hey i have a 98 F-150 with a nice system (in my sig.). i notice when i have my lights on and i got it turned up the lits dim when the bass hits. would a capacitor help or not? i really dont want to upgrade the alternator and put dual bateries in it.

i've also been thinkin about some 6"x8"s for the doors. any recommendations?



thanks
Jake

 

Try doing the "Big 3" upgrade. It's a pretty cheap and straightforward mod...

http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/u...c;f=5;t=007801

As for speakers, I would recommend JL Audio XR's (http://www.jlaudio.com/evolution/XR570CS.html). Alpine, Infinity, CDT also make good speakers. Do a Google search for more info.

 

Caps are absolutely worthless. There is an article that explains why exactly this is, but I can't find it at the moment. Anyone who tells you they noticed a huge difference after installing a cap is experiencing pure placebo.

 

thanks for the quick replies guys. i only asked about the cap because i happen to know where i can get one for free (its nice to have nice older brothers). is there anything else that will help other than the "Big 3"? thanks for that link BTW. it was a very good explanation.

 

go with the cap if it is free, but i would definetly upgrade the alternator and cables. that will give you the biggest change.
bill

 

If the cap is free and you just dont want to turn it down take it and sell it to someone who hasnt read this post. They really are pointless. They just get in the way of your amp getting all the power it wants. It may keep your lights from dimming a little, in a small system setup, but you wont have the big bass hits when you want it. To each his own though.

 

Here are some links I've found which discusses how caps. It appears that they have very little effect on the output of a system...

http://welcometotheden.8k.com/caraudio/Captest.pdf

 

No cap. No bat. Big 3 first. This guy is right.

 

Don't know about the cap but just got four Polk Audio 5x7 speakers for my F150 ext cab along with a polk 8'' sub and they are awesome definitely check out Polk Audio.

 

hey guys thanks for all the useful info. i may go ahead and try the "Big 3" and see what that does. thanks again for all the advice.

 

While the big 3 is great and you will see a huge impact from alternator and or battery upgrades, caps do get the job done.
For those saying caps do nothing, they don't understand how a capacitor works.

The only time a cap would cause your amp to "starve" for power is if it's undersized. Bigger is better here.

Basically, a cap works like a short-term battery.
Your alternator is constantly charging your cap while your amp is constantly draining it.
So, say your alternator constantly charges your cap at 100%.
Your amp constantly uses 20% of this power. During a big bass hit, it would normally use a large portion of what your alternator can supply, say 90% (rough estimate), thus causing your lights to dim. Well, with the cap in place, that big bass hit actually uses the extra 80% in the cap without draining the alternator at all. Before the next bass thump hits, your alternator is already recharging your capacitor.

So, while it's not the answer for dB dragsters since they are constantly thumping and running their amps, it is a very cheap and easy solution for someone who installed the sub to just round out their system and occasionally wants some big hits.