Im not looking for window shattering bass.....my friend is givin me a good deal on some pioneer 12's and a 300watt amp. I was wondering if i need a capicator?

I'd say no. but what kind of amp? there are "300watt" amps out there that do quite a bit more than that:D

I have always wondered If I needed one also. I have 2 alpine amps. The subs run on the V-12 MRV-T707, my indiglo gauges and radio face dim with the bass. I think I would need one but I don't know, what do you audio guru's think?


Missing Car. . .
Contemplating Turbo. . . . .

http://hometown.aol.com/ohshootuhh/

Perf:
KYB AGX Struts
Neuspeed Sport Springs
5 Strut Bars (2 F/U, F/L, R/U, R/L)
Sprint Front Camber Kit
$15 Rear Camber Kit
Corbin's A/F Gauge
MSD DIS-2 Ignition System
Some Regrind Cams that need High Compression (which I don't have)
Ported Intake Manifold
Ported Throttle Body
Nameless Cold Air Intake with a K&N Filter
Custom 2 1/2 inch exhaust with Dual DTM Muffler
Empty Catalytic Convertor
Energy Suspension Motor Mount inserts
Hurricane_GS Short Shifter
Symborsky Shift Kit
Clutchmasters Stage 3 Modular
225/50/16inch Wheels and Tires


Audio:
Alpine CD Head Unit
Alpine Flex4 25W X 4 for Fronts and Rears
Alpine V-12 450W X 1 for Subs
Infinity Reference Series 5 1/4 and 1 inch tweeter component systems for fronts and rears
Blaupunkt 3 way 6x9's in the rears
3 MTX 5000 10" 12 ohm subs running 4 ohms mono

O-h well.....found out why my friend was given me such a good deal....one of the cones in one of them is screwed up. But i just ordered 2 Kenwood 12's. 600 watt max....and RMS 160. Anybody no a cheap amp i can get that will power them good?

hmm.. ive run all kinds of amps for my subs.. with no caps on any of them. im sure that some needed some, but i was cheap and was saving for other things. id say, it depends on the amps, some draw a lot of current from the battery, and a cap is necessary. otherwise, unless you are pushing a true 500watts or more.. i would say you wouldnt need one. 1 farad for evey 1000watts. that seems to be the way to go.

well if anything dims while the system plays it would be a good idea to get a cap... i think it really plays into affect when you have lots of power going to the amp that is pushing your subs...

fast420A, pick up a 1 farad cap,
twobuf4u, pick up the kenwood amp from CC that says 600watts, on it(sorry, don't konw the model # off the top of my head) you'll like it, it's only like 189 I think, and you shouldn't need a cap.

>fast420A, pick up a 1 farad cap,


Thanks!

Missing Car. . .
Contemplating Turbo. . . . .

http://hometown.aol.com/ohshootuhh/

Perf:
KYB AGX Struts
Neuspeed Sport Springs
5 Strut Bars (2 F/U, F/L, R/U, R/L)
Sprint Front Camber Kit
$15 Rear Camber Kit
Corbin's A/F Gauge
MSD DIS-2 Ignition System
Some Regrind Cams that need High Compression (which I don't have)
Ported Intake Manifold
Ported Throttle Body
Nameless Cold Air Intake with a K&N Filter
Custom 2 1/2 inch exhaust with Dual DTM Muffler
Empty Catalytic Convertor
Energy Suspension Motor Mount inserts
Hurricane_GS Short Shifter
Symborsky Shift Kit
Clutchmasters Stage 3 Modular
225/50/16inch Wheels and Tires


Audio:
Alpine CD Head Unit
Alpine Flex4 25W X 4 for Fronts and Rears
Alpine V-12 450W X 1 for Subs
Infinity Reference Series 5 1/4 and 1 inch tweeter component systems for fronts and rears
Blaupunkt 3 way 6x9's in the rears
3 MTX 5000 10" 12 ohm subs running 4 ohms mono

im no audio pro.. but ive been told caps suck.. just get a dry cell.. for the same price u would spend on that.. a cap just gives the extra power when u need it.. the cry cell will always be there giving it power and not taking away from your lights or what not.

yes caps do help. another battery is always better, but there's alot more in adding a second battery than just the cost of the battery. and if you ever compete, they'll always kick you up a few classes, and you have to vent it. more hassle than I'd like to deal with. a yellow top and (3) .5farad caps take care of my amp nicely.

caps dont suck, they do what they are designed to do. and yup, i would love to have another battery for my car, but there is just too much work (im lazy) to get another one going in my car. if you really need the extra power, try koolades route. hes got himself a nice setup going.

well.. your lights dimming might not mean you need a cap. What size wires you using?? From the batt to the amps. If its not big enough, having a cap wont help either. I remembered that on my old setup, I was using 8 gauge wires for running 2 amps. my lights dimmed like hell. But now that I changed over to 1 gauge wires.. its just fine. I also added in 2 caps just for looks really. Cuase im not about to run the risk of shattering my rear hatch.. Dont think thats really pussible.. but Im always scared of that.

Let me try and expain power caps a little bit here. Basically, they are just a small battery, capable of holding a charge of electricity. But, this charge can be sent out, or discharged, very quickly. Quicker than the alternator, and quicker than the battery. Lights usually dim because of a voltage sag or drop when heavy bass hits. The amp is drawing its max power, or close to it, and draws alot of current, and the voltage drops because of this, causing the lights to dim. My first step of advise if you have the dimming problem, is to have a good, true deep cycle battery, like the optima yellow/red top. These batteries can discharge a lot of energy very quickly, and much faster than a traditional car battery. Use one of these deep cycle batts, and be sure to use the proper guage power wire. For a 300 watt amp, 10 guage will sufice, but 8 guage will be better. Larger wire has less resistance, and lets more amperage through with less voltage drop and less heat, and less resistance. Now a power capacitor will be a way of "stiffining" the voltage in the car. When the big bass hits, the cap imiadiatley discharges, but the voltage remains somewhat more constant, with less voltage drop, because the cap is a place of electrical storage, that discharges at lightening speeds, much faster than even a deep cycle battery can discharge. This extremely fast discharge is what keeps the voltage from sagging, or dropping. The rule of thumb for needing caps, is 1 farad for every 1000 watts of amp power. Caps aren't a waste of money, but they DO NOT add more bass, or more loudness by using one. Also, by adding a second battery, you will increase the demand on your alternator by 2 times now, so your voltage will sag even more unless you have a high output alternator capable of charging 2 batteries at high output. By adding a second battery, the only benefit of that is to extend the carr off play time. If you have the alternator power to charge additional batteries, then haveing a second battery or more can be very benifical because now you have more electrial storage ready to be used. With a 300 watt amp, i'd say you don't need a cap. If you experience dimming lights, try a optima yellow top battery, and use at least 8 guage power wire. I'd bet that will take care of your problems. By the way, I'm pushing over 2000 watts to my 15" eclipse sub, and my lights dim very little, with no caps. I'm using an optima yellow top, and 4 guage power and ground..I hope this helps..

Doesn't matter how much power your pulling, a cap will always help out especially for your subs. It will actually make them sound a lot better because you will have mower power getting to them each time they hit. Basically all a cap does is provide power in a hurry and recharge just as fast. I recommend one to anyone with an aftermarket sustem......just my $0.02 though....