Upgrade?

[roudabout6]

I am running everything stock on my Chevy cobalt electrical wise. I just t step the voltage going to my amp and after 5mins with the gains set high it was still reading a solid 14.47. Does this mean I could potentially upgrade to a bigger amp. When I get off work today I'm going to check how many amps my alternator puts.

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[roudabout6]

Also I had everything hooked up but I unplugged the rcas to my 4 channel and the speaker wire to my mono. Is that okay to test like that?

 

[caraudiochris]

I am not sure I understand what you are asking. Are you wanting to know if you can run a larger amplifier? You really don't need to test at all, the math should give you the answers for this. What amplifiers do you have now and what is the stock amperage output of your alternator?

 

[roudabout6]

I am asking if I can run a higher Watt amp. I have not tested the output of my alt I can when I get home.

 

[caraudiochris]

Wikipedia or Google would probably find you an answer quicker than testing the car.

The real important question is, why do you need more power?

 

[roudabout6]

Okay but why not more power. Unless you won't be able to tell a difference between 2000w rms and 2500 or 3000

 

[caraudiochris]

the majority of people need almost double power to hear the difference in sound. Double power gains you 3db and 3db is the theoretical rating for double volume. There are other factors though that can change that depending on circumstance.

now I looked it up and your car has a 130 amp alternator. Quick math at 12 volts tells me: 130a x 12volts = that at max capacity your car is capable of making 1560 watts of power

Now sure you can do that at 130 x 14 and get 1820 watts but lets be more realistic.

the other thing is honestly how much does your ECU need to run, and your ignition system, and your A/C, and your radio, and your headlights... blah blah blah.

So to answer your original question? I don't know, but why do you really need 2000-3000 watts of power?

What is the real reason you ask this question? Do you want more output? Do you want better sound?

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

Okay but why not more power. Unless you won't be able to tell a difference between 2000w rms and 2500 or 3000

It's how you apply that power that you'll notice a difference.. What are you planning to do with 3000w? You would need to add more subs or get beefier subs. which also means you need to upgrade your electrical. New alt, batteries, and thicker wire. and don't set your gains all high like that. Set it properly with the DMM method. Look it up on youtube.

 

[roudabout6]

If I could upgrade my amp I wound be getting a soundqubed 2200 with two Sundown x12s would that be a notice difference over two American bass xfl 12s? Also I set the gain high to see if it would cause a voltage drop on the amp

 

[roudabout6]

the majority of people need almost double power to hear the difference in sound. Double power gains you 3db and 3db is the theoretical rating for double volume. There are other factors though that can change that depending on circumstance.
now I looked it up and your car has a 130 amp alternator. Quick math at 12 volts tells me: 130a x 12volts = that at max capacity your car is capable of making 1560 watts of power

Now sure you can do that at 130 x 14 and get 1820 watts but lets be more realistic.

the other thing is honestly how much does your ECU need to run, and your ignition system, and your A/C, and your radio, and your headlights... blah blah blah.

So to answer your original question? I don't know, but why do you really need 2000-3000 watts of power?

What is the real reason you ask this question? Do you want more output? Do you want better sound?

To answer your question I want my system to sound louder bass wise. I want the loudest I can get on a stock alt. I will be getting another battery but not a new alt because I do leave for college next year and want to be able to transfer my car audio stuff from car to car. I have a custom box tuned to 32hz that fits 2 12in. So what is the loudest I can get

 

[caraudiochris]

was the box designed especially for the subs you have?

Have you done any sound deadening in your vehicle to stop loss through vibration?

Where is the placement of you box now?

I am sorry to answer your questions with questions but there are just too many factors to determine which is the best without knowing these things.

Now as I said your stock electrical system is only capable of 1500-1800 watts if your alternator only supplied your amp and nothing else was on, so I don't think adding power would be the correct solution to your challenge at hand.

 

[roudabout6]

Yes my box was designed for the subs I have it is facing forward face the engine and my truck is sealed off with my amp and 0 Guage behind the sub box I have not done any sound deadening yet I plan on doing the trunk and all the doors if it is cheap enough

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

To answer your question I want my system to sound louder bass wise. I want the loudest I can get on a stock alt. I will be getting another battery but not a new alt because I do leave for college next year and want to be able to transfer my car audio stuff from car to car. I have a custom box tuned to 32hz that fits 2 12in. So what is the loudest I can get

Ok I'm gonna give it to you straight. There's two ways you can get louder: Either more cone area or more power. Going with bigger woofers like 15's in a bigger box will automatically get you way louder with the same amp. That's the cheaper route. Adding a bigger amp means you need the extra power to back it up. Even with 130a alternator, you can only go so much before you have to upgrade. You can try getting a 2nd battery, which will help but it just depends. Most likely you're gonna need a battery bank to even run the SQ2200 amp. The difference in swapping subs might be minuscule at best unless you add double the power. If you decide to upgrade amp, find the biggest battery you can and still be prepared to buy more if need be. There's no way in hell you're gonna run 3000w on stock alternator without a big battery bank. Really though, the cheapest way to get louder is to utilize all the space in your truck you can. If you can't fit 15's, then you're stuck. You can possibly build a 4th order bandpass to get louder with your 12's but that also takes up a lot of space. Make sure you get your big 3 done and run 1/0 ga OFC to get the most out of your amp.

BTW just because you set your gains high on your current amp, doesn't mean you'll know how it'll react on a bigger amp.

 

[roudabout6]

Okay well I can't go any bigger box wise or subs wise I need some trunk space. I would only like to get one battery and I already have big three and 0 gauge running so am I stuck for now what I have?

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

Okay well I can't go any bigger box wise or subs wise I need some trunk space. I would only like to get one battery and I already have big three and 0 gauge running so am I stuck for now what I have?

Pretty much. It's either you give up the trunk space for more bass.. or beef up your electrical to run a bigger amp. One other solution that could make you louder is to turn your subs facing forward and make a wall out of it. Seal off the edges so there's no leaking air. Then you fold your seats down to let the bass in. Making a new box could also get you louder. Like higher tuning, bigger volume box, or using a big 6" aeroport instead of slot port.

What amp do you currently have?