hey everyone, probably a dumb question, but im installing my bass system this weekend and i wanted to know the best spot in the trunk to ground my cap and amps. any suggestions? 
Dat_Fusion_Boy
Make sure you get something that's part of the body, and not welded/bolted to it. Scratch away the paint, and make your ground with a stud or self-tappers. A quick shot of primer will prevent rust if you use self-tappers.
And ditch the capacitor. They're a band-aid solution at best, and honestly they're 99% gimmick. They actually put MORE stress on the electrical system, even though they appear to make things better. I've got plenty of technical info to back me up. Step up to a good battery, and if you need a little more, do a Big 3 upgrade. Unless you're going really big, you won't need much more than that.
And ditch the capacitor. They're a band-aid solution at best, and honestly they're 99% gimmick. They actually put MORE stress on the electrical system, even though they appear to make things better. I've got plenty of technical info to back me up. Step up to a good battery, and if you need a little more, do a Big 3 upgrade. Unless you're going really big, you won't need much more than that.
The brief answer is that batteries create electricity through chemical reaction. They have several million joules of potential energy. Capacitors only store electricity on their plates, and even a 10 farad cap is only capable of holding a couple hundred thousand joules (A fraction of what a battery has). By the time a capacitor is drained down to about 10v, the remaining power in it is no longer usable, even though it is still at roughly 50% of it energy potential, meaning you can only use about half of the 'juice' a cap can hold. Once that cap is discharged, something has to charge it. That being your alternator and battery. Capacitors also have ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance), which is essentially a measure of how much power a device uses, or turns into heat (wastes). That ESR is basically negative efficiency. You take power from your battery, use 5-10% of it, just in ESR, and the rest is stored in a capacitor, where only half of it is still accessible, before it reaches a voltage level that renders it useless. Now you've taken the power you had, thrown about half of it out the window, and used the rest; but your lights didn't dim! (This is where the illusion of caps being worth a crap comes from) One good battery up front will have far more capacitance, or reserve power, than a standard auto battery, without the extra cost of parts used to install a capacitor, and without introducing any new drains on the system. Another option is a second battery or power cell. Stinger makes a really small power cell call the SPV20, and there are many other available on the market for roughly $100. Installation of a second battery is identical to how you'd install a capacitor, except in some cases you need an isolator. With something small, like an SPV20, you wouldn't need an isolator, you'd spend about the same $$$ as you would for a capacitor, but you'd see 10x the results, and they'd be REAL results, not just a band-aid solution to make it appear as if your problem was fixed.
[quote author=Ferendon link=topic=143579.msg3094492#msg3094492 date=1241104996]
The brief answer is that batteries create electricity through chemical reaction. They have several million joules of potential energy. Capacitors only store electricity on their plates, and even a 10 farad cap is only capable of holding a couple hundred thousand joules (A fraction of what a battery has). By the time a capacitor is drained down to about 10v, the remaining power in it is no longer usable, even though it is still at roughly 50% of it energy potential, meaning you can only use about half of the 'juice' a cap can hold. Once that cap is discharged, something has to charge it. That being your alternator and battery. Capacitors also have ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance), which is essentially a measure of how much power a device uses, or turns into heat (wastes). That ESR is basically negative efficiency. You take power from your battery, use 5-10% of it, just in ESR, and the rest is stored in a capacitor, where only half of it is still accessible, before it reaches a voltage level that renders it useless. Now you've taken the power you had, thrown about half of it out the window, and used the rest; but your lights didn't dim! (This is where the illusion of caps being worth a crap comes from) One good battery up front will have far more capacitance, or reserve power, than a standard auto battery, without the extra cost of parts used to install a capacitor, and without introducing any new drains on the system. Another option is a second battery or power cell. Stinger makes a really small power cell call the SPV20, and there are many other available on the market for roughly $100. Installation of a second battery is identical to how you'd install a capacitor, except in some cases you need an isolator. With something small, like an SPV20, you wouldn't need an isolator, you'd spend about the same $$$ as you would for a capacitor, but you'd see 10x the results, and they'd be REAL results, not just a band-aid solution to make it appear as if your problem was fixed.
[/quote]
Thats good info to have. Especially since I was planning to add a cap. I guess I'll upgrade the battery instead. Who knew? :dunno:
The brief answer is that batteries create electricity through chemical reaction. They have several million joules of potential energy. Capacitors only store electricity on their plates, and even a 10 farad cap is only capable of holding a couple hundred thousand joules (A fraction of what a battery has). By the time a capacitor is drained down to about 10v, the remaining power in it is no longer usable, even though it is still at roughly 50% of it energy potential, meaning you can only use about half of the 'juice' a cap can hold. Once that cap is discharged, something has to charge it. That being your alternator and battery. Capacitors also have ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance), which is essentially a measure of how much power a device uses, or turns into heat (wastes). That ESR is basically negative efficiency. You take power from your battery, use 5-10% of it, just in ESR, and the rest is stored in a capacitor, where only half of it is still accessible, before it reaches a voltage level that renders it useless. Now you've taken the power you had, thrown about half of it out the window, and used the rest; but your lights didn't dim! (This is where the illusion of caps being worth a crap comes from) One good battery up front will have far more capacitance, or reserve power, than a standard auto battery, without the extra cost of parts used to install a capacitor, and without introducing any new drains on the system. Another option is a second battery or power cell. Stinger makes a really small power cell call the SPV20, and there are many other available on the market for roughly $100. Installation of a second battery is identical to how you'd install a capacitor, except in some cases you need an isolator. With something small, like an SPV20, you wouldn't need an isolator, you'd spend about the same $$$ as you would for a capacitor, but you'd see 10x the results, and they'd be REAL results, not just a band-aid solution to make it appear as if your problem was fixed.
[/quote]
Thats good info to have. Especially since I was planning to add a cap. I guess I'll upgrade the battery instead. Who knew? :dunno:
It's what I do for a living, and I'm more than glad to answer any questions. I also used to do Ford factory alarms and remote starts, so if you have one on your car, I know everything there is to know about it, and I also have a garage full of them, as well as replacement/service parts for them.
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