if u put a powerful sound system why would u want to put stress on the battery and alternator? capacitors are cheap anyway.
A capacitor doesn't reduce stress on the battery or alternator - that power still has to come from somewhere.
What about a flux capacitor?
A capacitor only holds the charge for a split second, so when the bass hits it pulls its initial power from the capacitor, then the capacitor has to pull the rest from the battery anyway. So its pointless in most situations.
Read this to see why it wouldn't be useful http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?p=54856
Indeed, plus the disco headlight effect you get in a car with big bass at night always makes me smile
An E39 has enough drain problems on the battery alone,and the alternators fail left and right.i do 1 or 2 almost every day.So whereever he can save some energy go for it.my opinion as a bmw tech.
i honestly dont even know where to start looking for one of those...is it car specific? or load specific?
no its generic,but these guys say u dont need it,i dont have one,but mine is nothing crazy.2x200W 12 inch
a capacitor being lossy can only increse the overall stress on the alternator
How can it reduce the stress on the alternator?
Think about it - a cap can hold very *very* little power. As soon as it's discharged, it'll have to suck that power up from the alt anyway.
As Migz said, it will smooth the load on the battery and alternator by providing a small reservoir of current. It shouldn't really be needed as the battery is huge capacitor and should be able to supply more than enough current but thats not the way things work out in the real world :/ A lot of load changes (ie. flashing headlights) will wreck some alternators quickly so even if you don't need capacitors it would be fairly cheap insurance to fit them.
This is what you should do instead of a capacitor
http://www.stevemeadedesigns.c ... to-do-the-big-3-tutorial/
http://www.stevemeadedesigns.c ... to-do-the-big-3-tutorial/
so why did they invent it if it doesnt do shit? just think about the pounding bass,and the electricity going thru cables,wheres it coming from and where it ends up etc.
14 packs (150 kg 
) of this:
the delivery guy wasnt all to happy
) of this:the delivery guy wasnt all to happy
There is going to be an awful lot of shit!
there always is...
because theres a ton of inductance bewteen the alternator and battery in the front of the car and the amps in the rear and you need to offset that with some capacitance to be able to draw current spikes
Did you really need to ask that? There are hundreds of products on the market that do nothing, but that people still buy!
It's all still coming from one place - the alternator.
Seriously, why do you need so much shitsand?
Guessing using it for cleaning up oil (dehydrated clay, same thing as oil dry), do I win a prize?
Its not actually made for what people think its made for, its not supposed to help the drain on your system or any of that crap, its just what a lot of people use it for which is actually bad for your electrical supply.
They are made to clean up voltage spikes in your car. If you read the link i provided before it explains that.
DO NOT GET A CAPACITOR. It is not needed in this situation, it will do more harm then good.
ok what is the verdict...
if i install the system and it is doing something (what is that something) should i install it?
is it not needed for this application?
how much will it run me? how hard is it to install?
if i install the system and it is doing something (what is that something) should i install it?
is it not needed for this application?
how much will it run me? how hard is it to install?
You install your sound system and when the bass hits your lights dim.
You can either A) Get a capacitor (roughly £70 here), put it in, fixes your dimming lights but is actually bad for your car.
Or
B) Do the big three, buy the cable (roughly about £30-£40 here), and maybe an hour or so of your time to do it. Which will fix your dimming headlights and actually help your cars electrical system.
Edit: it's not hard to do big 3, all you need to do is cut wires to length, solder or crimp them and then just undo a few nuts and bolts on your car and attach the wires. Really not hard.
You can either A) Get a capacitor (roughly £70 here), put it in, fixes your dimming lights but is actually bad for your car.
Or
B) Do the big three, buy the cable (roughly about £30-£40 here), and maybe an hour or so of your time to do it. Which will fix your dimming headlights and actually help your cars electrical system.
Edit: it's not hard to do big 3, all you need to do is cut wires to length, solder or crimp them and then just undo a few nuts and bolts on your car and attach the wires. Really not hard.
is that the biased against capacitor advice? how sure are you that the capacitor is bad?
Spent the last year and a bit trolling the Internet about car sound systems, and ive read about capacitors more times I care to remember. Not to mention I used to have one, and my voltage use to actually be worse in my car after I'd put it in. I'd get a slightly bigger voltage dro with it.
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