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Subwoofer + Amp, do i need a new battery?

r33skylinegtst

By r33skylinegtst,
in Car Audio & Electrical

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r33skylinegtst Mentor

r33skylinegtst

Posted
Posted

I recently purchased a 12" boxed Jensen sub and Coustic amp off a mate for a decent price, and im getting it installed next weekend, but seeing as i know nothing about these things, i figured i should ask about the battery.

I had an Orion one or something in, but it died shortly after i got the car so NRMA put some small cheapish ($120) thing in it's place. With the amp drawing extra power will i need a bigger battery? or will it be fine? Thanks for the help, like i said i have no idea :)

  • 3 weeks later...
Fhrx Rising Star

Fhrx

Posted
Posted

Forget the cap as they're a bandaid fix for a larger issue. If you're going to fork out the money for a cap then instead, get yourself a quality deep cycle battery like an Optima D34.

That said though, you should not need any power storage upgrades with only one amplifier on board. :thumbsup:

Mick Mentor

Mick

Posted
Posted

no i would go for the cap, there is no use getting a battery of any sort, you wont gain anything out of it, but you will gain with a cap .. ive never heard of a cap as a bandaid fix before,every decent system has one or two. He will get more of a benifit in using a cap than a battery, thats just plain obvious.

Jay95R33 Grand Master

Jay95R33

Posted
Posted

Just be sure not to skimp on the power wires for the amp.

Keep the power leads as short as possible (sometimes a bit hard) and run THICK power cables. The longer the cables are then the thicker you have to go to make sure theres the least voltage drop. And make sure the negative cable is just as thick as the positive, and ground it very well.

If you find that the voltage across the amp is still dropping when turning it up then it's time for a new battery or inspect your alternator (that's if your really keen).

Saying that, it looks like your not going to running massive amounts of power, but still best to do a decent job of it.

J

raz0r$harP.UK Grand Master

raz0r$harP.UK

Posted
Posted
no i would go for the cap, there is no use getting a battery of any sort, you wont gain anything out of it, but you will gain with a cap

Not necessarily true. If he's running a small battery there's probably reason to upgrade to a high-capacity deep-cycle one down the track.

I agree with Marty and always_me if he's running one amp he shouldn't be running into any problems. But some other things he could consider:

- thicker battery grounding wire

- thicker alternator grounding wire

Vijay

Fhrx Rising Star

Fhrx

Posted
Posted
no i would go for the cap, there is no use getting a battery of any sort, you wont gain anything out of it, but you will gain with a cap .. ive never heard of a cap as a bandaid fix before,every decent system has one or two. He will get more of a benifit in using a cap than a battery, thats just plain obvious.

With all due respect Mick what you have written there is totally incorrect. I'm not sure where you're getting your information from but please review it.

We've done literally thousands of systems over the past twenty years and never have they needed a cap with the exception of dedicated SPL competition vehicles.

Don't just take my word for it though, ask on forums such as Car Audio Australia, Aus Car Audio or go to some of the US forums such as Carsound.com and point them to this thread. :)

Mick Mentor

Mick

Posted
Posted

Im just saying for what he has got that he would get more benifit using a cap than a battery, take into account that the skyline has there battery in the boot also so you should only need 4gauge for the power wire also ..

Idealy a battery and a cap would be good, but if were up to me i would go for a cap. But you shouls ring around a few big sould places and get there opinions, tell them what your got and see what they recommend ..

Im sure you would agree that for what he has got that neither is realy necasary

djhatton Proficient

djhatton

Posted
Posted

mick. get your facts right cos its clear you are basing your opinions on second hand observations and not actual experience. you're providing incorrect information so, again, don't take offense, but get it right before you post.

' target='_blank'>http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/sh...r+bandaid[/url]

http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/sh...pacitor+install

http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/sh...pacitor+install

http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/sh...pacitor+install

http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/sh...pacitor+install

check these threads out from CAA. most of the information you'll find on them will be just about spot on.

i'd only ever put a cap in my system as decoration. they aren't a magical fix for a poor charging and electrical system.

upgrade your wiring (particularly your earth) and run the largest positive cable(s) you can to your amps to minimise voltage drop over the length of the cable.

if you're only looking at a relatively small upgrade in the audio side of things, look towards one of the "larger" ac delco sealed batteries. they're significantly cheaper than an optima/oddysey/orbital etc etc and if you've only got a basic system, would be ample. from memory, i found a 650cca delco with very decent reserve times for $150-200ish.

and forget the cap... really....

d

sliksilvia Community Regular

sliksilvia

Posted
Posted

dude your a tool,

do your really no what your talkin about or have you just seen a few custom installs with ricey caps in them?

caps are for looks and a pretty much useless

like Fhrx (marty) said spend that money on a Optima Yellow top well worth it, but i dont think you'll need to upgrade batterys with a single amp,

im with Fhrx on this one he knows his stuff ! (happy customer)

sliksilvia Community Regular

sliksilvia

Posted
Posted
no i would go for the cap, there is no use getting a battery of any sort, you wont gain anything out of it, but you will gain with a cap .. ive never heard of a cap as a bandaid fix before,every decent system has one or two. He will get more of a benifit in using a cap than a battery, thats just plain obvious.

Mick your a tool,

do your really no what your talkin about or have you just seen a few custom installs with ricey caps in them?

caps are for looks and a pretty much useless

like Fhrx (marty) said spend that money on a Optima Yellow top well worth it, but i dont think you'll need to upgrade batterys with a single amp,

im with Fhrx on this one, he knows his stuff hes been in the industry for years and if i had the money i would be sending my car to him for ALL car audio work!

you my friend are a Sales Person's best friend for a nice comission bonus :)

Mick Mentor

Mick

Posted
Posted

DJHATTON - I can see where your comming from, i posted what i said because i found it to be useful in my system, i have one and im happy with it. So i base what i said on my own personal experience.

SIKSILVIA

your the tool, do you even know what a cap is used for and what exactly it does..

Your just goin by what others said, you dont know squat. I like it how you felt the need to mention Fhrx's real name just so that i would know that you know him.. hahah.. So .. Fhrx knows about car audio, not you ...

Unless you have put a cap in your car and tried it, then why are you even putting your 2cents in ..

Speaking about a tool, that would be someone that browses through a skyline board that drives a silvia..

Fhrx Rising Star

Fhrx

Posted
Posted

Guys, take it easy and all calm down. :(

Mick, while trying to sound as modest as possible, many people know me as I've been in the industry a long time and have made many friends.

Now this being a public discussion forum, we're all free to put our points of view down. Mick, you say systems should have caps. I say they are very rarely needed for systems. There is nothing at all wrong with us disagreeing in our opinions. This is what a public forum is all about. We should be wise and mature enough to disagree and still continue on with our discussion. The fact that Sliksilvia agrees with me is fine and should not intimidate you like it seems to. Others would disagree with my sedimates as you do. This is also quite acceptable.

So how about we dispense with the name calling and keep the discussion on topic fellas? :( Now what is everyone elses opinio on the cap debate?

sliksilvia Community Regular

sliksilvia

Posted
Posted
DJHATTON - I can see where your comming from, i posted what i said because i found it to be useful in my system, i have one and im happy with it. So i base what i said on my own personal experience.

SIKSILVIA

your the tool, do you even know what a cap is used for and what exactly it does..  

Your just goin by what others said, you dont know squat. I like it how you felt the need to mention Fhrx's real name just so that i would know that you know him.. hahah.. So ..  Fhrx knows about car audio, not you ...

Unless you have put a cap in your car and tried it, then why are you even putting your 2cents in ..

Speaking about a tool, that would be someone that browses through a skyline board that drives a silvia..

Mick just for the record my user names sliksilvia NOT siksilvia,

and yes I have used a cap in my system before as I have had voltage problems and it did sweet **** all (stinger 2 Farad not a cheapo), i then went down the path of gettin a better battery not only did it fix voltage drops in my car stereo system but my enitre electrical system was better, ie constantly high voltage on electonics in car aswell as my car turned over easyier and quick with a new battery plus i can listen to my stereo longer without gettin a flat battery, so before you go posting rubish make sure you yourself know what your on about, rather then giving mis leading advice

as for browsing skyline forums even tho i own a silvia what does that matter? im chassing skyline brakes for my silvia so wouldnt it be wise to look on a skyline forum? I just hate lookin at the car audio forums when there ppl like you giving wrong and miss leading information, just face it mate you bought a cap for the wrong reason thinking its great because you've seen one in a glossy magazine or because it looks "cool"

Thankyou

:(

r33skylinegtst Mentor

r33skylinegtst

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Whoa, didn't think this would get as out of hand as it has.

Had a few friends look over my battery, and they came to the conclusion that it was a 'defectable item' because the battery wasn't a dry cell and was sitting exposed in the boot with no case or anything.

So i went to battery world and had a chat to them, ended up getting an Optima battery installed, was going to go for a cheaper oddysee but it wouldn't fit. Apparently it's a 600 crank and a dry cell/deep cycle (i don't know much about these things). Anyways, the car turns over nicely and i don't have to worry about the battery going flat if i leave the stereo on to long.

Cheers for the advice though, keep it civil though :P

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