I have been trying to find out what I really need to satisfy my stero needs. I have thought about a battery, yellow top optima. I have searched for a higher output alternator, but have only found stock replacement. Last a capacitor. It seems everyone has their own thoughts. I really want to fix this right the first time. So are there any aftermarket alternators, that fit our cars, with a higher output? My battery, which is from 04, still reads 12.4 at rest, 14.4 when the car is started, but drops below 12 when the bass is hitting hard at idle. I have never need a cap before, and that has been reffered to me as a bandaid by some, and a fix by others. For all of you that might read this, and have had to upgrade your electrical system, what do I need. And what brands do you recommend? I am at a lost on this one. I can understand dimming lights at idle, but having to manually shift to keep the rpms up around 2,000 rpm's to not dim the lights, is what I am dealing with. Thanks, Chris
Sorry if this seems redundant to some!

 

I must be getting old...I only listen to AM talk radio! Plenty of power for that!

 

Chronologically ... your getting there

Mentally ... early brain freeze

 

I really need some suggestions, before I mess something up. I just went to a hinder concert, and my car is definately louder. I hate having 1300 tied up in a system I can't use to it's potential. chris

 

Me too. But only when driving my truck. When I'm in the xfire (which is a fun car and not a D/D), somehow talk radio just dosn't seem right. I need to hear rock. But I'm happy with the OEM system.

Bluezx, I can't help you with all your questions, but you do need to get a new battery regardless of upgrades for your stereo.

 

Just a regular battery, or something more? Just the biggest battery that will fit? Thanks again, chris

 

I spoke to a student with a ghetto-blastin' truck stereo today and he has 2 batteries and a cap for each of 3 amps 1500 watts worth RMS. He says the only way these rigs work is with a cap for each amp. They deliver (discharge) power 5 times faster than a battery.

Articles for your perusal:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Understand...tors&id=374955

http://ezinearticles.com/?Car-Audio-...-Them&id=74789

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

Hope this helps.

 

i have messed around with systems for a while and had a big one in my acura. there is no high output alt for the crossfire unless you take it to a shop that rebuilts alts and see if they can rewind it tighter and make it into a high output. my reccomendation do the big three upgrade where you change the wires under the hood for alt to battery, battery to ground and battery to engine i believe double check the last one. Use a capacitor i used a 5 farad which is an overkill more or less 1 farad for every 1000watts i went with 5 since it was not too much. You are right it is a bandaid fix but it will reduce the dimming and help ease up the load. I would recommend an alt but you are SOL. also change your battery to a optima red top not yellow top. Yellow top is not to be used as a starting battery but to be used as a deep cycle battery. Red top is what you put under the hood. lastly get an hid kit it will draw less power 35w instead of 55w and will be brighter it is a no brainer. with hid drawing less power and better output you wont see the dimming.

so to sum it up

do the big three upgrade using all 4agu or 2agu wires
get a cap around 2 farad
change your battery to a red top.
get a hid kit

you might still get some dimming but not as much if any. i did 2 out of the 4 in my acura and it fixed my issues. in the crossfire i plan to do the cap, and the hid kit to start with, then the big three upgrade and last change the battery.

 

Maybe a smaller sub-woofer amp?

 

It is 600w RMS, and 750 peak amp. Powering a 400w RMS speaker. I have seen much larger systems on the forum. What If I decide to do the componets, which is not necessary. controlling the amount of bass going to them, would be a better solution, for now. I realize the battery needs to be replaced, since it is factory, on a 04. I plan on the big three, but wasn't sure if you really needed to use 0 gauge wire. The connectors for those suck, to work with. I have done a couple of battery relocate kits on twin turbo 03-04 cobras. I thought anything bigger than what is there, would help. 4 gauge is a thick wire. At work we use 220v three phase power, and use 12 gauge thhn to supply power to electrical cabinets, and machines. I just need to compensate for 1 or so volts. Can any of you guys recommend a brand of capacitor. I would rather order online, vs. the prices locally. Thanks, chris

 

in the capacitor caps are caps mainly some have the digital meter and most are 20 or 24volts. i have used rockford fosgate, currently use a power ackoustic 5 farad. i have heard good things about the BAT cap, stinger will work. never tried a hybrid cap try it out but not sure if it is worth the money. stick with 2 agu under the hood.

 

4g power and ground should be fine. I have the four channel JL HD amp and it can dim the lights after sustained use at night. You already chose a very efficient amp. Smaller battery size is better. A larger battery will just be a greater load on your alternator. Several companies make extremely small, lightweight batteries. Even a 1 farad cap should help with the dimming. The earlier mentioned HID bulb conversion would also help.

 

Any suggestions, on battery brand. I am leading towards something like oem replacement. Do all of the batteries that fit our cars, have a vent? I have never had one with a vent. And as far as capacitors go, what size would be overkill, for 600wrms. Will a 3 or 5 farad store more power, or do I really only need a 1 farad. I was looking at power acoustix caps on ebay and a 5 farad is 70 bucks. I just figured 1,3,or 5 F would work. Will a larger cap cause any problems? thanks, chris
What else will I need to install the capacitor?
And I have the hid's sitting in front of me, low beam, and fogs. I just wanted to address the power issue before installing them.

 

don't go with oem replacement as it will not be a good choice for you, go with optima red top or stinger. go on ebay and use cashback through live.com which currently is 15% and i have seen it seldom at 25%-30%. for cap a larger one will not hurt you it can be an overkill but if you ever plan on adding an amp to the door speakers or run dual amps get a bigger cap than smaller. i use the 5 farad power akoustic. you should install the hid's first since it uses much less power and will greatly reduce the dimming of the headlights. you might still see interior lights dim but with the big three upgrade, cap and optima redtop it will cure most if not all of your issues.

 

I don't even know if the cap would be necessary...possibly just the big 3 and a red or yellowtop optima...

In my Pontiac Sunfire, which has a measly 105 amp Alt (I think, don't quote me on that). I was running around 1000 RMS with no noticable headlight flicker, just interior lights, did the big three, and everything was perfect, just had to turn it down at stoplights to keep the voltage up.

I'd say it'd be much cheaper (and more polite to those around you ) to just change your habits while at stand-still.

 

I definately turn it down at stoplights, and rarely have the windows down, trying to share my music with the world. it isn't at idle that has me concerned, it is anytime the rpms are down while driving. going 20mph, or 50, it doesn't seem to matter. I can see the lights dimming on the curbs and road in front of me. As long as I keep the rpms over 2000, by manually shifting, I don't notice it as much. What size optima fits our cars. Do they have a group 48? The varying voltages won't cause the ballasts to heat up or malfunction will it? chris

 

Me too.....I don't listen much to talk radio, but my OEM setup work just fine for me. I would like to have a HD unit with an I-pod interface, but that's about it for the audio.

 

I am assuming either a 34/34R, or 34/78 red top will fit. I was looking at where the amps power wire is attached, and it comes out of the distrubution block, just infront of the battery. Is that the right way to connect it? Any power wire I have ran in the past came straight off of the battery. do I just need to search for live.com to find it on ebay? thanks, chris

 

First off, Optima actually recommends the Yellow Top for heavy Audio solutions...

http://www.optimabatteries.com/audio...d_your_optima/

Unfortunately, they do not list a battery for the Crossfire, or for that matter, an Mercedes later than 1971.

Do some work and you might find a cross-reference to an Optima by working back from the MoPar battery number, then find a car that uses that battery that the Optima site DOES list, and bingo...

 

comparing sizes, of either yellow top, or red top, vs a group 48 battery, a 34, or 34/78 size, is 10" L x 6 7/8 W x 7 13/16 tall at the posts. I assume 1/4 inch taller will be ok. If I get the yellow top, I might be able to do the big three upgrade, but was hoping to have it done at the stero shop that installed my system. yellow top 750 cca, 870 ca, reserve 120 capacity 55. red top 800cca, 1000ca, 100 reserve, capacity 50. This is why it is frustrating me, Some say get a normal battery, some say red top, some say yellow top. capacitor some yes, some no. If I get the optima battery, I can't get a cap right now. is the big three something easy to do, as far as getting to all of the wires? I'll have to have the car in the air, to do my fog lights anyway. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH I'm getting a headache. Thanks for all of the suggestions, chris