capacitors

[phat_levin]

if i buy i bigger capacitor, will that mean that i can have my music on for longer with my engine off without flattening the battery as quick??

[Lloyd]

No, the theory behind a capacitor is to supply the amp with power quicker than the battery can when a big draw is needed. The idea is that the cap is charged during the quiet bits of a song and discharges quickly when required.

Thing is it hold enough energy to power an indicator bulb for about 30 second. Or 30 bulbs for 1 second, and then its flat. They hold bugger all and aren't designed to actually power anything in the way you are thinking.

Buy a bigger battery with larger reserve capacity or buy an extra battery and sort them out so only one is used when the car is off like 4WDs do. Make sure the one for when the car is off is a deep cycle type

[Alex B]

What HRT is saying in a round about way, it caps do absoultly nothing, even with a car audio install

[TWSTD]

I disgree. I noticed a definite change after installing a 1Farad cap - and its not just the elimination of the dimming lights syndrome either...

[Snoozin]

It's a band aid fix is what they're trying to say, the better solution is to use a larger battery.

And redo all your earths on the vehicle.

[Alex B]

Ever played with a 1uF cap? Notice how long it takes to charge vs how long it takes to discharge?

[cespenar]

That's the point of the capacitor..? To provide a short sharp burst of charge when the amp requires it, when the battery is unable to cope? Anyway re-iterating what someone else said...if you want to run your sounds for longer with the car off, get a bigger and better battery. A capacitor won't help you for that situation. It will however help out if your setup tries to grab too much power than the battery can handle for some loud notes.

[Alex B]

The problem is they can not re charge intime. It will work for the 1st bass hit, then take ages to charge again. I belive they have power "cleaning" properties tho.

[deaf_rattle]

It's a band aid fix is what they're trying to say, the better solution is to use a larger battery.

And redo all your earths on the vehicle.

got a bigger battery and still had dimming lights. got a 1farad cap and sweet as.

and in case you are wondering how big the battery, its a 1000cca one.

thanks.

how many of you people saying caps are crap have honestly used them?

[Pies]

gotta agree with matt there

i installed a cap into my system and instantly noticed a huge improvement in bass, and less dimming lights.

you can pick one up for $100 from repco and it will be well worth it.



also in saying that, you WILL need to upgrade you battery if you running big sounds to a battery that is atleast 450cca. not much point in having a cap if your battery doesnt have the power to cope in the first place

[Mr.Phreak]

how many of you people saying caps are crap have honestly used them?

Me

[deaf_rattle]

how much power/amps were you running?

[Mr.Phreak]

Twin PG ZX500's (75w x 2 @ 4 @ 12) and a ZX450 (18w x 4 @ 4 @ 12)

[Alex B]

PG specs

[Blackrazor]

If any of you cap lovers are willing to put your money where your 'i mentally convince myself it sounds better because i dont want to admit i got played by the marketing' mouths are, i'm willing to bet $100 that you cannot pick whether or not a cap is connnected if you do an A/B blind test. If you want to take me up on it, i'll organise a proxy close to you to administer the test for me

Richard Clarke has a $10,000 prize up for grabs for anone who can demonstrate how a capacitor improves system response in an audible fashion. So far, the money is still in his pocket, after many challengers.

In Aus, one of Aus's most high profile SPL competitors did a test to see if capacitors worked. He added a top branded 40 farad capacitor to his SPL car, and the total SPL DROPPED from 158.6 to 157.9 decibels with no other changes. So the cap actually proved DETRIMENTAL to the amp ouput power.

Galen, local SPL competitor and currently running the 2nd loudest 1-sub car in the country, can run his car off a single Optima, no capacitor, 3400wRMS continuous for 5 minutes and the voltage wont drop below 13v.

And even in the best case scenarios, a cap cannot increase power in any way shape or form. It is not a power producing device, it is a power buffer device. The end total power and average voltage is no different to what it was before. As for why a cap will help stop headlights dimming - it provides a series resistance to the amplifier power supply, so guess what - all its doing is making the power harder to get to the amp, so the headlights get topped up first

And yes, i've used caps, lots and lots, up until about 3 years ago. Mostly becuase i got told they work. But every scientific test ever done, including my own, shows they do a sum total of dick nothing.

[Mr.Phreak]

And yes, i've used caps, lots and lots. Mostly becuase i got told they work. But every scientific test ever done, including my own, shows they do a sum total of dick nothing.

C'mon, they look bling

[Blackrazor]

C'mon, they look bling

I said they did 'dick nothing', not that they do 'nothing for dicks'

[Blackrazor]

And the funniest thing, Phreak, is that i guarantee that these people who notice 'improvements' are all running amps with regulated power supplies, i.e 90% of the amps on the market

[Mr.Phreak]

Either way, the original question was "Will a bigger cap mean that i can have my music on for longer with my engine off without flattening the battery as quick??" to which the answer will always be no.....no matter which side of the cap fence you sit on

[Blackrazor]

Either way, the original question was "Will a bigger cap mean that i can have my music on for longer with my engine off without flattening the battery as quick??" to which the answer will always be no.....no matter which side of the cap fence you sit on

Quoted 4 Teh Winn!