Do I need a Capacitor ?
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=43640
Printed Date: April 28, 2024 at 4:49 AM
Topic: Do I need a Capacitor ?
Posted By: 04r1belgium
Subject: Do I need a Capacitor ?
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 12:46 PM
Hello,
Will be installing my new system in my new 2005 BMW 5 series. The car has a 170A alternator. I plan on installing:
1 x Rockford Fosgate power 1051S (birthsheet 1119W RMS continuous ! :-) )
1 x Boston Acoustics Pro 12.5LF
Will I need a cap, or would that be a waste of money ?
Thanks !
Replies:
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 12:53 PM
A second battery will actually serve you better. There are many people who say yes, many say no to the cap question. I feel that in SOME cases a cap can help, but in more cases than not a second battery does much better than a cap. In your case, you could go either way. Try the battery first. FORGET ANY ISOLATORS, and just hook it in parallel with the front battery. If you feel that you want to dump 100 bucks US on small performace gains, mail it to me, and I'll fly over there and help push your car... (or go to lunch...  ) ------------- It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
Posted By: kickerstang
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 12:55 PM
get a 2nd battery instead, though i don't really know if you will need it, but if you have your heart set on a back up supply of power i would suggest a battery over a cap, cap's give you a small amount of extra power for a very short amount of time and just look pretty, when an extra battery gets the job done. I have an xstatic batcap,which is basically a battery, and it helps 100 times more than my two 1 farad caps ever did.
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what!?!?! you want some??
Posted By: Francious70
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 2:15 PM
You alternator should put out plenty.
Paul
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Posted By: audiobass10
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 3:42 PM
You're fine with what you have right now..IMO a cap would be a waste..that 170 should serve you nice. ------------- Dave
Pioneer Premier DEH-P660
15" Kicker CVR
Profile AP1000M
It's Loud
Posted By: mcfly2
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 4:38 PM
I would go with a 2nd battery
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MCFLY
Posted By: daze
Date Posted: December 02, 2004 at 9:37 PM
I would do CAPS, one is not gonna be enough. The reason people have such horrior stories with caps is because for high current amps, one cap is not enough(well 1 farad). You need 1 farad for every 300-400 watts of power... so you do the math
Posted By: kfr01
Date Posted: December 02, 2004 at 10:28 PM
See the capacitor page at https://www.bcae1.com/
The author is skeptical that they actually work as advertised. So am I.
I'd take haemphyst's advice.
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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder
Posted By: robbyrob717
Date Posted: December 03, 2004 at 2:47 PM
The 170 amp alternator will treat you good. Just don't sit at a stop sign playing a bass test. Also its 1 farad for every 1000 watts. if you can show me a 300 watt amp that will make your headlights dim then your drunk. With a capacitor you can't play your system without the car running to charge it though because i high power amp like that would drain it quick. |
------------- 94 Pontiac Sunbird 3.1 V6
alpine deck
audiobahn 3.5 fronts w/ tweeters
audiobahn 6.5 rears w/ tweeters
* sold rest of system to save up towards new car. $3000 spent on it.
Posted By: supradude
Date Posted: December 03, 2004 at 6:38 PM
I think you will be fine with what you have. I wouldn't buy anything else for now. And if you buy anything, I wouldn't buy a cap.
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'85 Toy
Posted By: /R7
Date Posted: December 04, 2004 at 12:44 AM
go without anything.
right now you dont know if you need one or not, wait till you start driving around with the amp installed, otherwise you could install a piece that is not nessesarly needed, and you'd never know, unless you un-hooked it to find out. and in that case if you didnt need it, you've already wasted money.
a new battery would be my first option, but 170amp alt, for a BMW? i think you should have sufficent amount of amps left over, without making your alt work to its limits. im running an 800watt soundstream amp and my alt in my buick, is only 105-115 amps, and i havent noticed any dimming yet.
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: December 04, 2004 at 7:07 PM
I agree, go without anything right now. Find out first if you need it, then add if necessary. That is one large alternator dude and I imagine that the stock battery that is in the vehicle also has balls the size of Godzilla. Upgrade the main ground / power wires from and to the battery to make the current transfer as efficeint as possible. Next ensure that once you ground the amp, it has a ground resistance of below 1/2 ohm if you are using the chassis as the ground return. As far as the cap goes, it does not creat power, it stores and uses it. Open an ING saving account today and ......... save your money. ------------- Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
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