Recommendation for a Good Quality Cap?

[dimsumboy]

i haven't had a system in over a decade, so i have no clue who's good anymore. so any recommendations for a good quality cap? i only need a 1 farad and i don't care for fancy lights or digital readouts. thanks in advance for the suggestions.

[yerrow]

why not do the big 3 1st instead of wasting un-neccessary $

[b@d @pple]

caps are a waste of money..good battery and an alternator

[Echonova]

caps are a waste of money..good battery and an alternator^^^ Listen to this man, he knows his stuff.

[DynamicSound]

It is amazing how many people automatically go to battery/alternator thing before they even know the system or vehicle involved. Psss...if you spend money on more efficient upgrades and not really need them...that is also a waste of money. :goodjob:

Caps technically work for what they are made for, but if you are having an issue supplying power, there is more efficient ways that will fix the issue and will benefit you beyond your system. This will all depend on the system you are running, the vehicle, and what your electrical system is doing while the system is in use.

If you really want a cap, I have...

DB Link 2 Farad - $45
DB Link 4 Farad - $65
SSL 3.5 Farad - $45 <---Only while supplies last. I have 6 left and already sold 7 this week.

Another good option in the place of an cap is...

http://www.shurikenonline.com/ SK-BT20 <----$55!! (This a very small/slim battery)

[sina518]

It is amazing how many people automatically go to battery/alternator thing before they even know the system or vehicle involved. Psss...if you spend money on more efficient upgrades and not really need them...that is also a waste of money. :goodjob:

Caps technically work for what they are made for, but if you are having an issue supplying power, there is more efficient ways that will fix the issue and will benefit you beyond your system. This will all depend on the system you are running, the vehicle, and what your electrical system is doing while the system is in use.

If you really want a cap, I have...

DB Link 2 Farad - $45
DB Link 4 Farad - $65
SSL 3.5 Farad - $45 <---Only while supplies last. I have 6 left and already sold 7 this week.

Another good option in the place of an cap is...

http://www.shurikenonline.com/ SK-BT20 <----$55!! (This a very
small/slim battery)


okay lets explain it like this if you drive a chevy tahoe and you put two twelves in there and you are having some power issues add a cap and boom everything is cool. but lets say if you decide you want to add better amps and 2 more 12's and components later down the line? that cap is now useless. so at this point you need a better battery and a better alternator so in the end you wasted money on a cap. the cap is a storing device doesnt make your electrical issues go away.

[dimsumboy]

thanks for all the suggestions guys. sorry i didn't make things clearer. here's the details... my vehicle has a small alternator i think about 80 amps, replacing the alternator with a higher amperage one is not an option as it is too costly and for my application, probably won't be needed. i'm replacing the battery already, since the one right now is pretty much shot. the only amp i'm putting in will be a 5 ch. that has (3) 25 amp fuses and is rated max at 800w, that's why i only asked about a 1 farad (no need to go bigger). i was only asking about the cap option just in case i needed one, although i'm pretty sure i won't need it. i might still get one if i can find a 1 farad in stock somewhere, it should be cheap since hardly anyone uses the smaller ones like that (as long as it's low cost though). i won't be driving around at full volume at all either. if anyone has any other ideas or feels i'm going the wrong route, just lmk what you think. the last caps i ran were about 10+ years ago, i think were streetwires. the current ones are way too much overkill for what i'm doing this time so, i won't be needing those for this low end of a system though. so i just need names of decent quality ones at the lower price range, since i'm unfamiliar with alot of the newer brands. thanks again.

[b@d @pple]

It is amazing how many people automatically go to battery/alternator thing before they even know the system or vehicle involved. Psss...if you spend money on more efficient upgrades and not really need them...that is also a waste of money. :goodjob:

Caps technically work for what they are made for, but if you are having an issue supplying power, there is more efficient ways that will fix the issue and will benefit you beyond your system. This will all depend on the system you are running, the vehicle, and what your electrical system is doing while the system is in use.

If you really want a cap, I have...

DB Link 2 Farad - $45
DB Link 4 Farad - $65
SSL 3.5 Farad - $45 <---Only while supplies last. I have 6 left and already sold 7 this week.

Another good option in the place of an cap is...

http://www.shurikenonline.com/ SK-BT20 <----$55!! (This a very small/slim battery)

im not going to debate anything..factory alternator and battery are matched to run the necessary components that the car comes with stock..ANYTHING you add can have an effect on the charging system.especially a sub amp....capacitors are a waste of money..upgrading your battery is my first suggestion..a good deep cycle battery will function better than a cap.second if you add amplifiers that draw an obsessive amount of amperage,then upgrading your alternator would be my next suggestion..a cap is a bandaid for a problem that can easily be solved by taking the appropriate and proper steps to stabilize voltage problems

[b@d @pple]

thanks for all the suggestions guys. sorry i didn't make things clearer. here's the details... my vehicle has a small alternator i think about 80 amps, replacing the alternator with a higher amperage one is not an option as it is too costly. i'm replacing the battery already, since the one right now is pretty much shot. the only amp i'm putting in will be a 5 ch. that has (3) 25 amp fuses and is rated max at 800w, that's why i only asked about a 1 farad (no need to go bigger). i was only asking about the cap option just in case i needed one, although i'm pretty sure i won't need it. i might still get one if i can find a 1 farad in stock somewhere, it should be cheap since hardly anyone uses the smaller ones like that (as long as it's low cost though). i won't be driving around at full volume at all either. if anyone has any other ideas or feels i'm going the wrong route, just lmk. the last caps i ran were about 10+ years ago, i think were streetwires. the current ones are way too much overkill for what i'm doing this time so, i won't be needing those for this low end of a system though. so i just need names of decent quality ones at the lower price range, since i'm unfamiliar with alot of the newer brands. thanks again.

lol.your 80 amp stock alternator is very weak..you put a 5 channel in there that pulls anywhere near 80 amos youre gonna know it..lights dimming,certain electrical components might not function correctly,and vehicle could potentially shut off.

[redgst97]

OK boys and girls....school is now in session.

Today's lesson: Capacitors.

Think of your car and system as it could relate to money.
Your alternator can be compared to your paycheck.
Your electrical components can be compared to your bills.
Your capacitor can be compared to your savings account.

If your paycheck is less than your total bills, then you have no money for savings.
If your alternator output is less than your electrical draw, then you get nothing for the capacitor.

School is out.


Like most car audio stuff, you get what you pay for. There is a reason certain companies offer a capacitor for $45..... they suck. Sure, they "might" be 1 farad in size, but I promise you ......cut that thing in half, and take a look inside. There will probably only be 2-3 foil leads to the studs, the etching within the foil will be minimal, as well as the amount of foil itself will be way less than half. What about voltage ratings? What about tolerances within the voltage ratings? I have seen too may listed at 16volts....but forget to tell you 10-15% tolerances. I have probably cut open 12-15 different branded capacitors over the years.... NOT all are created equally.

Streetwires caps (back in the day) were made by Phillips in the US, and were AWESOME. Most of the rest were made in Asia, and not quite as good. There were a few that were close, but many that were far inferior.

[hybrid90accord]

My old mazda had an small alt also and was computer controlled which means no one made an aftermarket alt for it. I just went to a stinger battery and upgraded the big 3, and had no issues anymore i was running a Jl 500/1 and a 300/4. i just switched all my lighting to LED's and HID's and had no issues what so ever.

[Z0_o6]

i ended up adding a secondary battery on my '02 suburban. it is a stinger 680 (if i remember correctly.) Very small, but very effective. No lights dimming anymore, and it seems like the system has less trouble with very low notes now. I currently have a Memphis PR1000.1 running 2 MTX 7500 12's. I will be adding a PR50.4 soon as well. Before I added the battery, when pushing the system I could actually watch the voltage gauge fluctuate from 14 down to 12.5-13 or so. Now it is rock solid.

[dimsumboy]

thanks guys, i'll change my battery to a new one since the old one has a dead cell. i'll do the big 3 upgrade and cross my fingers and pray i don't need to spend damn near $400 on a high output alternator.

[A. Tuning]

Most cases you don't NEED a high output alternator. Caps do work, but they're not the most efficient tools in the arcenal anymore. Now with the gel cell technology, caps WILL become obsolete. Rule of thumb is that you should get a powercell that will equate to however many watts your system is putting out.

[THEONE]

i used a 1/2 farad cap years ago in my s10 because i hated the dimming lights from my system when driving at night , i also had a optima red top battery and i upgraded the alternator to the power everything option since my truck was manual windows and locks....

oh and the cap solved the diming light issues the other stuff may have been a waste.some people call caps a band aid, i call them perfectly fine for the average guy on a budget,not everyone is in it to win big boom boom contests..

[lovinmydodge]

i used a 1/2 farad cap years ago in my s10 because i hated the dimming lights from my system when driving at night , i also had a optima red top battery and i upgraded the alternator to the power everything option since my truck was manual windows and locks....

oh and the cap solved the diming light issues the other stuff may have been a waste.some people call caps a band aid, i call them perfectly fine for the average guy on a budget,not everyone is in it to win big boom boom contests..
I used 2 30 farad caps in my truck along with batteries. Just because you have a h/o alt and batteries doesn't mean that your electrical problems are gone. BIG MISCONCEPTION, Infact most times people use opimas and not true car audio batteries. This still leaves a big problem rapid release. truth be told a cap for a system under 1000 rms will generally do the trick 9 times out of ten. When I added my caps I went from having 2 batts and running 15 volts and still had light dimming. added the caps and bamm fixed! infact my voltages doesn't drop down past 12.6 volts now. I also gained 1.3 db's on the TL. If you want a cap I have a 30 farad cap. I'd let it go for 65. Its got the digital read outs as well lol but still. Its a good cap and still clean!

[dimsumboy]

thanks for the replies and suggestions, i guess i'll do one step at a time and see how it goes. here's what i'm planning to do in the order listed:

1) new battery 880cca gel battery - DONE
2) re-do battery relocation with a better battery box and run 1 gauge wire
3) big 3 upgrade
4) tsunami 5 farad capacitor with 18/24 volt surge (overkill since my max rms is going to be less than 800w)
5) if all else fails iraggi h.o. alternator

somewhere in there i may try to do an autometer voltmeter, but depends if i can get a good deal on one. thanks again for all the suggestions.