My speakers

[eflb55]

hm cool. It is amazing how much different a new head unit can make even with stock speakers. Don't get me wrong, stocks suck, but the head unit also sucks and blows. Everything will sound great with aftermarket speakers. Anyway, I'm running 110A and will most likely end up going to about 150A down the road. I think my alternator puts out like 90A if that. People are telling me to either get another alternator or reroute the one I have now. I really doubt I will be able to find another alternator out there. So out of the first 2 choices, whats the best price for the most power out of my alternator?

[funkstrong]

You might want to look into getting a capacitor if you are worried about your amps drawing too much. You can get them for fairly cheap and they prevent that "light dimming" effect you get when the bass hits sometimes.

[grimez]

Quick question, I need to know how much wire to get. I want to run it from headunit to amp under the passenger seat, then from the amp to the front components and the rear coaxials. If anyone has done this if you could just throw out a number for how many feet or meters I would need. Thanks :)

[eflb55]

I have never installed speakers but aren't there kits for that?

[mikeukrainetz]

I run 2 1000w 12's and a 1000w amp along with a new HU and stock 4 speakers and have no electrical draw problems. Provided my stuff isnt great (still sounds good) and probably runs 60% efficient.
If there were any problems I would buy a used alt from a pickup or just a specialized high amp unit.

[spkrman]

Originally Posted by 07WYarisRS

Few years back my parents bought a new 2002 Buick regal GS. Awesome car but the stock sound system sucked liked most OE units and the CD player skipped with every bump. So in 2004 they had it replaced

They had thier entire sound system replaced by a local audio shop.
New Blaupunkt HU and CD changer
4 new 2 way Blaupunkt speakers
At first it sounded great....

Within' a year the passenger front speaker started to rattle and both were replaced with the same class Pioneers. This last summer one rear deck speaker started to sound crunchy and the HU started to cut out. I replaced the rear deck speakers with Alpine and removed the CD changer that was constantly jamming up. The rear speaker vc was shorted out.
The HU seems ok but overall I've very disapointed in the quality of the basic Blaupunkt components.
I've used entry level JBL, Alpine and Pioneer for years with no problems. My parents sound system is rarely used and when it is it's not abused or played loud at all.

if you play em hard... they will blow :)

[spkrman]

Originally Posted by funkstrong

You might want to look into getting a capacitor if you are worried about your amps drawing too much. You can get them for fairly cheap and they prevent that "light dimming" effect you get when the bass hits sometimes.

A small battery is a much better option.. MUCH!

Even a little 12v lawn motor battery is a better way to go than a cap.

But a little note on caps... *please* fuse them.... *please*... I've seen a few caps go up in smoke because they weren't fused. it stores and releases opwer, it has to be fused, treat it like a battery!

[bigsky2]

Originally Posted by funkstrong

You might want to look into getting a capacitor if you are worried about your amps drawing too much. You can get them for fairly cheap and they prevent that "light dimming" effect you get when the bass hits sometimes.

No, this is incorrect.

A capacitor is useless if your supply current is not sufficient to begin with.

Adding a capacitor to your system will make your total current draw even higher than before. If your supply current is insufficient, then the cap is doing more harm than good.

The dimming of your headlights or interior lights indicates that the supply current is insufficient as your amps are demanding more power than the vehicle can supply. The addition of a capacitor is basically another pull on the supply current, and will not be beneficial.

As spkrman has stated, a dedicated battery, whether it be a replacement of the original battery or a secondary battery, is much better than a cap. In fact the best solution would be a reworked alternator or a high output alternator, a new/secondary battery, and a reinforced ground connection via ground wires/ground kits.

I will say this again, a capacitor is NEVER the answer. It is not a quick fix, and will not improve anything for the short or long term.

If and only if, the supply current is sufficient to begin with, a capictor will be beneficial.

[plushDJ]

1. Yup caps suck
2. I'm running 1000wrms (real world) on a 15" in my Yaris, also have a voltmeter and the only time the volts go under 13.5 is when I'm at idle. My lights don't dim at all and I play my system HARD. Lots of bass cd's and drum'n'bass
3. A good rule is one battery for every 1000wrms. If that doesn't help get a HO alternator and upgrade the big 3. I have an Optima sitting in my closet right now for when I decide to get a new amp. Prob going to run 2000wrms to the sub.