Will I need to upgrade?

[Subst4nce 10+ year member]

Hey guys, I have a 98 Toyota Camry, not sure what the specs are on the alt or anything like that, but right now I'm currently running a 500/1 to my sub, and an Alpine MRP-F450 to my speakers, so thats almost 1,000 watts.

I haven't upgraded anything with my electrical yet, not even the big 3, but I just purchased an Alpine MRP M-850 from a member on this forum to replace my 500/1, so I will be pushing about 1300 watts total.

I know nothing about cars, and honestly even doing the big 3 scares me because this is my only mode of transportation right now and I cannot mess anything up. (And yes I do know how to do it properly I just don't trust myself dealing with the under the hood stuff. I'm more of a computer guy //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif )

Would I be safe just leaving my electrical 100% stock? Or will it do damage in the long run?

I just want my car to be reliable and run for a long time because I plan on getting a new car soon anyway so I don't want to put much more into this one.

What would you guys recommend?

Thanks.

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[macq32 10+ year member]

you should probably look at the draw of your amps. I know the alpine is 100 amp draw (50ampsx2) not sure about the JL. shouldnt go strictly by watts. For instance my fosgate powers 1500watts but has a 250 amp draw, which is huge.

The electrical needs to be able to support the draw. you will have much less of a draw im sure, check out what draw the JL pulls on your system. Also how many amps can your alt put out, if its 130+ I would probably grab a deep cell battery and see how it runs off that. Powermaster/kinitek/yellow top

edit: big 3, i dont know how you could reasonably mess up your car doing this, connect terminals to the right places and make sure they are secure, not sure if theres a ton more to it (always use loom when running through heated areas)

 

[DB_DRAG_SPL 10+ year member]

Those amps really arent that voltage hungry, you'll probably be fine stock.

 

[Subst4nce 10+ year member]

Thanks for your help guys. I'm just trying to make sure I can do this and not mess anything up... So should I attempt the big 3 and then if thatss not enough, get a new battery up front?

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

The fuses have no relation to the average draw of the amps. I'd be really surprised if your average draw is more than 10A with music.

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

I did the calculations for if you have a huge voltage drop! ( which u wont) and if the amp made 1000 watts (which most likely it will make closer to 800) and you'll only be pulling 83 amps through your battery cable. a more realistic calculation with no voltage drop and the amp making 800 watts shows you'll only be pulling 54 amps. so u should definietly be in the clear but if you wanted to upgrade I would do the Big 3 cause it is the most cost efficient, then if u still needed to upgrade again then a deep cycle battery, like a Optima Yellow top cause if you sell the car you can keep the yellow top for your next car and swap in the regular battery.

P.S. - clear out your inbox alittle so I can send you a message please.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

You're also assuming running the amps at full tilt on test tones which simply isn't the case. Real world current draw will be quite low. I'd address the grounds to reduce voltage drops on transients but otherwise you should be fine.

 

[Subst4nce 10+ year member]

Awesome, thanks a lot for your responses guys, I'm glad to see I won't have issues with this new amp. I will definitely consider the Big 3 whenever I get some time. Would you guys recommend a new battery up front before an additional in the rear?

P.s. Lakota I cleared my inbox, sorry was in class ;D.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

You shouldn't need to even upgrade the front battery unless it's old and about to die. Definitely don't need a second battery.

 

[Subst4nce 10+ year member]

Alright, awesome, thanks for all of your help guys //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Helo is dead on as usual, but another logical and simple way to look at it is -- how was it performing at 1000w? If you weren't seeing any significant headlight or dashlight dimming or noticing the car turn over slow in the morning after listening loud the previous evening it's highly unlikely 300w is going to require an upgrade.

About the only way you'd have any trouble is if your listening habits consist of blasting bass heavy music at almost every second you're in the car.