Im not a chemist to know WHY, or what specifically is going on. But most ppl I know who jumped on the hype train and converted large agm and or cap banks to lithium, lost on the meter. Lithium is weird, it will deliver its amperage burst, but will still drop. Anyone that chases tenths will know that 5k clean at 14v will meter louder than 5k at 11.5v.
I tested a limitless 15ah, supposedly good for 3k on stock alt, vs a group 31 deka agm. The deka was stronger, clamped more power, and metered higher. That 15ah stopped making clean, usable power for me around the 2k mark.
A teamate of mine went from 80ah JY plus 6 banks of caps, to 160ah of lith only. He lost 1 full db on the meter.
Adam Dukes told me at finals that when he went from a huge agm to lithium bank, he lost. He is now converting to a massive cap bank.
As a burp guy, id personally prefer 1 bank of caps per every 1-2k clamped. The downside of agm is space. I like about 50ah per 1k, for virtually no drop. So clamping 5k for example, thats 2-3 g31's already.
Caps and agm would be my preferred combo for a smaller setup. Caps and lith for larger. The caps should be wired in after the battery.
I dont know the chemistry reasons. I just know what loses and what doesnt, and i know what the loud people at finals were doing
Ok, first thing, these companies that give the blanket statement of Xah is good for X wattage, never pay attention to that.
We need to know xC to xVoltage and if possible for xDuration as well.
I've done many tests with the cells we have here and have seen NOTHING out there that can beat them spec-wise.
Of course these cells are wide open, non-enclosed which will effect higher C rate.. that's why i'm looking into a new type of casing.
The example of 80ah + caps to just larger lithium is a given..
THERE WILL BE NO BATTERY ON THIS PLANET THAT WILL BE BETTER THAN ULTRACAPACITORS.
Because of the design, they cannot be beat. However, they have 0.1% reserve capacity but for burps or short durational use, they are king.
Adam Dukes example- I dont know his from to then bank.. but if he lost going to lithium.. then he didnt size the bank right. If he went off of the "Wattage" suggestion.. then that's clear reason why.
From a DIY point of view as of right now, Lithium is cheaper than the good AGM batteries are and perform better.
Perform better means they produce X amperage while holding a voltage higher than AGM.
IF you have ever tested lithium on a STATIC load and the voltage is slowly falling, then those cells are TERRIBLE for car audio.
Our cells hold voltage and will only start to fall once capacity is below 20%.
I have tested lithium now for 3 years before i finally stopped and stuck with these.
I'm sure if you test some REAL bad ones like prismatics, you'd get the feeling agm is better.
It's all a matter of sizing the bank right.