Quick question, IF "caps are pointless," then why in the world would professional car audio competitors use them???

 

Cuz they look cool

I am one those that is against the use of a CAP in a vehicle with the stock electrical system. The professional competitors upgrade their power system, which makes them capable of putting caps to proper use. The cap discharges, and there is a strong enough power system behind them to charge them back up in time for the next big current drain on the system.

 

Just out of curiosity, who said capacitors are useless?

 

sorry, just a waste of money

I have a 92 Lincoln Towncar, 4.6, and its got a 135 A alternator, I am running an 801s with 2 12" poweracustic FUBR's, at an idle, I'm drop'n down to 11 and 3/4 volts, high idle(1200 rpm) I have a VERY hard time dropping the voltage below 13, what y'all say about that

 

Caps simply "stiffin" the power source by making it capable of supply more regulated power with oscillating loads (the bass thumb that draws current from your vehicle in bursts). This is true whether the electrical system is stock or not. However, caps are not a replacement for a power source that can supply the continuous power you need. If the continuous load from your amplifiers on your electrical system exceeds your system's capacity, then yes, the cap would be "pointless". It is simply a matter of application. A stock alternator in the 130A range can power a pretty loud system for the every-day driver and a cap can help those that like a pronounced bottom-end to their tunes....

 

i agree with morcuff, caps are very useful, but are just there to smooth the voltage input to the amp. Also, alternators are not always able to suddenly discharge the voltage needed, and if your battery isnt top end then it wont be able to discharge quick enough. Although unnotticed on many vehicles with powerful alternators there is still very quick small drops automotive voltmeters dont pickup. This can hurt your electrical system over time by constantly changing voltages, and causing very small power surges. Its not going to do massive damage or anything like that, but it does cause some harm. Also 75player, if you do have a powerful alternator then why cant everyday people use them? Their electical systems arent TOTALLY different than the above average joe's. I understand your trying to knock on people that have 1000watt amps and 50 amp. alternators, but they ARE helpful, dont be hating the cap, be hating the idiots who missuse them!

 

In all my systems I used a cap they are great they give my amp the extra juice when needed and takes some of the strain off my electrical system. I think they are worth it and they are a inexpensive investment for a system.

 

How many professionals do you see using them? I have seen many pro set-ups and hardly any of them use caps. Have you ever seen either of Kicker's trucks, or the Alpine Mini-Cooper? None of those use caps, and there are many other professional set ups without them. I believe as someone said earlier it's because they're pretty.

 

Many pro systems have the financial investment for a completely upgraded power source (high current alternator, dual batteries, etc.), resulting in less of a need for a cap. With that said though, I've seen plenty of competitor vehicles that still have. Now why they have them (practical functinality, look cool, something else to list on the 'mods' sheet, etc.), who knows...

 

The "Pro" did not invent them, So they have no idea what the hell they are selling. They are best "Eye Candy"

The inventer has said over and over "They simply do nothing" and he should know!

Like putting V Rated tires on a VW that can only hit 90mph tops. Oh well he has $$$ tires that are rated for 160mph.

 

Muffinman - I didn't understand your post. We're you responding to me? When I referenced "pros" I was referring to people that invest several thousand dollars in their audio systems, often with the intent to compete in sound-off competitions. What I meant was that these people typically upgrade their alternators to achieve the level of performance they desire. In terms of inventor, I'm reasonably sure that Richard Clark (I think that was who you were referring to) didn't invent capacitors. He probably want's the first even to try them in a car. They do have a purpose and can serve a function, but many people misunderstand (over estimate) their value. Mr. Clark's primary point was that caps have limitations and are significantly affected by their internal resistance. That's true enough. If I put a power cap in the circuit for a car audio system and hear a difference, then by definition, it's done something.

As an aside though, I do agree that they are nice to look at.

My apologies if I misunderstood your post.

 

This subject has been covered so many times.

The Pros use them cause they are given to them. Also the Pro comp system would not last a week in a daily driver.

If you could just add a CAP to fix low amps, They would be in every House, Building, and car to save money. The fact that the charge last 1/1000 of a second just draws more power to recharge it. Now while it's doing that the system is hitting low voltage.

The reason you see CAPS in Office Buildings is a simple one. The Power company fines you if you ER rating is less then .80 they want you to have a 1.0 so that the Power grid is suppling 100% Eff.

 

I don't think that anyone is suggesting that a cap is a power supply - not like an alternator or battery at any rate. Why would I have a cap in my house? Or an office building for that matter? These are AC power systems. I don't see the connection. Caps can be used to filter AC signals, but they can't store AC current.

Why would a "Pro comp" system not last a week in a daily driver? I had a little over $10k in a Dodge Stealth for competitions years ago. It was a compeition car and a daily driver.

I feel bad that I didn't get my caps for free though...

 

Comp systems are made to run for a limited amount of time. Then shut down till the next round.

AC/DC does not matter, They make both. A cap stores energy till needed.

If you have interferrance buy a choke or find the problem.

Times have changed. They sell systems now that are made just for SPL or SQL competion.

 

My concern with this thread is that everything is being treated as absolute. If that were the case, we wouldn't need discussion forums.

Yes, some competition systems are only used for competition in round-by-round judging. Must be nice to have that kind of cash. Not all systems fall into this category.

Yes, they make both polarized and non-polarized capacitors. Non-polarized caps are typically used in circuits with AC currents for filtering (passive crossovers are a good example of this), capacitive coupling of different stages in a circuit, etc. Generally, the circuit is taking advantage of the capacitor's reactance at various frequencies and, as in the case of stage coupling, is taking advantage of the caps ability to block DC current. The function of non-polarized caps isn't energy storage. Polarized caps are used with DC systems for some similar functions. You find larger versions of them in power supplies for filtering and storage to help smooth out AC cycles that result from rectifying (AC to DC conversion) an AC power source. Oddly enough, this has little to do (for the most part) with caps being used in a vehicles power system to stiffen the alternator power source, so I'll digress.

I'm not sure how we ended up on the topic of interference, but it's an excellent point too. Ideally you find the source of interference and eliminate it - as stated. In other cases, interference (typically an AC current we're talking about) is blocked by a choke or (this is the good part) shunted by a capacitor. This is precisely how 2nd order and other types of passive crossovers work.

Times have changed - but some things stay the same.