What kind of battery for a 1250 watt system?

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Old 10-07-2011, 06:29 PM
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What kind of battery for a 1250 watt system?

So I am looking to put a new subwoofer in my 07 TL. I know a lot about subs but not really batteries and the right kind to get. I was looking to replace the stock battery and to get the optima yellow top batteries, and I came up with this one.
http://shop.optimabatteries.com/prod...56.0.0.0?pp=8&
I would like to know if first this will fit, if it will put out enough power for the car and a 1250w system, and last if this is a good battery (Should i get like a XS power battery?). Thanks for the help I greatly appreciate it.
Old 10-07-2011, 07:30 PM
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This will/should be moved to the audio section. Lots of good info in there.

IHC, wanna jump in quick with some audio knowledge?
Old 10-07-2011, 09:15 PM
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you dont need to worry so much about your battery... its your alternator that will feel the drain.
Old 10-07-2011, 09:29 PM
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^this. Plus...Optima yellow top isn't all that great...

Can you tell us your complete setup?
Old 10-07-2011, 09:32 PM
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1250w input or output power? If it's output, are you running a class D or a class A/B amp? Class D will turn about 80% of the input power into output to the speakers. Class A/B can be as bad as 40% meaning 100w into the amp is 40w to the speakers (and lots of heat).

Optimas are not what they once were. Overpriced and very average but they have a great marketing department and weird following. For a great battery at a decent price, look at the Sears Diehard Platinum. It's a dry cell Odyssey rebadged as a Sears and a few bucks cheaper as a Diehard vs Odyssey.

For 1250w of class D power you really don't need to do anything to the car. Class D uses more power as you turn the volume up. Class A/B uses full power any time it's on.

I'm running a couple class D JL HD600/4 and an HD900/5 amps. 1,500w to the speakers and no issues with the charging system.
Old 10-07-2011, 10:35 PM
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I have an Interstate battery. It isn't one of those fancy deep cycles and it's been fine for over a year now.

You don't need to worry about your battery.
Old 10-07-2011, 11:00 PM
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Im going to keep the door speakers, put an Alpine PDX-M12, which is a class D amp, with a type X. That's basically it. And i plan on bangin my system a lot. Even then you guys dont thing i should do anything? Also sorry this is in the wrong category, kinda new here.
Old 10-07-2011, 11:30 PM
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There's members running double of what you're running and fine with no large electrical upgrades. Just run 0/1 ga. wire for power and ground. Do the big 3 too if you want piece of mind. You'll be fine
Old 10-07-2011, 11:46 PM
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The only thing that's ever dimmed my lights and caused alternator output to hit 100% (verified on a Snap-on scanner via the ECU) is a 2,500w A/B amp on my 12W6s when they were in too small of a box.

Headroom is always great. I probably love headroom more than anyone here (I tend to run at least double the rated power on everything) but I just don't think it's worth the trouble in your case. You could always crank on it and take a voltage reading at the amp to see if it drops.

If you figure the amp will pull about 1,600w at full volume which you will probably never do you're talking about 114amps. That's on music, not test tones so the average will be significantly lower. The stock alternator is 130amps. Unless you are running the seat heaters and/or rear window defogger, it's doubtful you'll ever exceed the alternator's capacity alone. This is my least knowledgable subject so maybe someone more familiar with electronics can chime in but I think it's safe to say there will be no problems.

If you are still worried, throw the sub in a larger box. It will lower the power requirements and the only downside is taking up more space.
Old 10-08-2011, 12:22 PM
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Like the others said you should be OK with your stock electrical system. Remember music is dynamic, so your duty cycle on the power is going to be low (maybe 25%). What this means is that if your power draw is full power on the "beats" then on average you will only need 25% of your 1200 watts on average or 25 amps. Your stock alternator is capable of this additional load and your battery will average out your demand. If you are looking for a new battery (you will eventually) look for one with a low ESR (equivalent series resistance), this allows the battery to provide the current spikes that you amp is going to draw. The XS and Kinetic batteries are quite good in this regard.
Old 10-08-2011, 12:40 PM
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Thanks everyone for the help It's helped a lot.
Old 10-08-2011, 02:16 PM
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Originally Posted by RBeachTL
Like the others said you should be OK with your stock electrical system. Remember music is dynamic, so your duty cycle on the power is going to be low (maybe 25%). What this means is that if your power draw is full power on the "beats" then on average you will only need 25% of your 1200 watts on average or 25 amps. Your stock alternator is capable of this additional load and your battery will average out your demand. If you are looking for a new battery (you will eventually) look for one with a low ESR (equivalent series resistance), this allows the battery to provide the current spikes that you amp is going to draw. The XS and Kinetic batteries are quite good in this regard.
That's really good to know. Is ESR in any way related to CCA? I'm guessing not but I thought I would ask.
Old 10-09-2011, 11:51 AM
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Originally Posted by I hate cars
That's really good to know. Is ESR in any way related to CCA? I'm guessing not but I thought I would ask.
I'm sure that it's related in some way. ESR is a method of modeling a battery in a circuit and applying Ohm's law. ESR is also usually a function of temperature so when measuring CCA you would want a battery with a low ESR at low temp.

But I think you are really asking if you buy a high CCA battery will that have low ESR, and I think in general the battery will have a good ESR but might not be the lowest. With that I think I have exhausted my knowledge of the topic.
Old 10-09-2011, 11:57 AM
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^ good info. THanks!
Old 10-09-2011, 12:18 PM
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Originally Posted by RBeachTL
I'm sure that it's related in some way. ESR is a method of modeling a battery in a circuit and applying Ohm's law. ESR is also usually a function of temperature so when measuring CCA you would want a battery with a low ESR at low temp.

But I think you are really asking if you buy a high CCA battery will that have low ESR, and I think in general the battery will have a good ESR but might not be the lowest. With that I think I have exhausted my knowledge of the topic.
Thank you. I'm going to do some more research on this topic. My nearly free Optima is already giving out in the 60 degree mornings. It scared me this morning. I'm surprised I even got 3 years out of this thing. Anyway, I'm going to be in the market for a new battery soon, going to check out the ESR rating of the DieHard Platinum I've been wanting.

I like to get a battery with stock like CCA because they're more durable (in theory) in the harsh conditions my car sees. In my case, the ESR rating is going to override any other spec in the decision making process. Thanks again for bringing this up.
Old 10-09-2011, 12:23 PM
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Hmmm...interesting to learn. I actually put in a Bosch 1000 cranking amp *at 32 deg c and it definitely gets the job done but now I'm wondering if it has a high ESR rating and what the effects I would be experiencing would be.
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