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<blockquote data-quote="Chromatic" data-source="post: 8227236" data-attributes="member: 659121">Your amp location will be fine.&nbsp; Just make sure temps are ok there.As for the power draw, caps, alternator etc.&nbsp; I wouldn&#039;t install anything or buy anything just yet.&nbsp; I would monitor voltage during real world use and see where your voltage hangs and how low it dips while driving around listening to music.&nbsp; Just wire up a DMM or something to monitor voltage to a handy location and keep an eye on it.&nbsp; If it stays in a healthy range upper 13&#039;s-low 14&#039;s there is no reason you need to buy an alternator for a 1200watt amp setup.&nbsp; Every car make and battery are different.. MANY people do the &quot;Big three&quot; and it&#039;s really not needed with their specific setup.The &quot;big three&quot; isn&#039;t going to make an average system (like yours and mine) sound any better.. it&#039;s just for more consistent and proper voltage levels.&nbsp; All of that said,.. it doesn&#039;t ever HURT anything.&nbsp; A High output alternator for example is not going to hurt even a stock car with no amp,.. as long as it&#039;s a proper alternator for the car and not pushing too much voltage to the battery.. after X volts in the higher range it actually causes some chemical reactions in the battery that at the very least will shorten battery lifespan.&nbsp; Again, this isn&#039;t an issue with a moderate HO alternator for your car.For reference, I run a 900watt amp on four 6.5&quot; mids at 70-80watts RMS, four 1&quot; tweeters, and one 10&quot; Sub -- And I have an active voltage monitor (they are cheap).. and my voltage stays a solid 14.5&#039;ish all the time no matter how hard the system is being pushed.&nbsp; Different cars have better electrical systems stock than others -- Mine has a fairly decent stock setup and has room for some power draw, but I&#039;m not pushing crazy power either.&nbsp; While some other cars electrical systems -- ie: Alternator mainly are JUST enough for what is stock in the car and not much else extra.&nbsp; Though *most* modern cars have some wiggle room.I didn&#039;t ever consider the Big three as I couldn&#039;t justify a $200-$300 battery , X hundred HO Alternator, and using 0/1 Gauge wiring -- Instead I just used a 4Gauge kit, put a new &quot;regular&quot; $120 battery in the car and used a DMM initially to monitor voltage and also have an active real time voltage meter in the car -- as it&#039;s handy with or without a system imho.I&#039;m not saying you definitely don&#039;t need anything extra.. but it all comes down the voltage being supplied to the Amp.. if it&#039;s a solid steady figure in the right range.. you are fine, no need to waste money.Further, you don&#039;t always need to buy the &quot;big three&quot; -- If your battery is good,.. then I assume you are probably using something like 4g wiring to your amp anyways (although if using 0/1 that&#039;s fine as well) -- Then all you would need at most is likely the HO alternator.&nbsp; Key is to spend money on just what you NEED, not what you hear other people have spent money on.Your car is primarily running off your Alternator keeping charge while it&#039;s on anyways and the alternator is the biggest part of any power upgrade to a cars electrical system.&nbsp; So just keep an eye on those voltages and , I&#039;d be willing to bet you are fine without any additional upgrades, esp. if your car isn&#039;t super old.As for caps -- I&#039;m not a fan of them for systems like yours and mine.. They keep X farads and as was said already they are literally good for a split second then that bit of &quot;stored&quot; charge is gone.&nbsp; Just in MY personal opinion most of them are an utter waste of money, and if one does buy them for a regular 600-1500watt system it should really be 90% for &quot;looks&quot; not to expect great things from it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gifThat isn&#039;t meant disrespectfully.. you have one.. great.&nbsp; They are just highly over-rated in what they actually do in the real world aside from some considerably more expensive caps and these aren&#039;t needed on your &quot;Average&quot; system in the first place.But as I often say.. do what YOU think you need if it will give you peace of mind.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Chromatic, post: 8227236, member: 659121"] Your amp location will be fine. Just make sure temps are ok there. As for the power draw, caps, alternator etc. I wouldn't install anything or buy anything just yet. I would monitor voltage during real world use and see where your voltage hangs and how low it dips while driving around listening to music. Just wire up a DMM or something to monitor voltage to a handy location and keep an eye on it. If it stays in a healthy range upper 13's-low 14's there is no reason you need to buy an alternator for a 1200watt amp setup. Every car make and battery are different.. MANY people do the "Big three" and it's really not needed with their specific setup. The "big three" isn't going to make an average system (like yours and mine) sound any better.. it's just for more consistent and proper voltage levels. All of that said,.. it doesn't ever HURT anything. A High output alternator for example is not going to hurt even a stock car with no amp,.. as long as it's a proper alternator for the car and not pushing too much voltage to the battery.. after X volts in the higher range it actually causes some chemical reactions in the battery that at the very least will shorten battery lifespan. Again, this isn't an issue with a moderate HO alternator for your car. For reference, I run a 900watt amp on four 6.5" mids at 70-80watts RMS, four 1" tweeters, and one 10" Sub -- And I have an active voltage monitor (they are cheap).. and my voltage stays a solid 14.5'ish all the time no matter how hard the system is being pushed. Different cars have better electrical systems stock than others -- Mine has a fairly decent stock setup and has room for some power draw, but I'm not pushing crazy power either. While some other cars electrical systems -- ie: Alternator mainly are JUST enough for what is stock in the car and not much else extra. Though *most* modern cars have some wiggle room. I didn't ever consider the Big three as I couldn't justify a $200-$300 battery , X hundred HO Alternator, and using 0/1 Gauge wiring -- Instead I just used a 4Gauge kit, put a new "regular" $120 battery in the car and used a DMM initially to monitor voltage and also have an active real time voltage meter in the car -- as it's handy with or without a system imho. I'm not saying you definitely don't need anything extra.. but it all comes down the voltage being supplied to the Amp.. if it's a solid steady figure in the right range.. you are fine, no need to waste money. Further, you don't always need to buy the "big three" -- If your battery is good,.. then I assume you are probably using something like 4g wiring to your amp anyways (although if using 0/1 that's fine as well) -- Then all you would need at most is likely the HO alternator. Key is to spend money on just what you NEED, not what you hear other people have spent money on. Your car is primarily running off your Alternator keeping charge while it's on anyways and the alternator is the biggest part of any power upgrade to a cars electrical system. So just keep an eye on those voltages and , I'd be willing to bet you are fine without any additional upgrades, esp. if your car isn't super old. As for caps -- I'm not a fan of them for systems like yours and mine.. They keep X farads and as was said already they are literally good for a split second then that bit of "stored" charge is gone. Just in MY personal opinion most of them are an utter waste of money, and if one does buy them for a regular 600-1500watt system it should really be 90% for "looks" not to expect great things from it. [IMG]//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif[/IMG] That isn't meant disrespectfully.. you have one.. great. They are just highly over-rated in what they actually do in the real world aside from some considerably more expensive caps and these aren't needed on your "Average" system in the first place. But as I often say.. do what YOU think you need if it will give you peace of mind. [/QUOTE]

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