Digital Capacitor Lanzar vs Stinger vs Tsunami vs FLi ?
You want a low ESR (ex. 0.015), low voltage (less than 18v) and the highest farad rating you can afford.
Keep in mind, capacitors can be used as an attempted bandaid fix, or as standard part of a well built system.
I personally went with Tsunami, but I'd also consider Stinger, but probably not Lanzar and never heard of FLi.
Here's a quick primer on how much power a capacitor can hold...
My capacitor is 18 farads, rated at 16V. That's 1.125 farads per volt.
A farad is 1 coulomb, which is 1 amp per second per volt.
My system draws (up to) 200A and the charging system is 14V.
When the bass hits, and my system voltage drops down 1 volt to 13V, the capacitor will release 1.125 amps into the electrical system. Enough to power things for about 1/200th of a second.
Hopefully just enough time for my alternator voltage regulator to react, and overcome the battery's internal resistance if the alternator is overpowered.
A cheap 2 farad capacitor rated at 20V, would only have have 0.1 amps to add to my system, lasting only 1/2000th of a second.
Keep in mind, capacitors can be used as an attempted bandaid fix, or as standard part of a well built system.
I personally went with Tsunami, but I'd also consider Stinger, but probably not Lanzar and never heard of FLi.
Here's a quick primer on how much power a capacitor can hold...
My capacitor is 18 farads, rated at 16V. That's 1.125 farads per volt.
A farad is 1 coulomb, which is 1 amp per second per volt.
My system draws (up to) 200A and the charging system is 14V.
When the bass hits, and my system voltage drops down 1 volt to 13V, the capacitor will release 1.125 amps into the electrical system. Enough to power things for about 1/200th of a second.
Hopefully just enough time for my alternator voltage regulator to react, and overcome the battery's internal resistance if the alternator is overpowered.
A cheap 2 farad capacitor rated at 20V, would only have have 0.1 amps to add to my system, lasting only 1/2000th of a second.
Last edited by andrewsfm; Oct 20, 2008 at 10:29 PM.
Although people say 1/2 farad for every 500W, that would result in extremely little performance.
Personally I say any number is too small, so just go with the biggest you can afford to spend on a capacitor in your overall system.
Tsunami has the best price ratio, and they're a good quality company.
The Stingers are great quality but very expensive.
I have a high output alternator, and run over 2000W on a 18F cap on 0AWG wiring and my headlights still dim, so don't expect any miracles.
Personally I say any number is too small, so just go with the biggest you can afford to spend on a capacitor in your overall system.
Tsunami has the best price ratio, and they're a good quality company.
The Stingers are great quality but very expensive.
I have a high output alternator, and run over 2000W on a 18F cap on 0AWG wiring and my headlights still dim, so don't expect any miracles.
A cap is a great tool in a sound system. But too often it's misused and people have the wrong expectations of a cap. For SPL a cap is a resistor in the power line. for an SQ system, it's a small capacity voltage stabilization device. Great for SQ builds using amps with unregulated power supplies.
As for how much capacitance you need. the correct answer is "You can never have enough" the lower the ESR the better.
FOr round 1 and 1.2 farad caps I doubt there is any difference in any of them since there are only a limited amount of companies that actually manufacture capacitors.
the old Tsunami square caps had a round cap in a square box to look different.
You'll never see a magazine do a "Which cap is best" Test. because then everyone would just buy the cheapest capacitos they can get their hands on.
As for how much capacitance you need. the correct answer is "You can never have enough" the lower the ESR the better.
FOr round 1 and 1.2 farad caps I doubt there is any difference in any of them since there are only a limited amount of companies that actually manufacture capacitors.
the old Tsunami square caps had a round cap in a square box to look different.
You'll never see a magazine do a "Which cap is best" Test. because then everyone would just buy the cheapest capacitos they can get their hands on.
50 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 384
Here's a quick primer on how much power a capacitor can hold...
My capacitor is 18 farads, rated at 16V. That's 1.125 farads per volt.
A farad is 1 coulomb, which is 1 amp per second per volt.
My system draws (up to) 200A and the charging system is 14V.
When the bass hits, and my system voltage drops down 1 volt to 13V, the capacitor will release 1.125 amps into the electrical system. Enough to power things for about 1/200th of a second.
Hopefully just enough time for my alternator voltage regulator to react, and overcome the battery's internal resistance if the alternator is overpowered.
A cheap 2 farad capacitor rated at 20V, would only have have 0.1 amps to add to my system, lasting only 1/2000th of a second.
My capacitor is 18 farads, rated at 16V. That's 1.125 farads per volt.
A farad is 1 coulomb, which is 1 amp per second per volt.
My system draws (up to) 200A and the charging system is 14V.
When the bass hits, and my system voltage drops down 1 volt to 13V, the capacitor will release 1.125 amps into the electrical system. Enough to power things for about 1/200th of a second.
Hopefully just enough time for my alternator voltage regulator to react, and overcome the battery's internal resistance if the alternator is overpowered.
A cheap 2 farad capacitor rated at 20V, would only have have 0.1 amps to add to my system, lasting only 1/2000th of a second.
Power=Voltage*amperage therefore the more voltage we have the less current is needed to make the same power.
E.g. 500watts=14.0v*35.71 amps or
500watts=13.0v*38.46amps.
It doesn't provide that extra amp of current. The amplifier simply doesn't need the extra current to make the same power if the voltage is higher.whether your amp is regulated or unregulated it doesn't matter it does the same for both. However it is true that the more help the system has the better. It is still best to get the biggest you can afford but the real solution is the biggest alternator you can afford.
