Capacitors worth the $$$?

[duckfart 10+ year member]

I just installed a viper 1200.1 on my Integra , I also have a 4 channel amp and I noticed my lights now dimmed . Are capacitors worth the extra $$$$? I really dont mind much the lights dimming. By getting a capacitors would I get better bass response?

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[iagrdshaka 5,000+ posts]

Nope

 

[Ignatowski 5,000+ posts]

hell no!

 

[tRiGgEr 5,000+ posts]

Caps are not meant to be used for your electrical system. If you have dimming you need to look for electrical upgrades.

Make sure you are running 1/0 guage power and ground wires. Upgrade your big 3. Buy a red top, or other deep cycle/dry cell battery. If the problem persists get a HO alt.

 

[singlesubsetup 10+ year member]

duck fart use a small motorcycle battery as your 2nd battery... I had a capkiller from kinetik and it worked great (but there pricey) http://www.kinetikpower.com/hc600.asp

I'm using a battery similar to this one http://www.batterystore.com/Odyssey/PC680MJ.htm

(and it's just as good as the kinetik same size and everything and it's 1/2 the price as the kinetik...

With the battery you don't have to worry about charging the cap and all that crap, plus a small 2nd battery is still better for you than a cap.

Good Luck

 

[tRiGgEr 5,000+ posts]

I'm running a 1200d. A second battery is not needed lol.

 

[singlesubsetup 10+ year member]

well an integra has a small alternator... (which is why he's having the headlight dimming)

It was mentioned before upgrade the big 3 wires to at least a 4 gauge, (go bigger just incase you decide to upgrade in the future to a larger amp)

** IF ** you still have dimming invest in a small 2nd battery *not* a cap. My little honda had dimming and now I can hammer it full tilt with heat, lights wipers on and I get no dimming... a small 2nd battery is more benificial than a cap ....

(hell after all 95 bucks for a little battery is cheaper than a large multi capacity "cap".)

 

[Tirefryr 10+ year member]

With the battery you don't have to worry about charging the cap and all that crap,

But you do have to worry about charging the second battery which will be another load on the alternator. Far more than that of the capacitor.

A second battery will do nothing but aid in engine-off playtime and possibly slightly higher voltage for a period of time.

 

[tRiGgEr 5,000+ posts]

well an integra has a small alternator... (which is why he's having the headlight dimming)

I have an 85ampIs it smaller than that?

 

[singlesubsetup 10+ year member]

85 amps is still a pretty small alternator to be sure, I would'nt worry about any repersussions about the battery being another load....

While tirefyr is correct about the load issue, in actuality it wont have any affect on your car stereo or electrical...

For instance, Steve meade (here is a link to his tahoe) http://www.sounddomain.com/ride/523384 has a 10k watt daily driver... He also has 2 h/0 alternators.... Those alternators CANNOT keep up with the amount of power his amps require... so what does he do??? Well he has 6 of these batteries http://www.batterystore.com/Odyssey/PC2150.htm

Bottom line batteries are better than caps, AND your alternator will not have any trouble keeping both front and rear battery charged. I have a 2nd battery in the rear and I bump it ALL the time, of my stock 70 amp alt. Trust me you'll be fine.

Go with a battery, you'll be glad u did

 

[PhatTonyDeMarco 5,000+ posts]

I just installed a viper 1200.1 on my Integra , I also have a 4 channel amp and I noticed my lights now dimmed . Are capacitors worth the extra $$$$? I really dont mind much the lights dimming. By getting a capacitors would I get better bass response?

As stated, the capacitor will not help you any.

But just because dimming does not bother you, it is affecting your electrical system. Those voltage drops will eventually kill your altenator, and could possibly kill your amp due to low voltage... At least do the Big Three and see what happens.

 

[krazeeboy 10+ year member]

i also have my viper d1200.1 running two alpine type Rs in my 1988 integra lol. hmmm no dimming whatsoever even when the engine is off and i turn it up full blast. i did not even do big 3 yet, planning on doing it this weekend with 1 gauge.

 

[tRiGgEr 5,000+ posts]

I know a second battery would be a better choice to run. But is it needed. After you upgrade your power/ground wire, big 3, and battery under the hood? nope, well normally.

 

[singlesubsetup 10+ year member]

always do the cheapest thing first.... upgrade your wire to at least 4 gauge and see what happens...

While the dimming may not be a problem for you it is a problem for your alternator (like ptd just said)

If you still see that your dimming then a small 2nd battery would be the least expensive way to go and is more benificial than a cap //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Tirefryr 10+ year member]

85 amps is still a pretty small alternator to be sure, I would'nt worry about any repersussions about the battery being another load....
While tirefyr is correct about the load issue, in actuality it wont have any affect on your car stereo or electrical...

For instance, Steve meade (here is a link to his tahoe) http://www.sounddomain.com/ride/523384 has a 10k watt daily driver... He also has 2 h/0 alternators.... Those alternators CANNOT keep up with the amount of power his amps require... so what does he do??? Well he has 6 of these batteries http://www.batterystore.com/Odyssey/PC2150.htm

Bottom line batteries are better than caps, AND your alternator will not have any trouble keeping both front and rear battery charged. I have a 2nd battery in the rear and I bump it ALL the time, of my stock 70 amp alt. Trust me you'll be fine.

Go with a battery, you'll be glad u did

Um, no. Obviously the dimming is cause by the voltage drop. The electrical system cannot keep up while the vehicle is running. Adding the extra battery(another load) will further compound this issue. The alt is already having problems supplying the proper voltage and current to the vehicle and it's accessories and adding another load will further degrade it. The extra battery will do nothing other than provide a possibility for a small increase in voltage after the alt gets past it's limit, but that's futile at best as it will not be getting charged by the alternator if it already cannot supply a high enough voltage to prevent dimming.

Do you think that Steve is actually using the system to it's full output potential while driving around bumping? Highly doubt it. Even if that were the case, he would spending quite a bit of time recahrging the batteries after driving. The music material will only pull a small amount of current from the amplifiers. They are not going to be operating at full tilt with max current draw the entire time.

The ONLY requirements for the battery is to provide the current and voltage to start the vehicle or to run accessories with the vehicle off. Once running, the battery is to be nothing more than another load (being charged by the alt). If you require an extra battery to make up for the loss of voltage due to a poor electrical system, it's only making it worse.