Impendence load & electrical strain

[MikeR. 10+ year member]

Did a search but couldn't find anything. This may sound stupid but I wanted to makes sure this was right.

Is it true that the the lower the impendence load you put on your amp, the greater the strain it puts on your cars electrical? Say for example, 1000w @1ohm vs 1000w @2ohms. Will the 1000w @2ohms put less strain on the electrical system, or does this not effect it at all?

Click to read more...

 

[GlocksRock 10+ year member]

I think that the overall current draw is what puts strain on your electrical system, not the impedance that the amp sees.

 

[x2o 10+ year member]

I think that the overall current draw is what puts strain on your electrical system, not the impedance that the amp sees.

Lower resistance though results in more heat which results in less efficiency which results in a higher current draw.

So in short, yes, lower ohm loads strain your electrical more.

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

lower impedance (resistance) allows the amp to draw more power.

i say yes, given the same amp @ 2 ohms will be less current pull than if it's 1 ohm.

 

[boomzilla 10+ year member]

I'm still learning but I believe it goes like this:

the lower the ohms, the less resistance, meaning more power, current, and heat; efficiency goes down.

the higher the ohms, the more resistance, meaning less power, current and heat, but the efficiency goes up.

but 1000w at 2 ohms would be better than 1000w at 1 ohm, .25 ohm, etc.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

The difference is going to depend on the amps in question. An efficient amp that does 1000w at 1 ohm compared to an inefficient amp the does 1000w at 2 ohms might well put less strain on the car's electrical.

With amps of similar efficiency, the difference is pretty close to negligible. Not something that you need to worry about. You're probably talking about a difference in total efficiency of less than 5%. In real world use that would amount to less than an amp of average current draw. Like I said, not something I'd even worry about.

 

[x2o 10+ year member]

The difference is going to depend on the amps in question. An efficient amp that does 1000w at 1 ohm compared to an inefficient amp the does 1000w at 2 ohms might well put less strain on the car's electrical.
With amps of similar efficiency, the difference is pretty close to negligible. Not something that you need to worry about. You're probably talking about a difference in total efficiency of less than 5%. In real world use that would amount to less than an amp of average current draw. Like I said, not something I'd even worry about.

Talking about it this way, I agree. I took what he said as running one amp a 1000w @ 1ohm, then dropping it to say .5ohm and setting the gain to 1000w.

 

[MikeR. 10+ year member]

Thanks for the help guys

Anymore info is greatly appreciated