The main problem you face here is with the draw on the alternator. What you want to do is improve voltage in an audio system, this way you will get better wattage and performance from your amps.

A cap will not supply this, neither will a battery, so I fail to see why you are being advised of that.

A capacitor simply stores what it is being fed, for those moments when you dont have the engine running or you want to stop the lights dimming (yes a cap will help toward stopping that) but, if you want to get the best results from your system NEITHER are important.

What's more important is that the RD1 has a crap low ampage electical system, this was resolved in the GK.

So that means a much higher amped alternator. No, not a bosch from pepboys (this will give a tiny improvement) but a specifically built alternator for audio applications. they run around $400 and up, depending on the ampage you want.

So yeah, a cap will help toward stopping your lights dimming, but, if you want the very best and max power output from your amps at a good current (over 13v) then you need a good strong alternator.

Someone is sending me a 4f cap, I intend to fit it, but I know for certain that it wont stop all my problems as my problems are that without the right ammount of voltage and ampage my amps wont be as powerful.

One of my amps is a Phoenix gold MPS2220, and, it's capable of .5ohms. The problem is, to put out that kind of power and run down to that ampage means SERIOUS drain on the electical system.

So my next step (if I ever find the money lmao.gif ) is to go with a pro audio alternator.

BTW, if youre going to relocate the battery make sure it's dry cell.. My system draws so hard on my battery that the battery gets hot and leaks.. That's bad enough under the hood, but you dont want it in your trunk, the fumes would be enough to make you pass out.

And the last thing, running a cap under the hood is like planting a bomb with a "go off when it will" timer.

Caps are dangerous animals, DO NOT put your fingers accross the pillars, you will learn how much power they store in amps. They are a very dangerous item when not checked regularly and must be treated with care.

Trust me, if one blows up in your trunk youll be picking bits out of the back of your head for months.. And putting it under the hood would for sure cause an explosion as the heat under there would soften the glue that holds on the ends.

HTH, if you need any more advice and help with this, come over to the team phoenix gold forum (www.soundbuggy.com) and ask for me, a good few PG and Exile and ETC engineers post there (including one of the head technicians for RF)

I just wanted to add. I run a complete 4awg system with 0 gauge ground and a 150 amp Xscorpion circuit breaker and a serious hotdog fuse.

Another piece of advise, those large fuses everyone puts under the hood? putting it there is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

The circuit breaker is supposed to reside within 12 inches of the battery and the fuse for the amps within 12 inches of the AMPS themselves.

Having it 13 feet away from the amps does NOTHING to protect your amps.

Edit : Here is an example.

This is a custom wound 200 amp alternator made by stinger.




And to show you what I am talking about.

Look at the rated output on my amplifer at 12.5v 18w x 2

Then look at it running into 2ohms with 14.4v being fed to it, See my point? with 14.4v of clean power the amp runs 150w RMS x 2 instead of 18w.

And when the amp is doing that (imagine how bad it is at 0.5 ohms?) it is drawing it's power from the battery which is getting it's power from your alternator.. If the alternator cannot cope and provide the battery then the battery cannot cope and provide the cap, the cap only stores what it is being fed and saves power for bursts.

Those (battery and cap) will not fix the problem, you NEED a good alternator.

Stock one is like 60 amp or so on the RD1 IIRC and around 100amp in the GK, those stingers are 200 amp.

And yeah, I know the amp manual says peak draw is 40 amp, but thats one amp.. I run 3 and one runs at 1ohm curently and will be going to .5 when I get my tangband 6x9s in the back shelf.

So at .5 ohm the PG MPS2220 will draw around 70 amps ALONE, forget the head unit, active XO, basscube, AND that zeropoint in this pic thats taking 40amps at peak power.

Doesnt leave much for halogen headlamps huh?



Oh, more information.

There are lots of types of amplifiers. Now if I cock this up someone please correct me politely, Im very tired and have had a total of about 8 hours of sleep all week.

Ok, some amps have regulated power supplies, like JL audio (if I get regulated and unregulated the wrong way round please correct me) which means that a 500.1 will only put out 500 watts at ANY impedance because it doesnt draw more than the power it was made to draw to increase it's output.

So, the spec on that will be

Max power mono @ 4 ohm - 500w RMS
Max power mono @ 2ohm - 500w RMS and so on, because the amp wont get more powerful on ohm drops and then draw more power to compensate.

However, if you look at the specs on my ZX250 (which does an 'unspecified' 600W RMS @ 2ohm mono, my solobaric was wired 2 ohm wink1.gif ) you will see that it can up it's wattage with more voltage being fed to it, it does this because the power supply is unregulated.

So, also look into how much power you subs need and then get amps that are regulated and check what ampage they draw at max power to stop you needing an alt.

Me? I like to really drive the shit out of things and squeeze every last drop of raw power lmao.gif Hence I need one of those alts and hate JL audio.

One last post, promise lmao.gif

Watch this video.

This is what happens when a capacitor turns it's toes up to the daisies.

Now this is a tiny one, imagine what would happen if a BIG car one did the same thing?

As I said, you would be picking pieces of it out of the back of your head lmao.gif


owned.gif

 

you will be pulling more draw then the manufacturer recommends. It's always safer to get a bigger alternator. Ask phorq about the bigger alternators. My cap stops my lights from dimming, but i'm running a 1400w class D amplifier, which is the most efficient type of amp and can only be used for bass. If you run a class A or class AB (the 2 available for midrange) you will have a heck of alot more draw. my deck has a 280W class AB amp for mids.



Without talking too much electronics jargin, try to find a class AB amplifier for your midrange. and a class D for your subs. It will be the most electrically efficient setup and you shouldn't need an alternator with the goals you're after. Call the company if you're unsure. Also they will make recommendations for you.

 

ok, a bigger alternator is kind of a new one that i havent been looking into. My setup isnt going to be that huge, but i dont consider it to be just an entry level thing either.

i did a search for stinger, and there site is very incomplete. i'm still searching, but can any of you give me some ideas of what i'd be looking for? alternators is not somethign i've been looking into upgrading, so my knowledge on them isnt that great.

another thing is do they make bigger ones for our cars, or do i have to get some kind of kit to make it/them work?


and on the amps, the 2 4250 are class d amps, rated at 250 watts rms @ 2 ohms @ 12.5v. However they are also MTX, so they are very under-rated, and iirc, the slip that came with them had 1 at 375 watts rms and the other around 360.

the other 2 amps, i'm not to sure about. to be honest, the 6152 i just have laying around, and the only reason i'm getting the alpine is because it's the only amp i can find that is dolby digitial and has an optical input. (if someone else knows of one, PLEASE TELL ME!)

now, on the exploding caps, i googled for stuff like that, and didnt find any case where one exploded in a car setup. I'm not saying it couldnt happen, but that's not something i'm too worried about. i do still plan on getting one, whether i upgrade other stuff or not. also, i thought a cap was to supply a steady voltage of 14.4 volts (or whatever it's being fed), and when your bass really hits, rather then take that extra from the battery, it discharges the capacitor, then recharges for it to happen again. so while i dont see that being a way to solve the problem, i do see it has a way to "fix" it.


one more thing drivingtibnaked, i know this might not be the place to get into all the electronic details, however i'm extremely interested. i dont know alot about cars (or mainly there electrical systems) but i'm going to school (just started this year) for electrical engineering, and this is the one thing i'm not too knowledgeable in. so if your up to trying to explain some stuff, feel free wink1.gif