Capacitator

[xbi0s]

Wondering...

I see people that put in car batteries and shit for caps... I have a spare car battery that is brand new and never really been used, but is charged up sitting here...

Would this work for one?

[88 Accord DX]

just attach your amp and whatever else to that battery and put it in your trunk. thats what i would do.

[dXsquared]

you will have to run a second alt. output wire from the ALT. this isnt a good plan for our tiny ass 65 amp alternators cuz it will have to charge both batterys

Travis

[Bobs89LXi]

Originally posted by DXHATCHBACK
you will have to run a second alt. output wire from the ALT. this isnt a good plan for our tiny ass 65 amp alternators cuz it will have to charge both batterys

Travis

A better alternative is the use of a battery isolator. With this device you can have a second battery and electrical system that is dedicated exclusively to your stereo, while using one alternator to recharge both.

[86hatchbackLXi]

A battery isolator and a second battery will help a lot if you dont want to get an upgraded alternator. However a battery isnt exactly the same as a capacitor. If you add a cap to the amp for your subs it should help a lot.

[Bobs89LXi]

Caps serve one purpose: to stablize the input power to the amp. It releases some of it's stored charge whenever there is an extra drain on the electrical system, as when your headlights dim each time your amp "hits".

[AccordEpicenter]

Battery isolators suck for car audio because they drop nearly .7 v across them (they are essentially just a big diode) so if you drop that much across it youre losing alot of watts in heat dissipation alone. Like one of the previous posts said, its not a great idea for a daily driver to have 2 batteries on one alt, itll kill it sooner or later. Batteries just become a resistive load once the car is on, so the only thing itll help you with for sure is having more run time when the car is off. If you really need help with dimming lights, the caps seem to work great, id start there before adding another battery.

[Bobs89LXi]

I agree that a battery isolator isn't the best and greatest idea. However, it is the lowest cost alternative. If it were me, I would go with a cap at the very least if stable input voltage is your goal. In my opinion, unless you have an elaborate system or are competing in DB drags, a heavy duty or extra alternator is overkill.

[88 Accord DX]

a good cap cost about the same as an alternator upgrade. i would go with the mew alt.

[AccordEpicenter]

it depends how much power you have, and how much current you plan on drawing. Currently my 1200d pulls a little over 80 amps at full power, and i drive around with it all the time and I have no caps or batteries I just have the rewound alt (140 amps cold) and it works pretty good, it cost only $140 ish and gives me very slight dimming at full volume when im cruzin. I need a cap to stiffen up my sound tho, but if youre gonna keep the system to under 800 or so watts total you should be fine with a cap, anything more than that (depending on what kind of amps and stuff) you might wanna think about an alt.

[crwa]

If you have a 500 watt amp, then a cap. is the right ting to get. Anything under 500 watts won't drain that much out of the battery. you could run the amp off the second battery, but why? You will have to disconnect the amp every time you turn off the car, and you will have to charge the battery at least once a week if not more. A good cap. will cost $200. Some of the smaller ones are good, but it depends or what you are running. if you have a big amp pushing alot of watts then a stronger cap. would be best.

Your profile says you have a 280 watt amp. you don't need a cap. I have a 240 and don't need one. Go talk to some car sterio shops and they'll tell you the same thing, unless your running over 500 watts, a cap. isn't needed, the lights may dim a little, but not enought to do any harm. The biggest drain comes from using the heater or ac, or even using the air system like the vent. I know because I have a volt gauge and the heater takes more power away then the sterio.

but if you want to waste money on a cap. go for it, but you really don't need to use one on a 280 watt amp.

[Strahan]

Using a battery as a replacement/alternative to a cap is not going to be really effective. The point of a cap is to provide instant power boost to the main line for when the bass hits. A caps benefit is the instant power. Batteries have a much slower discharge rate. The only benefit of two batteries is longer time to run the system when the car is off.

May as well get both. Caps aren't that expensive. Mobile Authority 1 farad /w digital display runs $65. Phoenix Gold Titanium series 1 farad /w digital display $132.