Voltage drop

[BigBoss_35]

Im dropping from 14.2V to 13.2V. what should I upgrade? (i got stock battery and stock alt). should I switch to AGM battery and do the big 3? Thanks. 

[Joe X]

Don't actually know what are you saying but if the lowest voltage you ever get is 13.2V in your car you might as well do nothing unless you plan to upgrade your audio.

[BigBoss_35]

My bad I am new to this stuff. Yes, the lowest I got was 13.2V (before the bass hit, I was at 14.4V). I don't know if this is an issue or if it's fine, but my headlights constantly dim. I do not plan to upgrade my audio right now. 

[Joe X]

13.2 V is nothing to worry about but if you are stressing a lot your electrical things may get worse over time so you may want to list what subs and amp models you have and what is the vehicle. That should be enough info to tell you if you are likely to have problems going forward or not.

[BigBoss_35]

I have a 2014 Honda CRV Touring. I have a single 10 which is an American Bass XFL-1044. I am running it at 2ohms on a Banda ICE X 1202. Currently using 4 gauge wiring from battery to amp. 

[Joe X]

Your vehicle is supposed to have a 120A alternator, if that's the case your electrical should be able to hold at 13.2V so as long as you only play with your car on you are good to go, to reduce the dimming substantially you could upgrade your battery and add a capacitor at your amp terminals.

[BigBoss_35]

Thank you. I have heard mixed reviews about capacitors with some saying they are great and some saying they are useless. Would you recommend any capacitors? Also, do you recommend doing the big 3 upgrade, even with stock alt and battery? 

[Joe X]

Most important is to check the model of your alternator to make sure is actually 120A, if not what I am saying is not valid, secondly you should get an AGM battery of decent capacity, probably that should be enough to reduce the dimming, a big 3 upgrade is recommended, take a look at the link below to read some more on the topic:

 

https://learn.sonicelectronix.com/5-steps-to-eliminate-headlight-dimming/

 

The other way to to help your electrical system is by using higher diameter subs which are much louder for the watt, a single 10 sub in a big vehicle will make you up the volume level a lot to get decent output, a 12 sub can gain you 2-3 dB just by merit of size, A 3dB difference means you can be as loud with a 12" on half the power that a 10" sub need.