Alright here is what my system consists of so for in my work car.

Head Unit: Rockford Fosgate RFX-9420
Front Speakers: Ultimate T3 6.5" Components
Rear Speakers: Ultimate T3 6.5 Coaxles
Sub: Orion XTR 12" (Only one)
Amps: Sub Amp: Alpine T-707
Speaker amp: Visonik V4218

Im running a 90amp alternator and 4ga wire. My lights don't dim at all and I have had no issues with anything yet.

Opinions?
Or should I just throw in a 1 farad cap for the fun of it?

 

why would you do that
i would up the alt #1st

 

are 90 amp alternators standard for most cars, and if your going to upgrade what would it be to ?

 

For his application he doesn't require a bigger alternater.

Everyone has their own opinion's on caps. If you add a cap at this point it isn't going to hurt anything but you aren't going to hear any difference either. I don't have a cap in my car. That's all I'm going to say.

 

i run a cap for daily bumping and disconect it for spl comps

 

Factory alternaotor for my car is a 65am and I have a 90amp with upgraded power wires for the charging system aleady. It seems to run fine with no major voltage drops under normal use (keep in mind this is my work car!)

I guess if I find one for a good deal i'll grab it but if not i'll leave it be because it works very well as is. That and its one more thing to add to my amp rack

 

Discussions on capacitors always end up being an opinion battle; here's my opinion in the battle:

A Cap is like a reservoir, a stores additional amperage for when you need it. The system starts pumping and your amps are drawing hard, so the cap kicks in and gives you extra. However, at this point, the reservoir is no longer full, and has now also become a drain on the alternator; it is just another electrical componenet screaming 'Fill me up!'

Furthermore, A battery stores power and dumps it out as your system needs it. So a capacitor is redundant.

A person might be inclined to respond by saying that a battery still doesn't provide the stable voltage/amperage that a cap would. I have heard this argument and I question the validity of it. I personally do not know if the stability concerns are valid or not, or electrically proven. I do know that every amplifier has capacitors built-in for that very purpose of keeping the power on tap for when you need it.

When engineers design amps, they know how much current they will need to keep in the bank for the amp to run efficiently. And they design accordingly. A safe assumption for an engineer is that your car's electrical system will be running properly, and that the car will have the proper guage wires and proper power alternator to fuel the system. The engineers know what kind of demands the amp will have and the equip it with sufficient internal caps that will always be ready to provide - on the assumption that the the car's electrical system is up to snuff.

If the car's system is not up to snuff, the amp will not function properly and their is no way a designer can compensate for an insufficient install. An extra outboard cap will not help in an insufficient electrical system because if the wires can't handle the flow, they simply can't handle the flow and a cap won't help. Likewise, if an alternator isn't pushing out the juice, a cap won't encourage it to produce more juice.

My personal view:
Caps are a gimic. Amps have caps built in according to the needs of the amp. Placing more caps in the line won't help. The best help: Upgrade the big 3. Upgrade the battery. Upgrade the alternator. Leave the capacitor on the shelf and keep that money in your wallet.

 

IMO I dont like caps that much because they dont really add any power to your system. It s out that spike in current instead of it happening all at once. Seems like a good thing, but after your first bass thump the cap needs to be recharged. So if the next spike in current comes before its recharged your cars elec system not only has to power the next bass thump but also recharge the cap!! In other words i think it can bog down in extreme cases. It helps if your elec system is already health but it cant contribute power like an extra battery can.

But again I havent really heard that many before and after installs. Anyone know of a cases where it really helped?

 

Very good info posted...... thanx!

I think I am going to not run a cap because there is no real point from what it seems. That and I am not in th mood to redo my amp rack

 

Lol, "If it ain't broke don't fix it"

The big 3 is a much more worthy upgrade.