I want to get the most out of my amp. Output specs are quite a bit different at 14.4vdc input than 12.6v that my car produces. I am getting ready to re-do my stereo using the same gear that I have listed below with the addition of 2 more amps(Orion 2150GX and Gen1 HCCA 225), one for mid’s and the other tweets, plus 2-3way active crossovers.
Currently I am running stock HU and cabin speakers with a line level inverter tapping into the rear deck. From there it feeds into an AudioControl EQX, Orion 2350GX, to 2-15" kicker L7's. Power to the trunk is 4ga wire from battery to 140amp breaker(under hood) then to the dist. blocks in trunk, 2 caps(1farad & .5farad, I think) on to amp. All my gear is old school and power hungry.
I am currently shopping around for a new battery, high output alternator, 0ga. pwr. wire, and anything else I will need to give my amps a rigid power feed. Any suggestions on brand, performance, and setup would be greatly appreciated.
Currently I am running stock HU and cabin speakers with a line level inverter tapping into the rear deck. From there it feeds into an AudioControl EQX, Orion 2350GX, to 2-15" kicker L7's. Power to the trunk is 4ga wire from battery to 140amp breaker(under hood) then to the dist. blocks in trunk, 2 caps(1farad & .5farad, I think) on to amp. All my gear is old school and power hungry.
I am currently shopping around for a new battery, high output alternator, 0ga. pwr. wire, and anything else I will need to give my amps a rigid power feed. Any suggestions on brand, performance, and setup would be greatly appreciated.
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strong batts...good copper wire...caps dont really help unless u have major voltage drop. from what i seen.
I have been out of the car audio scene for about 10yrs. so I may not be as up to speed on new battery tech. but even a brand new batt makes 12.5 to 13.5v so even with two batts won't I still have less than 14.4?_ or do you wire them up to 24v and step it down with a regulator or something?_ please excuse my ignorance if this is a dumb question.
The alternator is what you need. The wiring will help reduce the voltage drop. The battery will offer no help at 12.6 or above and will actually be an additional load on the alternator above 12.6v.
caps, and even batteries will only keep the power smoother/cleaner, but they do not actually "give" power, and caps are actually real small amount for their size. to actually get the power/voltage, you need to have an alternator that can supply it. you can even run an alt up to 16v, but you have to be mindfull of your battery upper charge limits. my stock 165a alt. keeps me at 15.5v, and i never drop below 14 pulling over 100amps continuous. you should not be dropping to battery voltage, save for short spurts for demo/competition reasons, but daily should be run at charging voltage. don't get me wrong, though, a good battery does help out with the system, but it is not the solution for not feeding enough juice from the alt. my current choice of battery is the x2power, but there are many good brands, like xspower, dekka, and i'm not sure about the current durability of optima, but the do put out nicely.
Why would you go to all that trouble. cars are the worst place to install a high quality audio system all that glass all them reflections and resonances. And bass at that level will damage your hearing so you will not be able to tell the diffrence before to long anyways .. Imoh turning down the volume is the best way to stop supply droop.
because, we want to...'nuff said. and, you can get some quite impressive results without damaging your hearing, if you tune it so the higher frequencies are not so loud, and, when you want more, they sell theese handy-dandy things that fall in the category of "hearing protection" usually keep a few canal caps, ear plugs, etc floating around in the vehicles with larger systems....... and i get my hearing checked anually at my job, so i know there is no damage, even over the years, still "perfect"
Maybe I have other issues with my car, even with a new 1050cca Interstate battery I still dimm my headlights to the beat. I do run my system hard on a daily basis for 30-45 min at a time commuting 2x daily, only turned down at red lights. (I actually hate being that guy, sittin' at the red light windows down, system up) As for my hearing, It's just fine.
Any suggestions on battery brands, or alternators. I have heard that some alternaters over rate, or achieve claimed numbers at high RPM not at idle or near it.
Any suggestions on battery brands, or alternators. I have heard that some alternaters over rate, or achieve claimed numbers at high RPM not at idle or near it.
It's not common for an alternator to be able to produce rated current at idle.
A new alternator isn't guaranteed to stop the dimming. There is a bit of regulator lag in most alternators that will cause dimming at the beginning of a point in the music where there is a lot of current draw. If the alternator is capable of producing the required current, the dimming will be brief. If it's not capable of supplying the required current, the lights will remain dim until the current draw decreases.
To eliminate the headlight dimming, you may need to go to HID headlights, run two alternators (one for the system, the other for the vehicle's electronics) or put the headlights on a regulator.
A new alternator isn't guaranteed to stop the dimming. There is a bit of regulator lag in most alternators that will cause dimming at the beginning of a point in the music where there is a lot of current draw. If the alternator is capable of producing the required current, the dimming will be brief. If it's not capable of supplying the required current, the lights will remain dim until the current draw decreases.
To eliminate the headlight dimming, you may need to go to HID headlights, run two alternators (one for the system, the other for the vehicle's electronics) or put the headlights on a regulator.
There are several SPL type companies that make adjustable output voltage alternators. I see even some SQ installs run two electrical systems. One for the car's main electrical and then a higher voltage one for audio. Its not too hard to do.
Its a car, the technology hasn't changed and neither has the physics.
Figure out what the PEAK load is on your system - the worst case scenario. From that, calculate the current draw on the system to meet that peak load. Get a battery capable of delivering this peak load and place it as close as possible to the amp(s). From here on, this is the battery for your system - the factory battery is just to run the car (even if they are connected together).
The + cable from your existing battery to the slave battery is only a part of the issue. Yyou also need to DRAMATICALLY increase the size of the cable run from the batteries to the B+ output terminal of the alternator. While you are at it, run a mo-fo earthing cable to the amps and between the batteries and the alternator as well - each circuit has two sides remember...
Still got a problem? Time to up the output of the alternator. Not voltage output - current. Additional volts is useless without current capability, and additional voltage brings its own agro, so focus on current capability.
Fit a small diameter pulley to the alternator to have it reach maximum charging output at lower engine RPM.
Measure voltages and currents before and after each change - I think you will be surprised at the results...
Figure out what the PEAK load is on your system - the worst case scenario. From that, calculate the current draw on the system to meet that peak load. Get a battery capable of delivering this peak load and place it as close as possible to the amp(s). From here on, this is the battery for your system - the factory battery is just to run the car (even if they are connected together).
The + cable from your existing battery to the slave battery is only a part of the issue. Yyou also need to DRAMATICALLY increase the size of the cable run from the batteries to the B+ output terminal of the alternator. While you are at it, run a mo-fo earthing cable to the amps and between the batteries and the alternator as well - each circuit has two sides remember...
Still got a problem? Time to up the output of the alternator. Not voltage output - current. Additional volts is useless without current capability, and additional voltage brings its own agro, so focus on current capability.
Fit a small diameter pulley to the alternator to have it reach maximum charging output at lower engine RPM.
Measure voltages and currents before and after each change - I think you will be surprised at the results...
dimming is due to voltage drop, probably from what alternator can give, to battery voltage (I hope you have voltmeter so you can check that). Again, even if you would have 10 batteries you would have voltage drop, just slower... only solution if big alternator (if your system is crazy big, even more then one). DC power, mechman alternators and such have those kinda alts (and smaller)
Sweet a topic I can refer to. When upgrading your alternator make sure the battery cable doesn't go to the start to the alternator. I had that problem with my buick...had to buy a bunch of more wire. Was a pain.. still id recommend a cap due to amps are known to fk up cars electrical system in the long run. My current w/o my alt is 12.3 w my alt its 14.4. My lights do dim a little...but w 4000watts being used in a 95buick...I expected it to happen. But its not that noticeable so I'm happy.
I would not waste my money on a cap they are worthless in my opinion..
Ive seen alot of people using caps and ive also seen the caps do more harm then good..
If i were you i would save my money and buy a good battery and some pure copper wire do the big 3 and you should be fine..
Ive also have sen people run multiple strands of power and ground wires from the front to the back when they have an extra battery/batteries
Ive seen alot of people using caps and ive also seen the caps do more harm then good..
If i were you i would save my money and buy a good battery and some pure copper wire do the big 3 and you should be fine..
Ive also have sen people run multiple strands of power and ground wires from the front to the back when they have an extra battery/batteries
How the hell did a cap do harm -.-'
Anyways.
Multiple grounds is a good idea, you can never cause harm by doing that..My big 3 upgrade basically goes like this...I got a 0 gauge *welding cable* going from the positive battery to the starter, then I got a (2 sets of) 4 gauge going from the starter to the alternator *The 0 gauge was too big* Then I got the alternator to the engine block as a 0 gauge, then 3 sets of ground wire going from my battery, 1 0gauge to the chassis, and 2 4 gauge from ground to the chassis. I also have a 0 gauge wire going from the engine block to the chassis.
(Welding cable is considerably cheap...and is actually a true 0 gauge...The 0 gauge flex wire costs $1.40 a foot.)
Any type of mechanic would recommend running a cap or adding another battery. Any type of system will fk up your electrical system regardless of how good your alternator is...thus is why there is caps and extra sets of batteries are recommended for any type of system over 1,000 watt. 1,000 watt = 1 farad.. Having more farads than need...is never a bad thing.
A 220 amp with the 0 gauge ultra flex welding cable.
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The subs I'm trying to blow.....not doing well at all...stupid subs. lol
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Cars you have alot to learn about car audio..
And the second thing is why do u have to use the F-word in your posts
I dont appericate reading a thread with the f-word used everytime u post..
Ive had alot of different systems in my life and also have seen alot of systems and caps were never used just multiple alt's and multiple batteries..
And the second thing is why do u have to use the F-word in your posts
I dont appericate reading a thread with the f-word used everytime u post..
Ive had alot of different systems in my life and also have seen alot of systems and caps were never used just multiple alt's and multiple batteries..
I understand that completly and no im not trying to pick a fight with you not on here to post dump..
Everyone has there opinions and thats fine .. not everyone will agree with eachother..
In my opinion i wouldnt use a cap i would use a good battery like a BATCAP
Ive alwyas had good luck with them ...
Since i ran optima's and my voltage went from 14.8 down to 11.5 ..
I then upgraded to 2 batcap 4000's a high ouput alt and 0 guage wire and havent had a problem my voltage doesnt drop below 13.8 volts
Everyone has there opinions and thats fine .. not everyone will agree with eachother..
In my opinion i wouldnt use a cap i would use a good battery like a BATCAP
Ive alwyas had good luck with them ...
Since i ran optima's and my voltage went from 14.8 down to 11.5 ..
I then upgraded to 2 batcap 4000's a high ouput alt and 0 guage wire and havent had a problem my voltage doesnt drop below 13.8 volts
indeed, same here
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