Comments on: Is adding a capacitor to a 400 watt car amplifier a good idea, or unnecessary ?

By: William B

William B — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:50:59 +0000

yeah go with ben. ive had about 1600 on a stock electrical system and i had some dimming but could get voltage to stay above 13.6 so after about 1000 watts you might need electrical work. no cap tho man
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me

By: georgewillings

georgewillings — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:23:59 +0000

A capacitor does not do what your thinking it does. It does not add electricity to your car. Think of it as like a little battery. Since all it is going to do is add yet another piece of electronics to your electrical system. It does not stop your lights from dimming what so ever. For that you would need to do the big 3 upgrade. Rule of thumb for caps is this: 1.0 farad per 1000 watts rms that you run. Max watts means absolutley nothing.
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By: Ben S

Ben S — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:14:59 +0000

Definitely overkill for something like that. I have 2800wrms of power in my car and still have no need for a capacitor (no light dimming etc). I owe this to ample wiring as well as upgrading "The Big 3" and a good alternator/battery setup. Personally I believe capacitors are a band-aid for a broken arm type case, although I know people who swear by them.

Ben
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By: nytcrawler

nytcrawler — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:37:59 +0000

its a little over kill, i have a 580 watt and have never had any problems. but if you don’t have a good battery i would recommend getting 1 deep cycles are the best
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