is a cap worth it

[CrOsShAiR]

Hey....well lately i decided sence my camaro is a 3.4 V6 id not so much focus on speed but rather sound...

i currently grabbed me some subs and amp and tweeters so i was just wondering if i should get a cap...

im not too good with audio things i kno basically wut a cap does but not to full extent so i was wonderin if wanna of u smart people could tell me if a cap is worth it and wut it actually does to ur system... THX

Sound Specs
(2 Volfanhag 1000WATT Dual Coil Subs)~
500 Watts RMS Power
(Volfenhag 2 Channel intro cooled 2000WATT amp)
Bridgeable 400W X 2 Ohms

[wicked]

I would prefer to run a cap. Becasue at night when you play it your lights wont dims as much. And also i took my cap off about a month ago and about a week later i was playing it and my alternator went out. I know it was probally old but i think if i would have had my cap it would have lasted alittle longer. That is just my 2 cents about it.

[ZeroGuage]

A cap is a temorary solution to another problem. If you only play your stereo for short periods of time then it will be fine but if you have prolonged play time your cap will eventually run out of charge due to the fact that if your alternator cannot charge it fast enough it will eventually run down. A high output alternator would be a much better solution but they are quite pricey. I run 3 batteries and 2 caps and I still drop from 14.4 volts to almost 12v after about 15-20 minutes.

For your system as it is now a cap would peoblably work pretty well but if you ever added more amps or higher output amps then u may find you will need to beef up your electrical sytem to handle it.

Another thing is: your better off runing subwoofers off a class D mono amp instead of a bridged 2 channel amp. A class d mono amp is much more efficient then a clas a/ab multichannel amp meaning it draws less power from you alternator to run the same amount of watts.

[96firebird311]

Originally posted by ZeroGuage:
I run 3 batteries and 2 caps and I still drop from 14.4 volts to almost 12v after about 15-20 minutes.

Why? No H/O alt? And those batteries are not going to help you mantain 14.4V... Unless you play your system while the car is not running, the batteries are doing nothing for you.

[ZeroGuage]

Originally posted by 96firebird311:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by ZeroGuage:
I run 3 batteries and 2 caps and I still drop from 14.4 volts to almost 12v after about 15-20 minutes.

Why? No H/O alt? And those batteries are not going to help you mantain 14.4V... Unless you play your system while the car is not running, the batteries are doing nothing for you. </font>[/QUOTE]I know this... I just havent gotten around to picking up a H/O alternator yet. Im still in the process of putting my system together. I still need a set of 6.5's, 4 channel amp, alternator, and a sound processor. Im getting one thing a month so it might be a while...lol

[CAMAROWIDBASS]

zero gauge do you have pics of your set up? And ive never seen a camaro on spokes, looks pretty good though

[CrOsShAiR]

well thx wicker and zero .... other then that can yall stop spamin this topic... good grief

[Tyler]

get a h/o alternator. dont waste your money on a cosmetic little powercap

[96firebird311]

Originally posted by Tyler:
get a h/o alternator. dont waste your money on a cosmetic little powercap

I have a H/O alt, and my lights still dim. Does massive output at idle too, so no worries there. [img]smile.gif[/img] Caps and alts fight the same cause, but need each other to work best. (Here comes the [img]graemlins/rant.gif[/img] lol) The alt cannot adjust to the load fast enough between each bass note. Caps can. Do caps place a larger load on your alt? Of course they do. Where do you think they're charging from? So for best results with larger systems, you need both. Crosshair, you're not running much power. You'll be fine with a cap. I ran roughly 1400WRMS off two farads and stock alt for years without a single problem. Argue all you want guys. Can't argue with personal experience.

[FireFighter]

Caps are a waste IMHO, I will leave it at that. Is that ok 96bird :D ?

[96firebird311]

Perfect. [img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img]

[FireFighter]

Great :D [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[dmw319]

ive got a ho alt and a cap. *shrug* its all personal experience and working with what youre specific setup is.

[kala]

i had horrible experience with capacitors. My capacitor died and it took my Audiobahn amp with it. If you are using class-d amp (mostly subwoofer amp) and you are running somewhere around 600-700 you will be fine without anything cap or H.O. alt. I am running that and no problem so far. But if you have multiple amps and subwoofer amp pumping out more than that get a H.O. alt. Capacitors are for looking cool.

[CAMAROWIDBASS]

Originally posted by kala:
i had horrible experience with capacitors. My capacitor died and it took my Audiobahn amp with it. If you are using class-d amp (mostly subwoofer amp) and you are running somewhere around 600-700 you will be fine without anything cap or H.O. alt. I am running that and no problem so far. But if you have multiple amps and subwoofer amp pumping out more than that get a H.O. alt. Capacitors are for looking cool.

or for a projectile in an event of a crash...