Which option will be the most effective? I will be running a 1000W RMS system and I don't want to have any problems with dimming lights or the such.

 

The only reason you need two batteries is if you are going to run your system a lot when the car is off and you want to be able to turn on your car without a jump.

If thats not the case, a really good 3 farad cap like from RF or Tsunami and replace the big three and you should be good. Oh yeah and use 0 gauge for your system, it helps.

Im running 2000rms with a full 0 gauge set up and a 6 farad cap and i have no problems. You could also switch your lights to HID's and they use a lot less power so you shouldn't get any flickering.

http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o.../Pontiac%20G5/

 

batteries are not going to keep the lights from flickering only lengthen the time you can run the system with the car off like Hommie2003g stated. Best way is a capacitor and a higher output alternator(usually only for large systems). if you want to get really serious check out the BATCAP. overkill yes but good stuff.

http://batcap.net/Products/BatCapPro...8/Default.aspx

they have a wide range of caps to fit your install.

 

your an idiot if that is a true 2000rms, which i dobut it is. your running a stock battery with a shitty ass capacitor....i have 2 optima yellow tops, all the wiring inside the car upgraded from 4g to 0g (aka big 3) and can still make my voltage drop to dangerous levels almost instantly with a TRUE 2500rms.

it is also not true that you ONLY need 2 batteries if you plan on playing your woofers with the car off. the only reason a battery wouldnt be needed for a high wattage system is if the alternator is able to produce more amps than the amplifier draws. which is usually not the case. emperorjj1 has a alternator setup that can produce around 200+ amps but his amp can draw 350-400+...where does all that extra power come from? batteries

what kind of amp are you running? i dont have much personal experience with Orions but it looks like a cheap knock off sub, i may be wrong tho

anyone that recommends a cap over a deep cycle battery such as a kinetic, optima, etc etc dosent know what they are talking about. a high output alternator is only needed for very high wattage systems drawing lots and lots of amps

 

I vote for capacitor

 

Not to start a pissing match with Brickloaf, but please do not insult someone elses knowledge until you have done the research. Basics first:

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/car_audi...cal_basics.htm

On the Optima website it states that the deep cycle of car audio(they make a specific battery for car audio) will allow you to run you system longer with the car off. Deep cycle refers to the ability to discharge all the way and be recharged with out damaging the battery. Deep cycle batteries have been around for many years but know as Marine or RV batteries. They have modified this new 'Car Audio Battery' to have a faster discharge rate than a normal battery. Hmm, kinda sounds like a Capacitor. Now why would they need to design a battery to discharge faster than their normal line of deep cycle batteries? Although the increase in discharge rate helps with amp clipping it will not keep the lights from dimming when hard bass hits, especially when the car is off.

Read for yourself:

http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com/...o_battery.html

Now the Kinetic battery is a whole other animal and a costly one at that, $200 - $800 depending on the application. Kinda funny how they also engineered a battery to act more like a capacitor. as it clearly states on their descriptions ' equivalent to (X) 1 Farad caps.' they also state that the alternator/electrical system needs to be in good shape or their battery will not help. Read their Faqs page:

http://www.kinetikaudio.com/2009/faq.asp

Bottom line is.... a good healthy battery with a decent capacitor will be more than adequate for his application. if he decides that he wants to go to a bigger system or run his system with the car off all the time then YES, a good deep cycle car audio battery from Optima or Kinetic would be the obvious choice. but those batteries alone will not keep things from flickering and clipping. I had an Optima Yellow top in my Suburban with a 10 farad cap and could kill the engine if i turned the volume up too loud while at idle! Had to get a 200 amp alternator, even then the lights would flicker a little while i was at idle. But what do i know!

 

alright you can use your awesome 1000 farad power akoustic capacitors if you want, but put a nice deep cycle battery in a car with dimming issues and then tell me batteries dont make a difference.


btw, im talking about with the car running...playing any high wattage system with the car off for a length of time or at high volumes is a good idea if you want your car to not start

and you basically proved my point, kinetik says their HC600 is the same as 100 farad, there HC1800 must be around 300...now who do you know that sells a 100-300 farad cap

 

he's right. i'm running my two tens at around 1000w and i have the stock battery with a 1farad cap. granted they dont dim as bad but...it still drains the battery. get a good deep cell battery like a Kinetik and you'll be good. if you wanna get really serious then i suggest you get the battery and a H/O alternator

 

Brickloaf, your original quote was:

"anyone that recommends a cap over a deep cycle battery such as a kinetic, optima, etc etc dosent know what they are talking about."

you did not specify a deep cycle battery made for car audio, which has been engineered to work like a capacitor. If some one was to get any old deep cycle battery regardless of the brand, it will do nothing for them even when the car is running. Optima does make a standard deep cycle(blue top) that wont help you out. and kinetic has many diff options to choose from, but most of the installs are as a secondary source like a capacitor.

It all depends on how much money you want to put into your system, i you got the cash and dont want to compromise, install the best scenario for your system. if you dont have $200 - $800 laying around just for a battery and another $250 - $300 for a High output alternator then there is nothing wrong with installing a capacitor. Besides his original Question was weather to use 2 batteries or a capacitor. plus its only a 1000w amp.

nosfuratu9,

you do realize that the reason you battery kept draining was not because it wasnt a deep cycle right? Maybe your alternator wasnt putting out enough amps to run the systems and keep the battery charged. A capacitor does not keep the battery from draining, its sole function is to retain energy and release it instantly when the system requires.

 

yeah, thats what i was pointing out is that even with a cap it doesnt keep it from draining. i need a good battery and a better alternator. the cap will pull energy from the battery and the alternator tries to charge it as best as it can but seeing as how the cap continues to pull and pull power it never can hold it's voltage. but i'm in the works of buying all the stuff right now

 

i copied this from another forum

"If you supply your system with 12v and is able to maintain 12v on it's own, the capacitor may help some, but if your system's voltage drops because you don't have enough charging capacity to keep up with the draw, the capacitor will not do anything for you."

1000rms on a stock battery/alt is probably enough to drop it below 12v. light dimming dosent mean your electrical system is fucked and its not even really that big of a problem it just tends to bother people...even a small 400-500 watt system can drop voltage enough to make lights dim but your stock charging system (alt/battery) can handle it

capacitor = bandaid, it dosent fix the issue just covers it up

look at what you said (in blue) then look at my exact quote (in red)

your an idiot, i CLEARLY specified that I was talking about a car audio battery, does kinetic make standard car batteries? NO

optima yellow top is MEANT for accessory power....anyone that uses a bluetop of a car audio application is retarded.

this is the only thing i agree with, if your strugglin on $$ then sure a capacitor is the cheap option but wont be nearly as effective as a battery

even deep cycle batteries can be drained...

so what happens when its a loooong bass note, and the cap drains all the stored power? does it magically recharge instantly? no...it takes time to recharge, and it will be trying to release power to the amp while its trying to charge its self.

 

Here is the deal, everyone knows what the best setup for a good system is. but in the case originally stated a capacitor would be more cost effective and work just fine. if he would like to fork out the money for a second car audio battery then go for it, that will be better in the long run especially if you would like to upgrade to a larger system. at least we had agreed on one thing...

 

woah look what happens when i stop paying attention...

lets first start out and acknowledge that the OP doesn't really care that much since he never replied so the pissing match, while interesting, was all done to help someone who isn't even there

First problem is he said he doesnt want any dimming. with 1000w rms a 1f cap isnt going to do much. most bigger ones are bs anyway so. now a deep cycle battery is what i would recommend. optima yellow, kinetik, carquest ngt, powermaster ect ect. Yes there is a difference but its negotiable especially off 1000w rms that will preemptively fix most of the problems because a battery with more capacity is less likely to drop voltage and droping voltage is dimming lights.

2 problems with that... 1 you can still get dimming with the upgraded battery 2 he doesnt have anything yet. you cant really say exactly what will fix the problem until you have more information. he cant have more info since he doesn't even have the system yet. you cant tell a doctor "im gonna shoot this guy somewhere on his body choose the of equipment to fix him before i shoot him" a shot in the leg is much different then a shot in the stomach vs a shot in the head

the only reason a deep cycle is recommended over a regular battery is because everyone assumes u will drain the battery. An optima red top is a superior battery over the optima yellow. drain it a few times and its a POS where as the yellow holds up to the abuse. Also a good cap is 100-150bucks. a good battery is normally 150-500 bucks. if you had the choice of a cap or a battery for the same price and u choose the cap then flashing lights took the best of you

 

i have a tsunami 10 fared cap i would sell cheap PM for details if intersted