I'd like to add a 2 farad cap into my setup and dump the 1 farad stinger.
What type of specs are important when it comes to buying a cap?

thx

My question would be how do you know you should replace it and put in a 2F cap if you are unaware of what the differance would be?

because
with my beefed up alternator, 1ga. battery ground and 1 farad capacitor. i'm not confident that when i add another big amp to the setup that i will have enough reserve to keep my headlights from virtually flickering on and off when the bass kicks. and more importantly, enough reserve to feed the amps stable voltage.

when i do add the next amp i'll be running about a 2000-2500 rms setup.

I would complete your wiring.. (Big 3)

1. Run a 4 or 0GA direct from the ALT to the battery with a Fise in line (prolly 250-300 amp)

2. Run a 0GA ground from your Alternator bracket to the chassis of the Car - shortest distance possible.

After performing these steps Monitor your voltage right at the Amp with the car running, and don't rely on the voltage gauge on a digital capacitor, use an actual multimeter. You wanna stay above 12 volts.. most cars are 13.8+ when running.

With 2500 rms setup your draw will be up in the 200 to 250Amp range.. I suggest a second battery, specifically designed for high current non vented applications. Run a 0GA direct from the front battery to the back battery, then 4 or 0GA diret from that battery to your amp - shorter the distance the better.

And scrap the idea about the Capacitor if your looking to do SPL.

[ November 02, 2004, 12:50 PM: Message edited by: Rockney ]

rockney,
thanks for the advice. i'll take it into account when i sort out my system later this month. i'm not going for spl though. my system is setup for a mix of both sq and spl. at least that's what i'm trying to accomplish.

i was thinking when u look for a cap make sure it has the lowest distortion possible ---> i would step it up a little to 3 farads and run 0 gauge wire -------> if u have a little extra money instead of the cap get a better battery or ALT good luck

I also do tech support for StreetWires as well and the rule of thump for us is 1 farad for every 500 watts.

ESR < .001 ohm

Anything higher isn't worth installing...

I would recommend adding a second 1F cap instead of using a single 2F.

look for high damping factor, and a good lossless conversion ratio. Be sure that it can create an inductive field >200omhs at +/- 100vrms. umm, yeah...
Go with what Haunz said. Match it to what you already have. cheaper, with the same net outcome.

Lowest distortion? :confused:


Also you must have a electrical system to support the current draw of your amps. Adding another cap will be counter productive.

A 500 watt per cap is a great rule of thumb, but extrememly costly and not needed. I use a 1F cap in my system with 1300 watts RMS. I have zero problems with head lights. I also have great transient response. [img]graemlins/dunno.gif[/img]