magic box that boost the alternator?

one of my friends was tellin me that the reason his lights dont dim is because he bought this "box" that boost the alt. from a audio store ???? what could he be talking about  and do they work ??? and one other thing does it make a diff. in sound if you downfire your subs rather then upfire or put them facing foward and if so how much diff.

thanks qmw54

from my expeirience i have found out that downfireing subs arent louder they gust have better sq and there is less crosscansulation because it uses the floor panal as a wall so the sound goes in all directions instead of being faced towereds the back so the sound goes and hites the back and bounces forword. so there is a more evenly distributed sound wave. and it also seems to have less standing wave i dont no that for sure though. i also THINK that since it is faceing downwords that gravity takes some of the staren of the sub so it is easyer for it to move downwords but very little. and pointing a sub upwords is not a good idea because you loss db. but if it is the only way then you sould go ahead and do it. i think that facing a sub downwords is a good idea but i like to be able to see my subs so i face them forwords. if i was going for sq then i probibly would do it. 

and were is this box located, how is it setup, and a name or serial number, model number would be helpful. there are to many things it could be. 

Aaron

youngone wrote:

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from my expeirience i have found out that downfireing subs arent louder they gust have better sq and there is less crosscansulation because it uses the floor panal as a wall so the sound goes in all directions instead of being faced towereds the back so the sound goes and hites the back and bounces forword. so there is a more evenly distributed sound wave. and it also seems to have less standing wave i dont no that for sure though. i also THINK that since it is faceing downwords that gravity takes some of the staren of the sub so it is easyer for it to move downwords but very little. and pointing a sub upwords is not a good idea because you loss db. but if it is the only way then you sould go ahead and do it. i think that facing a sub downwords is a good idea but i like to be able to see my subs so i face them forwords. if i was going for sq then i probibly would do it. 

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Wow, where to begin... most of that is wrong information.  First, do a search for "woofer sag" and you will find a thread discussing how to determine if a woofer can be used up or down firing.  Second, there is no "loss of db" when up-firing nor is there some sort of gravity aid if down-firing.  This is nonsense.  Both up and down will place the same strain on a woofer.  Some can handle it, some can't and the loudness and SQ has nothing to do with how it's mounted all by itself, it has to do with overall system design.

The direction a sub should face is determined by three things: first, the vehicle and what works best in it (and every one is different.)  Second, the woofer and how is is designed to be mounted.  Third, the requirements of the installation and the intended system design.  All three must be considered for proper woofer and enclosure choice.

he might have a batcap.

sedate wrote:

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Oh yea.. back the topic of "magic boxes" ... I once heard about a guy using an Alumapro 5 farad CAP to reinforce.. get this.. not his sub-amp.. but his cars' electrical system. Like, he ran the thing to the wiring harness of this cars battery, not back in the rear with amps.

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sedate wrote:

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Of course, this brings up another bug-a-boo I've never gotten real straight on: the proper behavior of DC current.. some people akin it to water.. more pressure in certain parts of the system than others correlating to demand... this logic leads us to conclude that the CAP would work well in this situation.. the CAP between the lights and battery, instead of the amp and battery, would reinforce the lights no? DCs' transmission/distance difficulties would support this line of thinking ... ?

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sedate wrote:

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Others akin it to a unified system.. a voltage drop somewhere in the circuit is a voltage drop everywhere.. since electrically speaking, the circuit all looks like the same 'point' ... this logic would lead us to conclude that a CAP at that stage of the electrical system would be just as effective.. or ineffective.. as a CAP sitting 2 inches from the amp it is meant to reinforce.

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tcss: I'm actually off today and wrote that while having my first cup of coffee.

sedate: electricity works as in your second example: in a car's electrical system, the voltage will theoretically be the same everywhere.  The effects of a capacitor will be felt throughout the entire electrical system, so they may be connected anywhere so long as the power cables between the cap and the loads are sufficient for the expected current.  Now, what does a capacitor DO?  It dampens minor fluctuations in system voltage.  A cap is a voltage ripple filter, and will attempt to maintain system voltage constant anytime it changes.  Their function in a car audio power supply is to help keep the voltage stable when amplifiers have momentary peak demands as they can react faster than a battery or alternator can.  But they can only hold a very small amount of energy.  Even huge milti-farad capacitors can only sustain voltage for very small time frames (like fractions of seconds.)  They do nothing to compensate for alternator or battery overload due to undersized supply for the given demand.

youngone: best not to post if you are not sure of something, or to ask questions before putting out incorrect info!  But yes, this forum is for people to learn from, so keep reading.