i did not know where to post this but. i was wondring if i should get a sperate battery for all the things i am gonna be getting. i am gonna have subs, underglow, a new head unit, and neaons in side under the seats and dash. i also may put screens in the back of the seats. i also may be getting more amps one for the other subs since i have two subs and one amp(more power) and the scond one for the spaekers. should i buy another battery to power all these things or should i just hook it up to the battery already in the car.

 

You might want to look at getting an Optima Yellowtop battery. Also adding a Sun Hyperpower and Hyperground system to the car. Another thing is to look at all the companies that do custom alternators (Stinger is who I would go with) and get a 150amp Alt to replace the one in the car (I believe 100). Combined, that would give you about +50% more power at the alternator, a battery that deepcycles and can provide power for several times as long with its own high performance capacitor, and lower power loss due to the crappy grounding most vehicles have.

In addition, I would suggest putting Caps on all your amps, or buying one of the larger multi output Caps.

Bigger battery doesn't really help by itself, since batteries release power to slowly. Caps, more power from the crank, and lower power loss is what will get you through.

 

just make sure that any replacement battery is either sealed, or has the proper vent tube hook up

 

i would upgrade to an optima battery, definitely get a capacitor, and get your alternator rebuilt
its cheaper to rebuild than to buy an upgraded one, and it will work wonders

 

I've got the Optima Yellow Top in my car with a 1 farad cap and it works great no problems. Stinger makes some killer car audio stuff but those custom alternators are way too expensive- I was quoted $850 for a custom setup for an 02 WRX. I disagree with the grounding kit though. IMO the Cobalt stock ground is great and does not need to be touched. Stinger makes some fancy caps that work well and they have just about any nice looking design you are looking for so check out their stuff if you need anything like that.

FYI: Sam's Club is the cheapest for the Optima batteries. I picked up a group 34 Yellow Top for $132.95.

 

Yellow top is a good upgrade (don't forget to ventilate I don't think they are drycells) as well as a new alternator...(rebuild for more output I have heard is a bunch of BS), but never forget to do the Big 3!

As far as caps go there is mix feelings about them in the car audio world. Some people love them some people hate them. You need to get atleast 1 farad for every 500 watts RMS going through your system if you plan on using them for any reason otherwise it is pointless to even bother with one. And don't buy cheap walmart band and think that a cap is a cap is a cap, because there are big differences in the internals of cheap caps and real caps. Cheap caps can and usually do hurt the power output after a few discharges.

Another thing you could do and this is your best solution when you are hooking up large amounts of after market equipment up to your factory charging system. Rerout your pully system and add in a new high output alternator ( a second one leave your factory alternator in there ). Then run a battery isolator with a second battery, I would say dry cell deep cycle (look to stinger they are great for this stuff). Then run all of your aftermarket equipment off of the new battery, leaving everything that is stock hooked up to the first factory battery. When you do this you have basically an unlimited bank of power for your after market equipment to feed off of, and they will be very happy.

 

Double checked today you do not need to vent any Optima batteries they are sealed and will not give off any gas.