opinions vary
some like them, some dont.
my opinion is that after you have 6 1 farad caps, you have roughly the same size as a battery. so why not just get the second battery.
they are easier to install and have the cool "bling" going for it. what is the reason for needing one?
headlights dim? some if not all on a regular setup can be corrected by simply upgrading the power and ground cables to the car. and from the alternator to the battery. 4ga and up is usually good.
so i say upgrade your battery, alternator and cables before i would ever consider getting another cap. my current setup doesnt have one. but i do have 3 batteries and 2 alternators.
some like them, some dont.
my opinion is that after you have 6 1 farad caps, you have roughly the same size as a battery. so why not just get the second battery.
they are easier to install and have the cool "bling" going for it. what is the reason for needing one?
headlights dim? some if not all on a regular setup can be corrected by simply upgrading the power and ground cables to the car. and from the alternator to the battery. 4ga and up is usually good.
so i say upgrade your battery, alternator and cables before i would ever consider getting another cap. my current setup doesnt have one. but i do have 3 batteries and 2 alternators.
Caps aren't for when your alt can't provide enough power. They're there when the alt can provide enough power, they just give you slightly better sound is all. In the end, you're just putting more strain on the alt. Just a waste of money. 
The "Big 3" or wiring upgrade is only for when you have upgraded your alt or your old wiring is becoming worn out.
Batteries are mostly for running the system when the car is off, when it's on, not only does the alt have to provide power for the audio equipment, but it also has to constantly charge any additional batteries. The only real use of batteries is for competition vehicles which won't be able to get the necessary amperage any other way.
The "Big 3" or wiring upgrade is only for when you have upgraded your alt or your old wiring is becoming worn out.
Batteries are mostly for running the system when the car is off, when it's on, not only does the alt have to provide power for the audio equipment, but it also has to constantly charge any additional batteries. The only real use of batteries is for competition vehicles which won't be able to get the necessary amperage any other way.
Jexx said:
The big 3 is not just for when you upgrade the alt or when the stock wiring is going bad. The stock wiring is absolutely terrible on most cars. I haven't seen a setup yet that hasn't been aided by upgrading the big 3, in fact it completely fixed the dimming headlights on mine and my friends cars (and my car was 2 years old at the time, the stock wiring was in great shape).
The stock wiring i've seen in most cars is undersized,and in newer car's it seems to be even worse!
Ever see the headlight wires on new cars? They're usually like 18gauge,IMHO,not large enough,for a 55/65W lightbulb,considering the wires are probably 30 feet long, and strung halfway around the car before they go to thier relay or switch,no wonder they get warm.
Likewise with the battery and alternator wiring alot of the time.
10/12 gauge wire is not gonna cut it between the alternator and battery,especialy if it's long..far too much loss IMHO, -this can actually be a real problem with some (internally regulated/one-wire) alternators,because they use the voltage at the "Batt" terminal on the alt's rear as the reference for the internal regulator. If the voltages differ from too much resistance in the wire your battery is always gonna be undercharged.
Anything over say, 0.5V difference needs attention! -(heavier wire!)
The alternator I just replaced in my old car ('67 Chevy) was a 37A externally regulated beast (marginal,at best. The heater blower fan motor is fused at 50A stock. ) ,and I upgraded to a 63A internally regulated one-wire setup. The new alternator came with some paperwork (and a neat graph of the factory tests,power output curves,etc,etc the whole 9-yards! This one exceeds the 63A mark by a fair margin!) and *explicitly* mentioned that you MUST check the voltage drop across the various wiring to ensure the proper regulation,and battery charge condition.
They suggested to make sure the _total_ (for both + and - sides of the circuit,check those ground straps,etc!)voltage drop between alt terminal/case,and battery terminals was below 0.25V. with the headlights on.
My already "upgraded" wiring and ground straps that I had in place *Just barely* met this requirement...I'll need some more upgrades before I put any of the amplifiers into the car. (like an even larger alternator,for one.)
I know some newer cars can be picky about this aswell.
Proper wiring is important!
Ever see the headlight wires on new cars? They're usually like 18gauge,IMHO,not large enough,for a 55/65W lightbulb,considering the wires are probably 30 feet long, and strung halfway around the car before they go to thier relay or switch,no wonder they get warm.
Likewise with the battery and alternator wiring alot of the time.
10/12 gauge wire is not gonna cut it between the alternator and battery,especialy if it's long..far too much loss IMHO, -this can actually be a real problem with some (internally regulated/one-wire) alternators,because they use the voltage at the "Batt" terminal on the alt's rear as the reference for the internal regulator. If the voltages differ from too much resistance in the wire your battery is always gonna be undercharged.
Anything over say, 0.5V difference needs attention! -(heavier wire!)
The alternator I just replaced in my old car ('67 Chevy) was a 37A externally regulated beast (marginal,at best. The heater blower fan motor is fused at 50A stock.
) ,and I upgraded to a 63A internally regulated one-wire setup. The new alternator came with some paperwork (and a neat graph of the factory tests,power output curves,etc,etc the whole 9-yards! This one exceeds the 63A mark by a fair margin!) and *explicitly* mentioned that you MUST check the voltage drop across the various wiring to ensure the proper regulation,and battery charge condition.They suggested to make sure the _total_ (for both + and - sides of the circuit,check those ground straps,etc!)voltage drop between alt terminal/case,and battery terminals was below 0.25V. with the headlights on.
My already "upgraded" wiring and ground straps that I had in place *Just barely* met this requirement...I'll need some more upgrades before I put any of the amplifiers into the car. (like an even larger alternator,for one.)
I know some newer cars can be picky about this aswell.
Proper wiring is important!
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