Do i need a cap for my new sub/amp system?????

Question

i drive a little dodge neon (which doesnt produce that much power with its little battery lol) and i am going to be buying a brand new Alpine 12in 2ohm R with rms of 500w and peak of 1500w and an Alpine 500w rms amp. I was wondering if i should get a cap for it or not because most systems ive seen have them and idk what determines if u need one or not so should I? Also i have 8 guage wire already ran in my car from trying to hook up my friends (BROKEN) sub and amp but do u think it would be better to bump it up to 4 guage...and if so do i need to bump up the guage for the ground wire and the speaker wire going from the amp to the sub? sorry im new with subs and do not know much about them....PLZ HELP

Answer 1

i would recomend a 1 farad cap for that small of a set up 8 ga should also be sufficient these help your lights from dimming at night when a strong bass line hits also helps ur bat and alt  froom being taxed by the extra demand for power

Answer 2

A cap does not supply power, it stores it. The alternator of your car is the power source. A cap is designed to stiffen voltage to the amp. Many people think that it will solve light dimming issues or bass cut off problems, but it won't. It doesn't do anything for sound quality. In your case, with a neon, you don't have a very big alternator to begin with, so I would not recommend a cap, it would only put a bigger strain on your alternator. If you were to get one, a 1/2 farad would be fine. But again it is not necessary, and there are much better things to spend the money on.

Answer 3

The 8 gauge wiring is adequate for a 500W RMS amp.  A cap won't help much.  A better solution would be to put that money towards a high output alternator.  Install the amp first and determine later if your electrical needs to be addressed.