cap., battery, or both?
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cap., battery, or both?
i was just curious to see what everyone is running as far as keeping the ol' charging system strong. i have yet to upgrade batteries or add a capacitor, but will be soon. anybody running aftermarket alternator?
i have heard that using a 1 farid cap will actually put more stress on the alternator O_o i believe it is suggested that for caps to actually help u need 2 farid or more?
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In my personal opinion caps are a waste of money. Its true a cap is a store of energy that your system can draw upon but you have to realize some inherent limitations that are built into a cap. The first thing is that it requires power from the alternator/battery to be charged. So, lets assume your system is hitting hard ... your cap is discharged. Well, now your battery/alternator need to try to bring the cap storage of energy to the level that the battery is at or else it will continually be a drain. So, less power is actually getting to your amps. It has been proven by SPL competitors that caps will actually lower their score. The caps draw power, thereby not allowing as much power to get to the amps to push the subs as without the cap.
The second thing is that a cap has to be able to discharge power as fast as the battery can or else the amps will always draw power first, from the battery. So, while your cap may be in place, if it cannot discharge the power fast enough, it may not provide the power when it is necessary.
Of course these points above are not always necessarily limitations on every setup, they are some general limitations that have been noted by other individuals from 'experts' to competitors.
Personally, I run two amps in my RS, one 45x4 and one 300x1 and I have not had any headlight fading. So, that will give you an idea at least as to what power our cars can handle without electrical upgrade concerns.
Keenan
The second thing is that a cap has to be able to discharge power as fast as the battery can or else the amps will always draw power first, from the battery. So, while your cap may be in place, if it cannot discharge the power fast enough, it may not provide the power when it is necessary.
Of course these points above are not always necessarily limitations on every setup, they are some general limitations that have been noted by other individuals from 'experts' to competitors.
Personally, I run two amps in my RS, one 45x4 and one 300x1 and I have not had any headlight fading. So, that will give you an idea at least as to what power our cars can handle without electrical upgrade concerns.
Keenan
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It really depends on what your going for! If you want SQ then you will be fine with the Caps, but if you want to go for SPL then you really need to get a new battery, and maybe even run a secondary battery in the trunk. It all depends on how far you want to take it. I have about 600 watts RMS coming from my two amps with two 1 fraud caps stiffing the power. I really like this setup and unless I turn the Bass amp all the way up pushing just under 900 watts (tested with a multimeter) and my mids and Highs pushing just over 200, So a total of 1100 watts I see some dimming of the head lights but not enough to make me want a battery just yet. Anyway thats just my .02 worth
Will
Will
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i'm not competing this either way (spl or sq). i was just curious what people w/systems in their cars were running. i will probably swop out the battery anyway before anything else goes in.
www.thezeb.com has a fared cap for like $65. Shipping is like $6 for your entire order. 
I got a bunch of stuff from them. I put a half fared cap in my system and dont have any headlight dimming, with a 12" sub. 600w rms
I got a bunch of stuff from them. I put a half fared cap in my system and dont have any headlight dimming, with a 12" sub. 600w rms
I <3 White Girls
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From: Danville, CA
Car Info: E92 M3, E70, F32, E21
go for a yellow top optima battery, that probably what i am going to do...caps dont do much at all, get a power core if you are running a big system, other wise get a better battery and upgrade the charging system, i am running about 1500 watts RMS, and i am just going to get a better battery at first and see what happens..
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Originally posted by likestogofast
Anybody have underdrive pulleys? How much will that affect the charging system? I have heard mixed things about pulleys.
Anybody have underdrive pulleys? How much will that affect the charging system? I have heard mixed things about pulleys.
as far as would they affect the charging system? good question...sure, but enought to notice....?
i have an optima (yellow top) on the way. i also know a guy that rebuilds starters/alternators/etc, i think i might take my alternator to him and see what he can do with it!
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From: New Jersey
Car Info: 00 rs GC8
to tell ya the truth, i really think a cap does work, and it is very benefitcial to a audio system. i currently running 2 12" competition running at 1000w RMS each. they are bridged and powered at 2000w, runnign into a 2 farad cap, also i have other stuff inside such as LCD, PS2, and stuff. without that cap, probably i would be on my 3rd alternator now. by the way any one know a site that sells aftermaket alternator or something higher than 90amps. my lights still dims a bit when i have the volume over 20(stock head). But optima battery on its way for my next upgrade.
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