Hey all
I have notices that we have a lot of people in here that are either active or have been involved for a long period of time in electronics. I am seeing two camps appear. One states that you should use a cap to help your system the other states that it is more of a bandaid and a larger capacity battery would be better.
I would like to throw a couple of things out there and welcome all your opinions and comments for a lively discussion.
I am of the older school of thought that preferes to use a cap to help my system through the transient peaks that happen during small times of high demand on the electrical system of your car.
I will ask a couple of questions that I feel I already know the answer too but these are more for thought and discussion.
Which takes more time to recharge, a cap or a larger capacity battery?
Once you start to draw more amperage than your recharging system is capable of handling, what happens?
Does a larger capacity battery cause more or less of a strain on your electrical system?

I look forward to reading all of your responses and thoughts.
~Dan

 

yes a cap will charge faster than a normal batt but thats where a dry cell batt comes in.dry cell batts will charge fast.I presonally dont run any caps i will spend my money on another batt before i would spend it on a cap because of the reserve capacity.My old car i was drawing 600 amps out of a 100 amp alt and the would shut the car off the first bass note.

 

i dont run caps either i wont even try to sell them to anyone because they are a waste.

good info

http://www.caraudiocentral.net/forum...ead.php?t=1888

 

i've always run caps in my vehicles, as long as i don't see my alternator gauge or headlights dim then my charging system's doing good. never had a problem with just caps. been doing this since 1990 with at least $3500 in each system.

 

spl = batteries

sq = capacitor (caps help filter out induced noise) and batteries if needed for running a high wattage system....

we recomend to our customers for spl to upgrade batteries and add more if needed....the whole arqument of the battery vs the cap really comes down to what are you trying to achive with your system....

 

good explanation, SQ for all mine

 

This is great. Thank you all for your input but I am looking for more of an informative answer. For example Sinister, You seem like you know a little bit , You state that you dont run or even try to sell caps because they are a waste. What in your opinion makes them a waste?

 

how informative do you want to get?

do you want us to get into basic DC electronics?

or are you just looking for people to argue about the benefits of each?

 

Well, if you plan on running straight drumline through your system, then I would suggest getting a cap.

 

caps can help filter but anything else they are pretty much useless and a marketing scheme. when stinger sells you a 250 dollar cap and says itll stop head light dimming and all this other stuff that they claim its just a gimic. they have 10 dollars into a cap that sells for 250 bucks thats the best money they have ever made and there will only be less than 1% of them to be warrantied. If an audio store tells you that they will do anythign execpt filter and hold a charge for less than a second they dont know what they are talking about or just trying to sell you something you dont need.