Capacitor or not?

[LoganFehr]

Yesterday I finally got around to putting my RE Audio SE 10 in my oh so solid Mazda Protege 5. It's running on a Rockford Fosgate P700-1BD, rated 844 watts RMS on the spec sheet from RF. Now, I really only got to play it decently loud this evening and I noticed a fair bit of dimming in the headlights. My battery is fairly strong and I think the alternator is pretty good as well. I'm wondering if a good 1 farad capacitor will cure this or if I need to add a battery.

Sorry if I sound a little nooby. This is my first real car audio experience.

[littlebuck1919]

its all good man, but id recommend a bigger battery or a second battery, or maybe a bigger alt, did u do the big 3?

[LoganFehr]

I haven't done the big 3 yet, but I plan on getting that done in the next few days. I'm a highschool student on a pretty tight budget so if I were to replace my battery, what choices would you recommend?

[Sanitarium]

Do the big 3 first before blowing money on a cap-ass-itor

[steve volz]

a 2nd battery will help you the most for now then do the big3

[littlebuck1919]

but to keep it cheap, woudn't the big 3 be cheaper than a new battery?? if it dnt work, then maybe a bigger battery?? depending on what he's got under the hood i suppose

[b-dubs89]

i have been in this predicament and although a high output alternator would be ideal , a capacitor has helped with dimming headlights in my installs and i also noticed a small improvement in sound quality probably because my amp was getting a more consistent voltage . the big 3 you should do regardless of anything else . i know a numb er of people here think caps are a waste of money but i think they were looking to run way bigger equipment so of course a cap isn't going to help you 3-4k on a stock alt very well. battery good option to . i like capacitors because at higher voltage you amp tends to draw slightly less amperage than at a lower voltage and a capacitor can charge and discharge more rapidly than a battery

[Jessica]

i have been in this predicament and although a high output alternator would be ideal , a capacitor has helped with dimming headlights in my installs and i also noticed a small improvement in sound quality probably because my amp was getting a more consistent voltage . the big 3 you should do regardless of anything else . i know a numb er of people here think caps are a waste of money but i think they were looking to run way bigger equipment so of course a cap isn't going to help you 3-4k on a stock alt very well. battery good option to . i like capacitors because at higher voltage you amp tends to draw slightly less amperage than at a lower voltage and a capacitor can charge and discharge more rapidly than a battery

Well, i won't get to much into this but, first i agree that a cap might help tighten up kick drum and the initial sound of a bass line giving the effect of tighter bass, after that initial dump it's no use. Secondly though, i want to point out a cap cannot charge quicker than a battery can discharge and that is why they can cause problems because they discharge so quick that the rest of your electrical is busy re-charging it instead of sending power to more important places. Just my opinion.

[Watch the bass]

I haven't done the big 3 yet, but I plan on getting that done in the next few days. I'm a highschool student on a pretty tight budget so if I were to replace my battery, what choices would you recommend?

Do first the Big 3 in 0/1 gauge, if your alt and batt so good, you´ll be fine. http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/13280-how-to-do-the-big-3-tutorial/