[MitsuDiamante]

I plan to purchase a full Alpine type X system for my car, that is...
Sub, PDX1.1000 amp, and 4 type X speakers. The sub runs at 1000 watt
rms (3000 peak) and the speakers I belive are 75 Rms and 300 peak.
This amount of power is probably going to need some other source of
energy that doesn't come from the main car battery. Im aware of
capacitors, adding a battery, and installing a better alternator, but
im not sure which of the three will be the cheapest and work the best.
My goal is to be able to listen to the sub at high volume and not kill
my battery or capacitor, and also not dim the headlights when a deep
note hits. Please hit me back if you have any ideas!

[Matt Ion]

MitsuDiamante wrote:
I plan to purchase a full Alpine type X system for my car, that is...
Sub, PDX1.1000 amp, and 4 type X speakers. The sub runs at 1000 watt
rms (3000 peak) and the speakers I belive are 75 Rms and 300 peak.
This amount of power is probably going to need some other source of
energy that doesn't come from the main car battery.

The ONLY time the car battery is your energy source is when the engine isn't
running. Cars have batteries for one primary reason: to crank the starter.
After that, the alternator should provide all the power both for the car's
systems and accessories, and to recharge the battery. Running accesories
(including your system) is a secondary use of the battery, and only when the
engine is off.

Im aware of
capacitors, adding a battery, and installing a better alternator, but
im not sure which of the three will be the cheapest and work the best.

Cheapest will probably be a capacitor. Most effective will be upgrading your
alternator. Upgrading the battery will only really help if you plan to run a
long time with the engine off, because that's the only time you're really
running off the battery.

A capacitor is intended to provide large amounts of instantaneous current for a
very short period (ie. a few hundred milliseconds) when the amp demands it. A
second battery is intended to allow you to run the system with the engine off,
without draining the battery you need to start the car (make sure to use a
battery isolator!).

Neither it or a battery CREATE power for your system - that's the job of the
alternator. If it's not producing enough current for ALL your car's systems,
the cap and extra battery are band-aids at best.

[KU40]

how large is your alternator now? If it's over 100 amps you shouldn't
have much of a problem. I don't with the three amps I have and a 105
amp alternator, which are about the same as you are thinking in terms
of power output.

if you have less than 100, i'd get a larger alternator first.


--
KU40

[MitsuDiamante]

Thanks.. both of these posts were really helpful!