another battery or capacitor?

[HONDA-2NR 10+ year member]

i am going to be running a 1000BD to a 12w7 with a 4 gauge and i want to know which is better to do-

1. Get a battery only for the stereo and install it in my trunk, or

2. Get a capacitor and hook that up

will just the capacitor do the job? if i later run another amp for my speakers will i need the extra battery in the trunk or just run that off my front battery?!?!

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[theoriginal15]

Dawg, I have a bd1000 as well, and you will need another battery. The amp is a monster! You won't get close to full use until you do so. I bought a BatCap for it to feed off. A capacitor is a okay but with that much power it will discharge fairly often, which means it has to recharge. Battery are the same but they hold energy longer. My stereo and headlight stopped dimming and the overall sound is much more clear than before.

 

[Diplexers 10+ year member]

Run both. Its worth it. :readytogo

 

[Alpine CDA-9815 10+ year member]

Caps don't really do anything for the car's electrical system. Don't get me wrong, they will SLIGHTLY help the amp get power when it asks for more. Cap get their power from the battery which adds to the stress on drawing more power, the battery gets it's power from the alt. So for now get another battery... deep cycle if possible, and later upgrade the alt. if needed.

 

[60_cent 10+ year member]

Get a yellow top under the hood and try a batcap in the trunk. It worked for me.

The batcap is kind of like a battery and cap all rolled into one compact package.

 

[RFIRE15 10+ year member]

But if u get another battery... wont the amp be running at 12volts rather then say.. the 14.4 ur alt produces? Dont a cap give you the higher voltage? I'm somewhat of a newb, but that makes sence to me. I know amps get their max power at higher voltages //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[cobra65427289 10+ year member]

why spend the money on a bat cap when you can just get a second battery? a friend of mine is running 3kw and a stock alternator with an extra stinger battery. hard for him to get his lights to dim.

al

 

[pheat3980 10+ year member]

Get a Battery & have your alternator beefed up

 

[HONDA-2NR 10+ year member]

would a optima red top do the job or do i have to go yellow if im only going to be running the stereo from it?

 

[pheat3980 10+ year member]

I would go Yellow if you dont plan on getting a cap or alternator. Check into Stinger batteries too theyre a little more expensive but worth it.

 

[HONDA-2NR 10+ year member]

in my civic i have a aem alternater pulley installed. will that help because it is lighter which means the alternator can move faster?

 

[Diplexers 10+ year member]

Just get a used nuclear reactor from korea and it will give you plenty of juice. You may want to upgrade your life insurance since you will shortly die from the radiation.

 

[Alpine CDA-9815 10+ year member]

Nah you'll need an Optima Yellow Top, and then later on just beff up or get a bigger alternator.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

beef up the alternator first!!! actually...first upgrade the big three...then get a new HO alternator. All the extra battery does is just give an extra storage bank for power...it's only helpful when discharging a lot like in competitions...or when u play system a lot with the car off.

UPGRADE UR ALT!!!! http://www.excessiveamperage.com or check for nate's auctions on ebay. They extra yellow top batt. will create an extra load and make it harder for your alternator to charge both. Once your car is started, the alternator supplies the need electrical current any ways...and it provides it at 14.4v So, upgrade alt first...then extra batt if still needed. peace

NG

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Adding a second battery or a capacitor to 'beef up' your electrical system is an old wives tale, it doesn't work.

Adding a second battery in your trunk only helps when the engine is off, and adds an extra drain on the alternator when the engine is running. Ive run dual batts, with a dry cell in my trunk on the last couple cars/stereos I had. I did it mainly for off-engine playing time, a distribution point in the trunk... and well cause it looked cool. *shrug* It wont do much else for you.

A capacitor is a not well understood piece of hardware. A capacitor is a relatively small capacity storage unit, with very fast discharge/recharge rate. It holds much less energy than a car battery, but it dispenses and recharges it much faster than a car battery as well. What this means is, when your amplifier draws an extreme amount of current very rapidly, say for a large bass hit, the battery has the energy capable to power the amp, but it just cant deliver it fast enough to keep up with the transient demands of the amp. This is where a cap comes in. It fills in the peaks where the battery cant keep up.

The problem with these two items is, ultimately they do not create power, they only hold it and dispense it. An alternator is the key to maintaining proper voltage, as it creates the energy. If your alternator is too small to keep up with the energy demands of the stereo and all the other equipment on your car, a capacitor wont make up for that, and an extra battery will only delay the inevitable.

I recommend you upgrade (in this order) the battery under the hood (to an optima for example), upgrade your alternator, then consider adding a cap or 2nd batt if your needs meet the uses I described for them above.