Do i really need a Capacitator?

[Pineapple 10+ year member]

what exactly does a capacitator do?

from what my friend tells me, a Cap stores energy so that you can run your system a little bit longer without your car dying, when you have the car engine off. is this correct?

since i dont turn on my system when the the engine is off, do i really need one? does having a Cap offer any other advantages? is it better if i have a cap?

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[Acidburn 5,000+ posts]

nope, dont waste your money on one

 

[SPL140.2 5,000+ posts]

X2! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[Savstyle 10+ year member]

not worth the money. whats up man want that XXX or what?

 

[Pineapple 10+ year member]

nah, its ok. i got a really good deal on a JL 500/1 and a JL 12w6v2, but thanks for the offer tho!

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

Your friend is yet another uninformed person speading lies about car audio out there. A cap stores energy, yes, but it lets it go in a TINY fraction of a second. So, it would let you run your system for like 1/100th of a second after you turn your car off //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

 

[Savstyle 10+ year member]

its all good u got a good sub there

 

[80INCHES 5,000+ posts]

Buy A Battery No Caps They ****

80

 

[bean 10+ year member]

Wow! I can't believe what I'm hearing...... A cap is totally necessary. A cap opposes negative voltage swings in your car. Example.... Your driving and you flip on your A/C or your headlights. That causes a change in the car's voltage right? Yes, a cap compensates for those voltage changes so your amp doesn't suffer and performs at what it's capable of despite these dips in voltage..

That's the short answer. Your friend is wrong on why but you should get one.

 

[LoudCrownVic 5,000+ posts]

A cap is okay- I wouldn't spend more than $40 on one though. They help, a little bit... However, you need 4 to 6 caps to equal the voltage stabilizing ability of one battery. I like to install a cap myself because I like metal, and that little boost a cap gives helps with the kickdrum snap. At least I think so. And is cheaper (if bought used like mine) than an extra battery and lighter. Plus, mine has cool blue leds! (sarcasam!)

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

a cap should be the last thing you do to upgrade an electrical system. if you have a big enough alternator and big 3 upgrade, there shouldn't be a significant change in voltage when flipping on a/c if you got a decent electrical system. what a cap will come in handy is when you already have an upgraded electrical system the alt. can't release current instantly. there is like a 1 second delay. that is when a cap comes in handy. it can release that current instantly for a second before the alt. kicks in. then the cap draws current from the electrical system to store up. how can a cap help your system when it is drawing current from your electrical system, along with your amp, to store up?

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

Wow! I can't believe what I'm hearing...... A cap is totally necessary. A cap opposes negative voltage swings in your car. Example.... Your driving and you flip on your A/C or your headlights. That causes a change in the car's voltage right? Yes, a cap compensates for those voltage changes so your amp doesn't suffer and performs at what it's capable of despite these dips in voltage..That's the short answer. Your friend is wrong on why but you should get one.

a cap only slows down your dimming and if the rest of your electrical isnt up to par then doesnt really matter anyway. most amps produced now already have the capacitance they need built in anyway.

 

[Echo42987 10+ year member]

Well guys you have to figure he isn't going to go out and buy a whole new battery. So I would recomend one to you for sure if you don't want your lights to flicker like crazy. It does help in many areas are arn't a complete waste of money. They help prevent dimming, etc. So yeah I would recomend one to you if you were having problems with lighting and such. But if not then don't bother, you won't need one. Also Don't play your system with you car off, not good to just drain the power from the battery.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

a good real low resistance full capacity cap costs 50-80 depending on if its a half farad or 1 farrad . for a tad bit more i can do the big 3 andget my alt beefed up...that will do alot more than a cap for about 110 bucks (mines an older gm so its cheap though)

 

[Pineapple 10+ year member]

ok, from what you guys told me, the majority says i really dont need a capacitor for my system. so ill be just fine without one, as long as i dont turn on my system when the engine is off correct?