capping on caps

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

Just to help people understand the significance of those graphs nG posted. It's important to keep in mind the time span of that graph. The entire timespan from T1 to T3, in almost all cases, is 1 second or less.

So if you think it's worth the money to buy a cap which will help your battery for a fraction of a second, go ahead and buy one. Most people just don't consider them worth of the price.

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

Just to help people understand the significance of those graphs nG posted. It's important to keep in mind the time span of that graph. The entire timespan from T1 to T3, in almost all cases, is 1 second or less.
So if you think it's worth the money to buy a cap which will help your battery for a fraction of a second, go ahead and buy one. Most people just don't consider them worth of the price.

the timespan is always misunderstood, or not considered.....thus creating issues

 

[22mountaineer 10+ year member]

If you have one laying around (for free) and dont have a beefy system then use it. Yes they do help, do they help all the way, not in most cases. Do they do anything, yes.

As we are saying, dont spend the money on a cap buy a batt or HO alt...

Say you have a bass note that goes on for 5 seconds, after 1 sec all your stuff is ran down, with a cap you might get to 2 sec and its still ran down with the same problem.

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

If you have one laying around (for free) and dont have a beefy system then use it. Yes they do help, do they help all the way, not in most cases. Do they do anything, yes.
As we are saying, dont spend the money on a cap buy a batt or HO alt...

Say you have a bass note that goes on for 5 seconds, after 1 sec all your stuff is ran down, with a cap you might get to 2 sec and its still ran down with the same problem.

the span is much shorter than 1 sec or 2 sec.....it is almost instantaneous, and as soon as the cap is drained, it becomes a load on the charging system thus amplifying the problem

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

the timespan is always misunderstood, or not considered.....thus creating issues

Exactly. Misinformation is the primary selling point for capacitors.

I tell somebody, "Your capacitor only works for a fraction of a second", and they come back with "Look here on the box, it says it has a 5 second discharge time", but what they don't understand is that your cap is never completely discharged. It is only discharged to a point where it's voltage is lower than that of the battery. Which is most cases is only about 10% of the full discharge time.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

0.5 amp*seconds per Farad. That's the usuable storage of the "perfect" cap. Reality limits it to less than that.

Your lights still dim with the cap, BTW. Because the cap turns the instant dimming into a (very) slightly more gradual decrease in brightness and then also dampens the return to normal voltage as it charges it appears to your eyes that the dimming is gone. In reality its still there and actually a bit worse.

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

Wire it to your headlights if you're worried about them dimming.

 

[BassAddictJ 5,000+ posts]

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nG

well done sir

 

[deadmonster 10+ year member]

wow thanks again guys i learned a lot. so i had my bat and alt checked and they said they r good. so what do u all recommend? i have 1 12 900rms cadence sub pushed by a phoenix gold 600rms amp in a honda prelude. i don't have a amp 4 my mids and highs yet but i plan on getting one.

 

[donpisto 5,000+ posts]

600w is not going to dim your lights much, if any at all. I have an '01 Accord and get no dimming at considerably loud volumes with 1,000w. However, I do have some slight upgrades to my electrical. The number one thing that I'm sure many others will agree with me on is to do the Big 3. It is the cheapest route and very effective. Doing the Big 3, you can see if you still get dimming. If your lights dim, and if it is faintly and light back up instantly (not taking a while to get back to normal brightness), then you don't have to worry about anything.

Next step for the power you plan to feed after the big 3 is a better battery under the hood. You have lots to choose from nowadays and some, but not all include (and in no particular order): Odyssey, Kinetik, Powermaster, Northstar, Optima...again, there are several others, but the are some brands to consider.

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

600w is not going to dim your lights much, if any at all. I have an '01 Accord and get no dimming at considerably loud volumes with 1,000w. However, I do have some slight upgrades to my electrical. The number one thing that I'm sure many others will agree with me on is to do the Big 3. It is the cheapest route and very effective. Doing the Big 3, you can see if you still get dimming. If your lights dim, and if it is faintly and light back up instantly (not taking a while to get back to normal brightness), then you don't have to worry about anything.
Next step for the power you plan to feed after the big 3 is a better battery under the hood. You have lots to choose from nowadays and some, but not all include (and in no particular order): Odyssey, Kinetik, Powermaster, Northstar, Optima...again, there are several others, but the are some brands to consider.

some say batt before alt, but i am the opposite!! Most of the time i use my stereo is when driving, and the better battery will not help between 12.5 and 15 volt, which is where voltage should be with the engine running. people argue go in order cheapest to expensive with electrical upgrades, but as i have mostly engine on stereo time, i say big 3, alt, batt...

 

[donpisto 5,000+ posts]

I would agree with big 3, alt, and battery as well if going with a setup that requires much more power, but in this case an alt is not needed and I would go with the battery before the alt, but really, I don't think even an upgraded battery is needed.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

some say batt before alt, but i am the opposite!! Most of the time i use my stereo is when driving, and the better battery will not help between 12.5 and 15 volt, which is where voltage should be with the engine running. people argue go in order cheapest to expensive with electrical upgrades, but as i have mostly engine on stereo time, i say big 3, alt, batt...

You misunderstand the intention of people saying to upgrade the batt. Batteries sulfate over time, increasing their internal resistance. This resistance is present in the circuit even when the alternator has raised system voltage to 14volts or more. And obviously, more resistance in the circuit is not a good thing.

 

[stuckinok 5,000+ posts]

He should try the big three first then see what happens since the big 3 is the cheapest and one of the best upgrades you can do.

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

You misunderstand the intention of people saying to upgrade the batt. Batteries sulfate over time, increasing their internal resistance. This resistance is present in the circuit even when the alternator has raised system voltage to 14volts or more. And obviously, more resistance in the circuit is not a good thing.

that does not mean you need an UPGRADE...simply means replacement! and i agree that any excess resistance present is not good