Quick Question

[dzk]

Sup guys,

Well I have an 05 civic and im gonna be putting subs in to it. First off I was wondering is it true if I get to big of an amp (Say like a 1000watt, 3-400 rms) I could possibly blow my alternator and battery because the amp is to big? I have a smaller battery in my car btw. Also, one more question, if this is true what kinda amp should I go with for two 12 inch ken wood sub woofers and what kinda gauge of wiring?

**Forgot** The subs are like 1200 power peak each with like 300 rms I think.

Thanks in advance for your guys help!

dzk

 

[eggyhustles]

1. no

2. what model # kenwood?

3. did u already buy them?

 

[TigBitties]

definately no. i ran 1000rms to just my sub alone. i would recommend no smaller than 4 gauge.

 

[purpej1]

no i ran a 1500 watt amp 1000 watt box with my oem god knows how old alternator and a few year old red top duralast battery with no problems

 

[SuperDanny]

agreed, definately will not blow up the battery and alt., we did a custom car for a local radio station and we had 2 1000w monoblock amps pushing 8 12's along with a big ass 4 channel pushing 8 mid/ highs with 100 farad capacitor a, all in a scion xb with a stock battery and alternator, totally agree with 1sikcivic, no smaller than 4 gauge, and it will give you room to grow off of if you add more later. try to go for true spec wire though, rockford makes true spec so you know your getting actual 4 gauge, ive had to replace alot of power wires from people buying under spec wire...

 

[lowlife9]

well it won't blow up but overtime it could damage it if i was you i would upgrade to a larger battery like DURALAST gold upgrade your big three and also use a capacitor unless you like all your lights to dim every time the bass hits. this is the largest battery i could fit under the hood of my 2004 its a duralast gold product number "34DT-DLG" you will have to slightly modify the battery tray. http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7761/tmpphpuwutpb.jpg

 

[Crump]

ya a cap is needed in the civic, cause of that tiny battery as well, also upgrade the ground wires on the batter and engine, thjis isn't 100% related but will help also.

 

[eggyhustles]

lulz@recommending a cap

Really shows who knows what.

 

[lethal6]

Cap is just a bandaid instead of actually fixing the problem. Do the big 3 upgrade if you are that worried about sapping power.

 

[dzk]

The two 12's are KFC-W3012

1200 power peak

400 rms max

If I upgrade the battery to what your sayin it wont mess up the alternator tho right? Cuz thats what the dude was sayin if its to big of power going thru it or something like that. Alright I'll try some of that wire do you know how much it runs?

 

[eggyhustles]

You'll be fine as long as you use an efficient amp.

Batt and big 3 are a must though just to be on the safe side

get this amp

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_29981_VIBE+Audio+LiteBox+Bass+1.html

Arc clones

class gh so super efficient.

as far as batteries, xs power is very nice.

 

[lowlife9]

lulz@recommending a cap

Really shows who knows what.

i knew your arrogant ass would run his mouth off.

 

[cobb2819]

caps are a great choice when you're not running high output systems!!! the OP is talking about a 400w RMS system, and that's less than 30 amps of current. how would a cap not be the good choice?? i ran 800w or less than 60 amps of current through my stock alt and just a basic autozone batt for 5 years with a 1.2 farad cap with NO problems, no light dimming.

 

[TigBitties]

the cap would help with the big hits, another idea could be a power cell? Lets not argue about this guys, we all know there is multiple ways to doing things and there is different opinions. Oh and i love my yellowtop

 

[eggyhustles]

Sigh.

If anybody has any non-subjective evidence showing that a capacitor helps, feel free to post it up.
Such evidence would be a graph showing the output voltage at the speaker terminals with a test audio pattern comparing with and without the capacitor installed and without.
Claims of better sound by ears or other anecdotal evidence is not.

If you believe anecdotal evidence of sound quality, I've got some volume knobs to sell you.

 

[lethal6]

caps are a great choice when you're not running high output systems!!! the OP is talking about a 400w RMS system, and that's less than 30 amps of current. how would a cap not be the good choice?? i ran 800w or less than 60 amps of current through my stock alt and just a basic autozone batt for 5 years with a 1.2 farad cap with NO problems, no light dimming.

I see caps as a huge waste of money. I have ran them in the past because I gave in to the hype and they did next to nothing. Putting a cap in would be just about as good as basic bolt ons do for my D series. Sure companies can claim what ever they want and people will believe them. Having them actually produce what they claim is a whole other story.

I have been running around 1000w total for the last 2 years with NO cap and my lights NEVER dim. Hell, I even have h.i.d.s and they don't even flicker and they are very picky on juice going to them. All I did was put in a good battery and the big 3 upgrade.

I ran 2 10's in my K5 for over 10 years and the lights never dimmed in that either.

Could be different for others but I just see the caps as a money making scheme just like radar detectors, cell phone signal boosters, penis enhancement pills, magic diet pills....you get the point. I just don't see the need for a cap, especially on basic street systems.

 

[cobb2819]

if the over all power your audio setup requires is more than your charging system can handle then a cap will not do anything. on the other hand, if you do not notice any problems with the exception of a loud bass lick, or only when you are cranking your setup and the sub fires, then a cap will help fix that. that is what they are used for. they have a small time frame when they are used, and they are used only for that particular purpose. if you have lights dimming all the time or whenever you listen to music and you have a severe voltage drop all the time, a cap is not gonna fix that problem. a cap only stores a little amount of extra juice, it's like a reserve gas tank on a motorcycle...it is not what you use all the time, only when you absolutely need it and only for that small time.

the only proof i need to prove this is that fact that it works. i do not need a line graph showing voltage to prove my point. anyone who has used a cap on a DD small wattage system can attest to it's ability to do what it need to do. will the big three and a better battery help with the over all performance, yes...yes they will, but will a cap also help prevent strain on the charging system during the short time that most people experience the excessive pull that some amps require, yes it will.

 

[cobb2819]

I have been running around 1000w total for the last 2 years with NO cap and my lights NEVER dim. Hell, I even have h.i.d.s and they don't even flicker and they are very picky on juice going to them. All I did was put in a good battery and the big 3 upgrade.

wow...so you didn't / don't need one, doesn't mean they don't work, just means you didn't / don't need one

I ran 2 10's in my K5 for over 10 years and the lights never dimmed in that either.

charging system on a k5 blazer is very different. was it carb'd?? my guess is the power requirements of the electrical were far less than the charging system put out, in which case you had a lot more available for a stereo. Customer of mine has a carb'd K5 running completely stock and the vehicle only requires like 30-40 amps of current to operate, his stock alternator is like 120 amps. now...my civic requires about the same or maybe a little less to operate but only has a stock 80 amp or so alt. you just compared apples to oranges.

 

[lethal6]

wow...so you didn't / don't need one, doesn't mean they don't work, just means you didn't / don't need one

Just because you THINK you need one doesn't mean they actually work. You haven't provided ANY evidence other than "I don't need to because they work". Just as I don't have much evidence other than they don't work.

Going to have to agree to disagree I guess.

charging system on a k5 blazer is very different. was it carb'd?? my guess is the power requirements of the electrical were far less than the charging system put out, in which case you had a lot more available for a stereo. Customer of mine has a carb'd K5 running completely stock and the vehicle only requires like 30-40 amps of current to operate, his stock alternator is like 120 amps. now...my civic requires about the same or maybe a little less to operate but only has a stock 80 amp or so alt. you just compared apples to oranges.

Yes, the charging system in my Blazer was very different than my civic, but that doesn't negate the fact that I didn't need on in it and I DON'T need one in my civic. Only difference in the system is that I am running 1 12 instead of 2 10s. Same amps, almost same power draw as they were old technology 10s (purchased over 10 years ago) and the power rating is about the same for the 2 of them as what my single 12 is now.

Like I said, I fell for the hype myself. Hell, I still have the cap sitting on the shelf as a paper weight.

There is no proof behind what you are saying other than personal opinion, I guess just as much as myself saying that they don't work because there was no change in either system I had it hooked up to. Different strokes I guess.

 

[See-Tee-R]

As far as Im concerned the cap I had didn't solve anything, Im sure it doesn't hurt to have one, but its a waste of money.

1000w amp is not that much, and just because it says 1000w, it isn't necessarily 1000. Go by the RMS, not the wattage that the marketing teams try to sell you. Also, get a good, reputable amp, Dont cheap out and buy a Pyle amp or some piece of crap that claims 1500w but only pushes out 600. Stick with the three basic companies, Kenwood, Alpine, Pioneer.

Big 3 Upgrade will do wonders if you have flickering headlights, so I've been told.

Personally, I have a 1000w kenwood amp, and 2 subs running at 300w rms each, a dvd deck, 6x9 and 6.5 coaxials. I dont have any headlight dimming, the system has been up for about 6 months with no problems. I dont even have a big 3 upgrade yet. No flickering lights with my HIDs either.

But also note that I do not blast my system on max volume, nor have I tried it, so that may or may not dim my lights.