When Should I Upgrade My Vehicle's Electrical System? | Car Audio Q & A 

And that's assuming your amplifier is running at 100% efficiency. The full formula is: (wRMS÷12.4volts)÷efficiency=Amps For a class D at 70% efficiency and running 1200w RMS it will look like this: (1200÷12.4)÷0.70=138.25amps Edit: but that also assumes you're using all 1200w all the time playing sine waves. Music only uses the full power in little pulses, playing notes. Bass heavy music, like rap, will only utilize the full power about 50% of the time, while rock or pop will be closer to 25-30%. So after you find the maximum possible it can pull, multiply the total by the percentage that matches your music tastes.

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They dont even know simple math 120x10.. jeez does sonix even ask for a ged

Free Mind it’s 1200

Depends on how many tree rings

@@Llegando_Tarde GED???, They're lucky they even passed the sixth grade.

Thats true.if you watch my vids you'll see that I have a group 31 diehard platinum marine secondary batt.stopped my light dimming at high volumes.voltage doesn't drop below 13.7 full tilt

pctomactechtalk what you said bro i got a zv3 12 on ab phantom 4k i only play it for like maybe 30 seconds full tilt then turn it down

So what about dimming lights then

Mr. Canna Farmer if it does even dim the lights, then you can just add a capacitor and that should fix that, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, only when you run it for a long time or at a really high volume.

Yup. The alt in cars/trucks are designed to handle having every option that that vehicle has running all at one time plus some reserve.That usually only leaves room for a small to moderate system to be added on top without adding a better alt.

Thanks... but anybody needing that info is not going to go through all that trouble. LOL

DRDEE hey i have pioneer sub 400 watt rms and i plan adding 2 more thats like 1200-1300 watt rms am i be able to do it on a 65amp alternator?

@@filipT97 no

@@alexisking4316 what about if i add capacitator?

@@filipT97 I honestly don't suggest that allot of the people I have seen do that end up with wires burning up etc I honestly feel you should buy another battery doing a big 3 and puting a 500a fuses and isolator between the 2 bats

i couldent find it

Or an nvx since they promote their products and the box was behind them🤣

mines basically just an expensive distribution block and ground

A good cap provides a short reserve to allow the alternator time to increase the current output. Because an alternator can take up to 50 milliseconds to increase the output and the capacitor gets first dibs on the alternator because it has a much lower internal resistance than the battery so you are not drawing power off the battery unless the engine is turned off and I agree with what you say. The best way to deal with an underpowered electrical system until you have the money to upgrade it is to be conservative with the volume. My brother had 2 kenwood 10s on a 1000 watt rms kenwood amplifier and what it really needed was a big 3 upgrade with 4 gauge wire not a capacitor. Up to 2000 watts of bass is doable with a stock 80 amp alternator and a 0 gauge big 3 upgrade but, you will accelerate the wear and tear of your alternator.

Music is dynamic. The amp will push x amps briefly depending on the song. But it constantly fluctuates

a generator strapped to the roof. Come on just google it lazy ass.

I think it’s PAC that makes a component that is designed for stop/start cars. Not that expensive, and less trouble than an extra battery.

@TurboDuckHeadHD In HD thanks bt I have done my upgrades an thing thanks

Just get a secondary battery that has around 80 ah. Look at XS power batteries

I also have a nissan, Nissan Sentra with a 2.0 engine. There's a few website that do carry high output alt. for your car and mine. Trouble is the price they charge is from 310 to almost 700 bucks depends on what website u go to. Too fucking much! I recently went to the junkyard and bought a used alt. for 25 bucks. I was planning to take it to the alt. n starter rebuilt shop, and ask how much they charge for a upgrade on it. I have not had a chance to ask, maybe Mon. Just trying to give u some options that won't break the bank.

I thought it was a Jag myself. lol

Richard Walkey no, most factory head units output a max of 25 rms per speaker. my personal vehicle ouputs about 16 rms on the factory head unit. If its not sounding as well make sure that the installation is correct. The speakers should be flush agaisnt the door if they're not try using something like FAST Rings to remedy the problem, it will fix the gaping issue and help more with the mid bass aspect of it

You always want to do the "Big 3" upgrade which is power from alternator to battery, battery to frame, and engine to frame. Some also recommend alternator to engine/frame though the alternator is already grounded to the engine through the mount. Best to do large cable like 1/0 gauge if you can.

Ok man thanks, Im going to have to read more about it

Not for every car tho sadly... 😔🤕

I sall a guy pulling 1800 watts off of stock everything except amp and sub obviously but it did fine besides headlight dim

So I would say it's not needed immediately but it will increase performance to upgrade that alternator

Alternator

Try Js Alternators BrandX or Mechman Alternators

@@MrBigzo32 👍👍

You need to get your MECP Certification.

+TheDozaLife So you really want to be like these two, idiots?

customers and that is it

TheDozaLife Meade is just a crook don't be like him. He is just robbing Noobs with his junk that does nothing.

600 watts rms isn't that much power man. You shouldn't have that much of an issue

Kurloz Soriano Singer, Mechman, JS alts, us alternators, Apex alts. Just Google them.

Read your comment again, and think about it.

It's NOT in your head. NO matter how many batteries you have, if they are not being charged, the sound will peter out! After operating ambulances for several years, the older ambulances had 3-4 batteries, AND dual 200 amp alternators to charge, and operate all those lights. Now days with LED lighting, the power consumption is much lower and less demand for all that power. you may look in to dual 200 amp G.M. alternators and at least 3-4 batteries. Use 1 battery for your car it self, and an "Isolator" to keep your main car battery from being taxed to the point, that it will no longer start your gar. Isolators can be sourced from R.V. supply or Ebay.

That amp should suffice if you have it wired at 2 ohms. You could get a better amp to push it a little further but sound wise you wouldn't hear much difference.

Upgrade your electrical first

FvD714 haha

Is it standard cab or extended?

Standard

Check out the range of shallow mount subwoofers and find something that you like. I got on the Sonic Electronix website and since I'm actually about to get an '89 standard can s10 I'm planning ahead for my build. I personally like the soundstream Picasso 10(?) I believe it is. After you get new door speakers and decide on what sub you're gonna get, decide on whether you're gonna amplify the speakers or go straight to the radio and then find an amp for the sub. Once you do that get on the12volt.com and grab some paper and a pencil and start experimenting with different dimensions using the12volt's wedge enclosure 2. Make sure it's 2! That is very crucial since it's gone be hard to use the first wedge enclosure style. I hope this helps enough. And I personally for such a small build would only use 4 gauge for the power and ground wire and them just kinda see what size you wanna use for the remote wire (doesn't need to be too big since it splices into the radio wiring which isn't made with very large wires.)

That has got to be the MAX rating of your amp which does not matter! What is it's RMS rating and what ohms do you have your sub wired to? What amp do you have?

Dortiz116 I love how dudes are like i have 2500watt amp but the RMS is 1200watts then hook it up to a tester and there only making 923watts... do your homework and research before you buy or talk shit...

Its the light bulbs if they are led i dont think you can do anything about the light dimming

Bigger alternator and do the big 3

Check your ohm load. If you're running a 2 ohm stable amp at 1 ohm it will go into protect mode. Also check your ground wire connection to your amp. If you need to increase ohm load look up some wiring diagrams to see how to get you 2 speakers wired to 2 ohm in the amp.

Justin Taylor thanks Justin!

No caps

5 years too late but Ultracap banks are a thing

Depolarize huh....

Heck no. Thats why you have fuses.

non axial caps are for crossover networks, most caps are axial and used for electrical filtering in the micro farad range.

Erik Rivera fuck yeah. especially cuz those massive audio amps do rated power.

Thanks

Erik Rivera u should do the big 4 "RU-vid it if you don't know I recommend it"

+George MCFADDEN You're running 4000 Watts and you haven't done a big 3 upgrade yet? That should definitely be your next step. If headlights still dim after that you will probably have to think about upgrading the alternator.

+George MCFADDEN if your lights are dimming that means your volts are going off 14 volts no longer providing the essential amount of charge your vehicles electrical system needs to operate the way its designed to, in return over heating your electrical system and ruining your battery at least. Not to mention the dip in volts will eventually ruin everything in your electrical system including that 4000 watt amp. Take my advice and go get a high output alternator that will run in a way that will provide allot more outgoing amps at idle then your factory alternator that is obviously not keeping up and will save you large in the long run.

+Sonic Electronix well I'm gonna do the big 3 and already bought a bigger alternator just got to put it on and ima add a extra battery.

+George MCFADDEN Simple math can tell you that your never going to get that out of the amp, and possibly fry the power supply section! So 4000 watts goes into 13v (doubt it goes above that with voltage drop) = 307.6 amps just for THAT amp alone. I dont know of a stock 300+ amp alternator, so your just putting off the inevitable. Also you bass will hit SOOOOOO much harder than now. You may even see an improvement by getting a smaller amp.

dont get a cap get a good drycell battery

I also charge lights and i charge powerbanks

I had the same setup. new battery same as old, new alternator, same as old one, good grounds, 4 gauge power and ground, never an issue. so if you drive a Saturn like I did, you're good to go.

Roll with a batcap 400 or 800 you'll be fine

Thanks

The Rockford caps are really nice

Contrary to popular belief, size doesn't necessarily matter in today's cap industry. Graphine is changing all that. I have seen a series of super cap sets that produce 2500 farad at half the size of that 1 farad cap in this video. Enough to start your car and hold juice for several weeks to start it again later. Look up car boost pack.