does anyone have a capacitor in their car just because it looks legit?

[Gingeriffik]

Ok well my voltage doesnt move it's stays the same.

And thats fine, if you don't have voltage drop (and I'm talking below 12volts). Then a cap is a good thing. For most people, they think it improves the electrical system which is far from the truth.

[GRITS]

. But, to SQ and most daily people, it is a good thing to have a strong and stable voltage input to the amps, because is help with sound quality to a verry audible extent (WHEN USED PROPERLY mind you).

Correct I like to have SQ and its a daily driver, my truck isnt a "bass racer" it's used for shopping and running to dr appts.

[huh?do-what?]

put your cap in your pants. The ladies will think you are cool. Seriously though, I took mine out cause it didnt seem to help. But at that time my stock alternator was squealing like hell. But on the other hand, if caps are useless, why are there caps on the circuit board of an amp? They must serve some purpose. But all in all, if you have the money, buy a battery.

[audiofanaticz]

NO. that is a perfect example of misuse of a capacitor. it will not replace batteries or alternators. it is to be used WITH those things to keep electricity constant.

Agreed... If you want to use a capacitor get a real capacitor, not something cheap like that brand x, or any other capacitor that sells for around a 100 bucks, or more if you get the digital top capacitor.

Real capacitors are the ones made by Rockford Fosgate or Lightning audio that are 50+ fared:

http://www.dealercostcaraudio.com/rockfordfosgatecpcc1.aspx

http://www.woofersetc.com/p3784/SCC1--Lightning-Audio-50-Farad-Carbon-Capacitor.htm

or the smaller RF capacitor that is 10 fared:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_9846_Rockford+Fosgate+RFC10HB.html?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=froogle

The Alumapro 50 fared cap:

http://www.woofersetc.com/p633/CAP50--Alumapro-50-Farad-Capacitor-Distribution-Center.htm

Alumapro 15 fared cap:

http://www.woofersetc.com/p631/CAP15--Alumapro-15-Farad-Capacitor-Distribution-Center.htm

Alumapro 5 fared cap:

http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=3101

All of the above are real capacitors that actually will do something other then show your voltage and be an additional strain on your already slacking electrical system.

[MrSkippyJ]

put your cap in your pants. The ladies will think you are cool. Seriously though, I took mine out cause it didnt seem to help. But at that time my stock alternator was squealing like hell. But on the other hand, if caps are useless, why are there caps on the circuit board of an amp? They must serve some purpose. But all in all, if you have the money, buy a battery.

Not real sure how you got that caps in general are useless, but this thread is about the caps on the outside of your amp.

[Neo_frog]

LOL's!!! Dude, we could defend this till were blue in the face. People seem to have there minds made up, and you can't, no matter how hard you try, seem to change there mind. As far as the SPL guys go, you have no need for a cap anyway because stable voltage is not your main concern, so I understand your stance on not having/useing a cap. But, to SQ and most daily people, it is a good thing to have a strong and stable voltage input to the amps, because is help with sound quality to a verry audible extent (WHEN USED PROPERLY mind you).

Actually, stable voltage is a very BIG concern with SPL competitors. They rely on a large amount of batteries, efficient wiring, and lots of testing for maximum power at a given frequency. Caps are not useless, but they create more clutter and impedance in the circuit so they are not used.

You are correct with SQ cars though. They act like a ripple filter cleaning up the signal. The goal here is flat rather than highest peak so a capacitor is perfect for this application. They also use a combination of batteries and caps for the higher end.

[Boon]

Ideally you would use a MASSSIVE bank of caps instead of batteries for an SPL car. Look at the way a T15K works and you'll see why, caps are excellent at massive instant current delivery.

But let's do some maths here.

1 Kinetic 2400 will deliver ~1000A for a 3 second, which can probably allow for ~10000wrms

Total energy = 10000*3 = 30000J

Energy in a cap = 0.5 * capacitance * (Voltage squared) aka 0.5CV^2

30000 = 0.5 * C * V^2

60000 = C * 12.8^2 = 163.84C

60000/163.84 = C = 366.2

So you could probably get a pretty useful burp out of 400F worth of caps, assuming they had negligible ESR. But for an extreme car you would be looking at 4000F of caps, plus a BUNCH of batteries to charge the caps back up between burps.

[Emoxihax]

pretty soon I'm gonna take the cap and paint the shitty plastic of it black, should look sick

[TeamHT]

i honestly think caps are a complete waste of space and energy. in smaller applications they make more sense, but if its such a small application i dont see it being important. it becomes completely useless in order to be effective in any larger applications requiring more work than a larger battery reserve or high output alternators. and in all honesty, ugly as shit in my opinion. ie OPs picture...looks so cheapy and plasticy and just embodies uselessness in my opinion.

i can hardly understand people using these as voltage meters as its never 100% and costs what....$60-$70 for a cheapy bestbuy cap when you can go to your local auto store and get a good digital voltage meter for....$9.99? doesnt seem efficient to me at all. and if you like the lights and glow...then $20 more for some interior LEDs.

[Emoxihax]

I got this thing for 9.99 watuppp. Really just used it to hook up multiple amps(gonna get 2 more 6x9's soon and hook em to a 2nd amp