Does a capasitor really make a difference in your car stereo system

Question

i was just wondering if it really made a difference and what does it really do i have never used one and i have never had any problems and if i get one what should i get i dont understand the whole farad things mean

Answer 1

A farad is how much energy the capacitor stores.  By definition the voltage of a 1 farad capacitor will change by 1 volt per second at a current of 1 amp.  IOW if you had a 1 farad stiffening capacitor charged to 14 volts and hooked a 1 amp constant current draw to it the cap would be discharged to 0 volts in 14 seconds (or 1.4 seconds @ 10 amps, .14 seconds @ 100 amps, etc.)  A large enough capacitor could crank the engine on your car without the aid of a battery but it would have to be several hundred farads or larger to do it since the voltage would only be allowed to fall from 13 to about 10.

To give you an idea of how small the capacity of a 1 farad stiffening capacitor is compared to a battery let's compare it to a common 20Ah SLA battery from your average portable jump start pack.  20Ah is 1 amp for 20 hours which is 72,000 seconds.  Since the voltage is allowed to fall by 2 (12.5-10.5) during discharge you divide by 2 to get 36,000.  IOW a cheap 20Ah 12V battery holds the same energy as a 36 thousand farad 12v capacitor.

Answer 2

a cap really only needs to be used with a high power output system. we're talking like 6000watts+.all it does is store energy so that the electrical draw on your battery and alternator aren't so bad. i use one just because sometimes i run my system for long periods of time at high output levels...but you should be fine. email me your setup and i will tell you really what you need to get bumpin.

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Answer 3

No, they do NOTHING at all and are just made to look cool. It can't do anything a big 3 upgrade or a second battery wouldn't do.

Answer 4

A capacitor is not always necessary.  If you are experiencing dimming lights especially when the bass notes hit, it CAN help having one.  But does not always help if your electrical system is not powerful enough.

Selecting the right capacitor with the right system can be helpful, but some people will say that the capcitors do not help.  It just all depends on the setup and the system you have.

Here are some resources:

http://www.electronixwarehouse.com/car/a...

http://ezinearticles.com/?Understanding-...

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/car_audio_ca...

Answer 5

no they really don't make up for low output alternator and bad battery. If you have ever been to a competition  do you see any of those cars with caps?