Should I need a cap????

[kickerlivinloud 10+ year member]

Hey all do I need a cap or should a just save the money and get a otima yellow top or other good battery????

I should be running....

RE XXX 12"

JBL BP1200 amp

Pioneer Premier DEH-P660 HU

all stinger wire

Stock 100 amp alt.

I was thinking about getting a Boss 3 fraud cap but i have heard people say that caps are worthless?? Is this true or is not or what????

Jon

Click to read more...

 

[xjmadness 10+ year member]

yes its true. don't waste your money on a cap

 

[InhumanAcura 5,000+ posts]

Im going to have to disagree, ive hooked up caps and thought there wasnt a difference. Then for one odd reason or another my system wasnt as loud as it was. Turns out the cap came disconnected. Hooked it back up and it was loud again.

I wont say they are worthless, but they arent worth what you pay for a brand name one.

A while back i went and upgraded to a yellow top and didnt hear a difference. However when i went from a 110 amp alt. to a 200 i noticed a world of difference. When i added the isolator and 2 more yellows it got even better.

To sum it up dont waste your money on the small solutions just buy the alternator.

 

[Sharp_Shoota 10+ year member]

I baught a cap and noticed no difference at all.

But then again it does look pretty cool. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[kickerlivinloud 10+ year member]

yeah but I can't afford to have a cap that just looks good. Were would I find alt's???? My car will be a 91 Buick Century. It has a 100 amp alt and I was told that it would be sufficent. Would it... being pun off a JBL BP1200??? How much of an upgrade wouild I need and how much would it cost???? I don't know were to look ot get a new atl upgrade. the best one i found was a 105 amp for $200. No since wasting the money for 5 amps...

Any help would be appreceated

Jon

 

[birsling 10+ year member]

Check a seller on ebay. MotorCity Reman. Has an ebay store and sells a lot of new and remans. Supposed to be pretty reliable. Read his feedback

 

[tommyk90 5,000+ posts]

Hmm, i have a 90 amp alt and a hifonics bx1500d and only have a little dimming while the system is running and the headlights are on. Other than that it's fine most of the time. I'd put the system all together first, then see if you even need a new alternator.

Don't bother with the cap.

 

[88k5blazer 10+ year member]

I use a cap cuz when i didnt my headlights dimmed after an hour of hard music. But i still have the stock amp alt so.. But i deff wouldnt pay alot for a brand name cap just get a new off brand one off ebay. And they do look pretty clean

 

[xjmadness 10+ year member]

caps don't do **** to help the system

and there's tests to prove it. case closed

 

[InhumanAcura 5,000+ posts]

Okay, Zen master of the capacitor, show me these tests you speak of...........

 

[tommyk90 5,000+ posts]

Okay, Zen master of the capacitor, show me these tests you speak of...........

There is actually many MANY different opinions on caps and if they do/don't work.

It's all really opinion and experience. I just don't like them.

 

[InhumanAcura 5,000+ posts]

Fair enough, this guy wanted someones advise, and this guys saying there worthless, well back it up with your personal experience or a "supposed article" still waiting on that by the way. i would never buy another one again but saying they are worthless and not backing it up, thats ignorant.

They arent worth what you pay for them.

Kickerlivinloud, i hope that bickering aside your question was answered.

 

[xjmadness 10+ year member]

give me a minute and i'll find the tests. i don't live on this computer like some

 

[xjmadness 10+ year member]

http://www.welcometotheden.8k.com/caraudio/Captest.pdf

performed by richard clark

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

It makes perfectly good sense if you consider the law of conservation of energy.

If in one case your charging system is powering the car's electronics and the stereo system -

And in another case it's the car, the stereo, and charging a cap - the voltage is going to decrease - it HAS to - maybe only slightly, but it does.

Another thing I found interesting is this:

One note I might add is that this was a two thousand watt system driven right to clipping and the average voltage stayed above 12.8 with a stock 80 amp alternator.Under these conditions the battery would never discharge!