capacitor or 2nd battery
 

I am not sure If I should buy a 1 Farad Capacitor or a 2nd battery for my car audio.

Here's my car info:

2003 Honda Civic
1 Year old Energizer Battery - CCA = 500

(MTX X500D) Mono Amp 500 watts for 2 10" Kappa Subs 102.7W
(MTX TC4004) 4 Channel Amp 1200 watts

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First Person's Views:
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Someone told me to get a capacitor, it stores energy and will give a better deeper bass and will provide current when amps really need it. It will save my car from dim lights, etc.

2nd Person's Views:
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Another person told me, Amps always need power. When amp needs current, it will suck the capacitor dry in less than one second, leaving capacitor to use battery to charge up again. Once the capacitor is charged, that extra current can then be transferred onto the amp. Once capacitor is discharged, the vicious cycle continues. Capacitors are known in the car audio community as a marketing ploy to make people think they need something, when in reality, they really don’t. Take your money and invest it in a second battery. A capacitor these days runs between $50-$80. Add a few more dollars and you can get a second battery, which will supply your amplifier with much more power than a capacitor ever could, while not straining your electrical system.


So now I am confused. If I should get a capacitor or 2nd battery? :S
Can anyone please straighten this out?

Thank you
Rey

your system isn't too powerful, so the extra battery ISN'T a nessesity, unless you plan on getting mroe powerful amp. i would suggest a cap for sure.

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they have a 1.2 farad cap for around $70 shipped to your door. you cant go wrong with that price. and its super small and easy to tuck away for a steath look.

rey you haven't stated a problem with your ride, if there isn't a problem nothing needs fixing.
I am leaning towards 'person 2's' point of view if there is power loss though.

get 2 capacitors

bigger alt and big 3 done. should solve it

person 2 is closer to the truth, however if a lack of current is your problem the real solution is a more powerful aternator. The alternator produces power(in this case were interested in current)the battery only stores this power, if you need more you need a stronger alternator and the big 3 upgrade as stated by dannyman. I wouldn't worry too much about a cap I would invest in a better battery like a yellow top optima instead of your energinzer battery. As previously stated you do not have that much power now and extra batteries(which by the way is a very large slow release cap)are a waste of money.

I would try replacing the battery you currently have with one that is more suited for your application. Try an optima yellow top or another battery that is similar. stock replacement batteries aren't designed to meet the electrical load demands of any audio system.

Many people run caps (including myself) for other reasons than the "power reserve" function. There is a long cap thread where I posted some information from someone much more versed in this area than I am. You should go read it.

I have done the "big 3" and added a second battery. I was going to upgrade the alt but the location makes it too expensive right now (3hrs labour).

I am currently seeing between 14.06 and 14.13 at the cap which is hooked up to the rear battery.

Sure, the rear battery is just an "extra" load on the alt when the car is running, but it makes a big difference (not just when the car is off). I believe what I see, and I have ZERO dimming even when all acc. on the car are running (05 Escrape).

Now, Ford makes pretty good alts and mine is 130 or 140 factory and in good shape but charging 2 batteries may take some life off it, who knows. When it dies, then I'll go to H/O.

John

P.S. I had a TC4004, you wont be seeing 1200 RMS out of it :)

In cars like your's, we like to cram a bigger battery into the factory spot. We call it buggary! With a bigger battery, you can have a bigger reserve. It's not the same as twobatteries, but it sounds like it could help your situation.

as stated above, you haven't listed a problem :dunno:
if it's dimming lights, do the free stuff before wasting your money on anything.
you aren't running enough power to worry about an extra battery or HO alt.

Check all your connections, (grounds, power wires)
are you running the proper gauge wire to the amps?
check voltage at distro block.

if all that checks out perfect, I'd then do the big three.

oh yeah, if your gains are way too friggen high, that will cause issues too, but we don't know what your actual issues are...so maybe the two caps suggestion is good?