I have no knowledge about this electrical stuff.

[wannabang 10+ year member]

Curious about higher watt systems and I was wondering what dangers there would be of running, say, 2000 watts on stock electrical, other than the lights dimming?

*alternator = 120 amps*

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[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

you could fry your electrical system the amp and or subs

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Early death for stock alt and battery, also big voltage drop to your amp can lead to clipping and damage to amps/subs.

Of course it totally depends on the gear and how you use it.

Say you were listening to normal music at reasonable volume and kept things within their limits it would probably be OK. I've done it before. Ideally you would have at least an extra battery.

 

[wannabang 10+ year member]

Early death for stock alt and battery, also big voltage drop to your amp can lead to clipping and damage to amps/subs.
Of course it totally depends on the gear and how you use it.

Say you were listening to normal music at reasonable volume and kept things within their limits it would probably be OK. I've done it before. Ideally you would have at least an extra battery.

so if i kept it at half-3/4 volume and upgraded the big 3 would I be pretty safe?

as far as equipment: i'm thinkin either 2 Fi BLs and a 2000 watt hifonics amp @ 1 ohm. if that's too sketchy than just 1 BL at 1300 watts @ 2 ohms. and if that's even a little far, than 2 RE Audio ***'s and a 1200 watt US Amp @ 1 ohm. Normally I keep the volume anywhere from 10-28 out of 50 just to give ya an idea.

I'm on a budget, hence the question, so at most I'll upgrade the big 3 if i have to, but i don't want to ruin anything, and my lights dim already, so i wasn't worried to much about that. Which option could I run and be pretty safe?

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

I'd run a lower powered system if the electrical is stock

 

[wannabang 10+ year member]

hispls,

how much wattage did you get away with on your stock electrical system?

So does lowering the volume level decrease the amount of power the amp uses?

I have a friend doing 1000w on stock electrical, so could I get away with 1300w @ 2 ohm (even though the amp puts out 2000w @ 1 ohm) with the big 3 upgrade, or should I go 1600w @ 1 ohm with the big 3 upgrade?

I just need this all explained to me. Obviously it will be safer with the lesser wattage, but does lowering the volume decrease the amount of power the amp draws? And when choosing the lesser wattage, should I look at what the amp can draw, or what it will be feeding the sub? (ie, is 1300 @ 2 ohm, when the amp puts out 2000 @ 1 ohm, less than 1600 @ 1 ohm, since the sub will only be taking in 1300?)

 

[Cruzer 10+ year member]

i have an aq1200@1ohm

and a component amp (only about 200watts max)

stock electrical, no big 3. lights dim so plan on doing big 3 soon

i tested it during the day(no lights), truck running, i had 14.4 volts constant, but i have 136 amp alt.

ya lowering volume probably takes less from everything, but just because ur head unit is at 20/50 doesnt mean its safe. if your pushing ur subs hard its still seeing most of the wattage and ur gonna have voltage drop.

i dont know much about it all because imo daily driver doesnt need more than 1200 watts, but maybe do big 3 and an extra battery? someone else who knows can chime in more

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Even if you lights don't dim.. Still may not be ideal. I just found out that I essentially killed the battery in my suburban from running maybe 700watts for like 6months. This is with a 140amp alternator as well.

 

[benzmansl65amg 10+ year member]

I have run 1600 watts on stock. Lights went off but it worked. I would recomend the big three and an alt and 2nd for 2kw+

 

[Cruzer 10+ year member]

Even if you lights don't dim.. Still may not be ideal. I just found out that I essentially killed the battery in my suburban from running maybe 700watts for like 6months. This is with a 140amp alternator as well.

i agree its not ideal, but ive had 900-1400 watts daily on my ride for over a year and not 1 problem. u might had a really crappy battery, but i find it hard to believe 700 watts hurt that battery

 

[DBBOOM 10+ year member]

2K on a STOCK electrical............? NO, unless you want to run around with an overworked alt and a battery that never has a full charge. Get a good second battery and do the Big 3. Then see what your voltage dips to.

 

[wannabang 10+ year member]

so it's safe to assume from what y'all just said, that even though the sub will only take 1300 @ 2 ohm from the amp, since it gives 2000 @ 1 ohm, that's what I need to pay attention to when determining which set-up will put more strain on the electrical system?

thanks a lot for all the input guys. I knew the big 3 would definitely have to be done, but I wanted to hear personal experiences about how much you got away with to give me an idea of what I may be safe with.

 

[chillin 10+ year member]

You are only drawing as much power as you are puuting out (efficiency being an issue). Basically if you are pushing 1300 with the amp, thats what you have to worry about, not 2000. But 1300 is still pushing it on stock electrical. Big 3 minimum. As far as turning your HU to only half way, that doesn't neccessarily mean much. If you set your gains with the stereo at half, you could be using all 1300 watts from the amp.

you said your lights already dim, what are you running for equipement now?

 

[wannabang 10+ year member]

You are only drawing as much power as you are puuting out (efficiency being an issue). Basically if you are pushing 1300 with the amp, thats what you have to worry about, not 2000. But 1300 is still pushing it on stock electrical. Big 3 minimum. As far as turning your HU to only half way, that doesn't neccessarily mean much. If you set your gains with the stereo at half, you could be using all 1300 watts from the amp.

you said your lights already dim, what are you running for equipement now?

actually i haven't noticed it happening anymore since i ditched the sealed box and put the gains and bass boost @ 0. JL 13w3, 500/1.

as to what you said: so it would be safest [of the 2 options] to do the 1 Fi BL @ 1300w @ 2 ohm with the big 3, medium volume, and gains at 0 (which is what they're at anyway)? ..besides, the amp comes with a bass knob, so I just gotta keep that down too and I should be fine.

 

[chillin 10+ year member]

Do the big 3, set the gains properly, and see what your voltage drops to. If it drops too much, you'll have to turn the volume down.