decide to go with one, which i am reconsidering at this point.

Its more about future upgradability, I want to reduce the chance that I will have to go back and tear something apart just to upgrade to better components. hence why I'm going with top of the line wiring, extremely HO alt, etc.

With the parts I'm goign to be using, I shouldn't have to tear down my car again to run new/better wires if i upgrade my HU or something later on.

Same with a cap.... do I need one right now?? I highly doubt it, but will I need one later on down the road when I decide to beef up my amps/speakers/etc? probably..... so since I already have the power to charge my system, and a capacitor, and am not looking to use a capacitor as a "miracle device" (I have a good idea of what they are for) I don't see the harm in having one already installed when I add more power.

unless of course there is a down side that I'm unaware of, in which case I would like to be informed.

Where can I learn more about capacitors?

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You are right, there is no downside of having the cap. You don't ever need one, however, even with a high powered system.

Most people will tell you that they are not worth the money which is usually true but if you know what the will give you then it certainly isn't going to be a bad thing to do.

A cap has a couple of benefits to a system. Their main function is to stiffen the voltage of your system. A cap will act kind of like a shock absorber on a car. It will keep the voltage from jumping around quickly so it is steady. The link audiocableguy posted does a pretty job of explaining it.

A model 800 xstatic battery is not big at all 3"D x 7" L x 6 1/2" H. https://batcap.info/Products/BatCap800/tabid/66/Default.aspx  model 800 link. 

Also if that will not fit the BatCap is about the best capacitor i have found. It actually a fast charging batt and is smaller than a standard cap H - 3.14"/ W - 3.70"/ D - 5.44". https://batcap.info/Products/BatCap400/tabid/60/Default.aspx BatCap 400 link

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