Second Battery or Capacitor?

[Unregistered]

I'm upgrading my system to an American Legacy 4ch 1000 watt amp, and two Volfenhag 1000 watt subs. I'm looking at two ways to get more power, so I don't burn up my alternator, or kill my battery. Would buying a 1 farad cap work or do I need to go higher? Also, how hard is it to hook up a second battery? My last resort would be to buy a 180 amp alternator.

Click to read more...

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

i would go w/ the larger alternator....its the safest way to go...a capaciter isnt going to do much for a larger amp....all it does is provide limited amounts of power for short burst of music(basicly keeps your lights from dimming) and running 2 batteries wouldnt be advisable unless you upgrade the rest of your charging system....so good luck....

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by Goddyd4me i would go w/ the larger alternator....its the safest way to go...a capaciter isnt going to do much for a larger amp....all it does is provide limited amounts of power for short burst of music(basicly keeps your lights from dimming) and running 2 batteries wouldnt be advisable unless you upgrade the rest of your charging system....so good luck....

You da man //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif yep what he said. Two batteries unless you have the h/o alt to support them would only put more of a strain on your already strained electrical system. Check around locally and see if you can get your alt rewound. It's usually the cheapest option.

 

[diabolik 10+ year member]

I am a fan of the two battery setup. I was running a kenwood amp with a long battery cable(9 ft) going to it. The sub was a JL w6 12' and the amp would kick out at 1/3 volume. I put the second battery in a custom built storage case in the trunk with the amp mounted on it. The power cables where two feet long. The amp had the power to run the sub and it hasen't kick out yet. More direct power is better.

Work them hard, play them loud, juice it to the max, If it frys it ain't no good.

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

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

the way your doing it you'd have to re charge your batt. every so often...so i suppose if you dont mind having to do that then its a great way to go....good luck

 

[MxRacerCam 10+ year member]

Originally posted by Unregistered I'm upgrading my system to an American Legacy 4ch 1000 watt amp, and two Volfenhag 1000 watt subs. I'm looking at two ways to get more power, so I don't burn up my alternator, or kill my battery. Would buying a 1 farad cap work or do I need to go higher? Also, how hard is it to hook up a second battery? My last resort would be to buy a 180 amp alternator.

i'd spend the money on a more efficient amp. nice class d or something. a cap will do you no good. the alternator would help, but i think the money would be better spent on the amp.

 

[DangerousD]

i agree, a new altenator would definetely help, but if u want a loud and crisp system, u should definetely get a better amp than that. in my opinion the most important part of a system is the amplifier. if your amp sucks, watevery u have hooked up to it will to. I'm in the same position and im probably gonna build a custom box for the battery somewhere in my spare tire hole and hide my amps under there. so i would go wit da battery.