Upgrading electrical System

[ninjatek 10+ year member]

I plan on upgrading my alternator. Im aware of the benefit/necessity of the upgrade. Im hoping to get a 200+ amp alty. On top of this, I also need to upgrade the battery and add a cap.

The big 3 was done by the car's previous owner. When he traded the car in to the dealer, he removed his dual yellow top batteries, but left the aftermarket wiring. He put in a cheapo battery. I am planning on upgrading the battery and am hoping to get away with using a single yellow top or something similar. I'm also planning on adding a capacitor. I know alot of people say I dont need one, but id rather be safe than sorry.

Basically, the car will be using power beyond stock usage for under body lights, and about 1000 watts rms of amplification.

For batteries, I am looking at the following but am oblivous as to what I need to be looking at for features.

yellow top

stinger (made for hondas)

For capacitors, I dont want to spend any more money than necessary. I have been told that 1 farad is enough for 1000rms. Ive also been told 1 farad is only good for 200-400rms. Id rather have one a bit bigger than necessary than one too small. To my understanding, the bigger I go the less strain over time the cap poses to my electrical system because it has more headroom before being drained and becoming useless. However, Ive read that the bigger the cap the more strain it poses to the electrical system when it is drained because it takes more to charge it back up... I am looking at the following. (i like the look of the stinger nitrous cap)

stinger 1 Farad Nitrous Cap ($150)

Boss 2 Farad Cap ($80)

Boss 3 Farad Cap ($140)

SPL 5 Farad Cap ($155)

Kole Audio 12 Farad Cap ($200)

SPL 15 Farad ($210)

Click to read more...

 

[jacka 10+ year member]

you probably dont need a cap. how big is your current alternator. 1000 rms isnt too bad.

 

[ninjatek 10+ year member]

you probably dont need a cap. how big is your current alternator. 1000 rms isnt too bad.

its a stock alt. im not sure how many amps it is... im googling that now.. i think its about 120-140. Previous owner said he had no problems with the alt running two yellow tops w/ a 2 farad cap pushing 1500rms...

 

[jacka 10+ year member]

its a stock alt. im not sure how many amps it is... im googling that now.. i think its about 120-140. Previous owner said he had no problems with the alt running two yellow tops w/ a 2 farad cap pushing 1500rms...

i bet, the cap probably isnt needed. nor is the extra battery unless you plan on running your system for extended periods with the engine off. I have a 120 amp stock alternator, cheap autolite battery, pushing about 1200 rms and i'm doing fine, no drops, no dimming. i think you'll be okay, you got the big 3 too.

 

[ninjatek 10+ year member]

well here is the thing... its a super cheap battery.

if the battery is charged up, i dont get any dimming. But if I go out driving and im listening at a fairly loud level with dynamic music, i start to get dimming after about 15-20 minutes and after an hour its pretty bad... im assuming there is no dimming at first because my battery has a full charge but it cant keep up after extended use...???

 

[wilzyx 5,000+ posts]

if your battery doesnt stay charged right now the cap is just going to make it worse. that adds one more component for your alty to charge

 

[ninjatek 10+ year member]

if your battery doesnt stay charged right now the cap is just going to make it worse. that adds one more component for your alty to charge

im aware of that... thats why i put the battery selection before the cap selection. thats why i asked if I should get a bigger cap, so that it will last longer before i needs to be recharged.

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

im aware of that... thats why i put the battery selection before the cap selection. thats why i asked if I should get a bigger cap, so that it will last longer before i needs to be recharged.

Your logic doesn't make sense.

You don't want the cap. If you are truely worrying about electrical problems upgrade the battery like you planned and then look in to a High output alternator.

 

[ninjatek 10+ year member]

Your logic doesn't make sense.You don't want the cap. If you are truely worrying about electrical problems upgrade the battery like you planned and then look in to a High output alternator.

im planning on both the battery and alternator. im going to get a cap too because i know they are effective for voltage bursts.

my question about batteries is if I should get the yellow top or the stinger....

 

[jacka 10+ year member]

cap will waste your money. right now, just upgrade to a decent battery. i cant say anything about the ones you mentioned cause i dont use deep cycle, but exide makes some good batteries. with the big 3, your new battery and stock alt should handle 1000 rms and then some.

 

[ninjatek 10+ year member]

cap will waste your money. right now, just upgrade to a decent battery. i cant say anything about the ones you mentioned cause i dont use deep cycle, but exide makes some good batteries. with the big 3, your new battery and stock alt should handle 1000 rms and then some.

well im definately getting the battery first. If it is effective, I might even add a second one before I do the cap. .......

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

well im definately getting the battery first. If it is effective, I might even add a second one before I do the cap. .......

Two batteries and a cap? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif Why do you want so much electricity? You're only going to be running 1000w rms. As other people have said already, a HO alt and a good battery will handle it just fine.

 

[ninjatek 10+ year member]

Two batteries and a cap? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif Why do you want so much electricity? You're only going to be running 1000w rms. As other people have said already, a HO alt and a good battery will handle it just fine.

im pondering that. either way, my initial question isnt getting dealt with... should i go for the stinger battery or the yellow top? can someone look at the specs and tell me which is best?

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

im pondering that. either way, my initial question isnt getting dealt with... should i go for the stinger battery or the yellow top? can someone look at the specs and tell me which is best?

What can you afford? get the Stinger. Actually. Get a kinetic.

 

[dleccord 5,000+ posts]

how about get yourself some nsb90s and some batcaps for your 1500watt stereo