Not in need for one, but I was reading about them online, i can see many disputes about them being good or useless

I was wondering if any of you guys actually USED a cap in their sound system and how good/bad was it?

If you're going to walk into this thread to lecture how useless or useful it is based on opinion and online reviews, please read this thread all over again before posting a reply.

Again, PERSONAL experience with caps not opinions.

Thanks

they dont provide more currant unless ur electrical is already up to par with ur system, they can improve bass hits, but as far as helping with low voltage.... thats what the big three, larger alt, and extra batt is for

I was reading this, sadly it makes sense a little bit
wonder how true it is, they even make 40 farad caps for like a 100 bucks


little off topic, any writeup on 00+ big three upgrade?

I second what raptor said. When I designed my system the friend that was helping me (a very knowledgeable installer who has been in the business for over 15 years), told me capacitors are worthless and have no place in a good system. We did the big three on my car and added a second battery and it has worked great. The lights hardly dim even when I'm really getting on it.

One big weakness in our cars is the fused link coming off the alternator. If you follow the wire down you will find half way through it gets really thin, that is the fused link. I replaced that with heavier gauge wire, and you could (and maybe even should) put a real fuse on it. I opted not to since shutting the engine off kills that wire anyways.

Then you have the ground coming off the main battery, that needs to be upgraded to a thicker gauge with a solid connection to the frame.

capacitors have their place, but most people install them as a band-aid instead of fixing their real issues.

True, there is a reason u never see a comp sq or spl system with a capacitor in it,

I did run a capacitor for a while. I took it out once I learned how useless they are, and it made absolutely no difference.

Andrei did you end up doing the big 3 on the GXP? i remember you mentioning something about maybe doing it

Never did get around to it before I sold it. It desperately needed it though. I wouldn't really replace any wires. Too much work IMO and too much cost. I would simply add an additional 4 gauge copper wire to the existing wiring and that should take care of it.