I am a very paranoid person and just like to be safe. My issue is should I upgrade my battery. I have a very high quilty cap and my lights dont dim either. The amps I am using are
Rockford Fosgate Power 550s and 550X. THe 550s is rated at 600 watts and the 550x is rated at 706 at 2 ohm but I am using all 4 ohm so I got half of that power.

So my issue is should I upgrade my battery. my car starts fine and runs great and no problems yet. How many of you have upgraded batterys is it really worth it.

 

how much current is your amps pulling... but to be honest i dont think that you are pulling enough current to warrant replacing the battery with a high output... but if you have the money to burn... optima yellow top will do fine....

 

The alternator would be a bigger issue than the battery. Personally, I think the use of caps is highly overrated, but I'd rather not start a "flame fest" over it.

When your car is running, it's using the alternator's current not the battery's. I'm not sure of the amperage output on our alternators so I'm not sure whether or not an upgrade is required. I'm guessing it's over 100 amps, so I'd say you'll be fine.

I'll be running almost the exact same power to my system as you are and I have no plans at this time to upgrade my charging system.

If I do, it will be the alternator first. If you like to listen to your system with the car not running, definitely upgrade your battery.

I'm nowhere near as much of an expert on this subject as some of the other gurus on this board but I've never killed a battery or alternator because of my sound system...that I know of.

 

How long have u had your system and what amps are you using.
the stock TLP alt is 105 amps and the type S is 120 amps

 

I'm basing my suggestion on my previous cars. I haven't installed my full system yet in my TLS.

From MY experience any alternator in the 100 amps range should be fine for a system in the ~800W range - - - for the average listener. (I don't drive around with my system at max volume - or even close. I'd like to avoid hearing aids.)

I've done this setup in a 1984 Volkswagen Scirrocco, a 1993 Acura Integra GSR, a 1999 Mercury Cougar, and soon to be in a 2003 Acura 3.2 TLS. Sure, the lights flickered a bit when the bass hit hard but it NEVER required spending big $$ to upgrade the charging system. No alternators or batteries ever died.

The only times you may experience a drastic drop is when you have your headlights, wipers, and heater/AC on along with your system cranking. For me that is about 3 - 5 times a month MAX. Of course, YMMV depending upon how far North you live.

This kind of gets back to the thing about where I think caps are overrated for their cost. For the $$$ spent on a cap, I'd rather get a more powerful alternator. This is only MY opinion. I have yet to see evidence that a cap is a worthwhile expenditure for anyone other than people who compete.

The only amps I've used over the past 5 years are USAcoustics. They don't have the "big name" recognition, but their power is rated at 12.9V vs. the 14.4V that most amps are rated at. PLUS, their warranty is one of the best in the industry.

The only thing I've noticed is a tendency for the 2200F to overheat in the NC summers.

My advice is to "Don't worry, have a homebrew". It's your car and your $$$. You have to decide how much the "Piece of Mind" is worth.

 

As stated in the above post if you are running the system with the car on you should not have a problem .. the addition of a capacitor will help with the short peak current demands because this is what it was designed to do....deliver instant power on demand .. adding more capacitors will not hurt your system ...it can only help. Please make sure that you are not under sizing your power cables also .....electricity is like water ...if the pipe isnt big enough it will restrict the flow of current.

 

yeah i would have to say the same about the capacitors......true enough, i do think they help deepen the bass & clarifying it as well, but the best thing to do is change you alternator to a HO alt.

i have an 800w amp for my mids & highs, and 1200w amp for my subs, and my cluster lights dim alot, so i am looking around to see if anyone can wind my alt to HO. and of course a yellow top would halp also. anything added on as far as power is always going to help.

 

I have used Us acoustics amps before and I really like them. in fact thats what is running my Sub in the RSX. I payed total of alomost $1000 bucks in amps in my TL. and I think I could I got the US wit the same out put for about 400 bucks. USacoustics are good amps but some people just judge them due to price.

 

I would tend to agree. I am running the MTX 6304 and 6500d and never have had a problem. I think the lights dimming is a pretty good indicator. Also, it depends on how long and how loud your listening sessions are. Mine are pretty short but, it you drive say 45 minutes or more to work or school with it cranked all the time, then you are going to need a lot more juice than someone like me who usually has it moderate to loud for only about 10-15 minutes. I think your listening habits have a lot to do with it.

Just my humble opinion.

 

if i rewound my alternator...would that void my warentee?..probably right?

 

That is EXCELLENT advice. You can have the best equipment on earth and choke it off with improper cable sizing.

 

It's like buying a Polo shirt or the shirt with the same quality without the cute little horsie. If you HAVE to have the horsie and have the $$$ more power to you. If performance is your main goal then the horsie isn't so important.

I find it funny that US acoustics rates their amplifiers at 12.9V and offer a 3 year warranty. Most rate at 14.4V with a 1 year warranty. Hmmmmm

Don't expect any respect until you turn the volume knob up. I've made quite a few eyebrows raise with my "low budget" setup!

 

bozz....I always wondered, how is the sound quality of the US Acoustic amps? What would you compare them to? No way to touch the value of those amps with anything.

 

Let me also add that goin to a battery that is too big will hurt you more then it will do good....I dont think this is common knowledge but the batteries plates which are being charged have resistance and thus will show a load on your alternator. A yellow top aka OPTIMA battery is a low resistance battery ....which is really just made up of a bank of capacitors will provide you with the best results in most applications.If your planning on using your system at all with out the car running then i would suggest using a deep cycle battery which will provide you with longer running times with out a charging source being on.

 

actually its worse than just choking it...what happens when too much water is sent through small pipes? pressure goes up and eventually, pop...the pipe bursts.

when it comes to wires, if they arent large enough, they heat up(higher pressure) and will melt the insulation, most possibly causing a fire...so never run too small gauge wire to ur amps!

 

its simple mathematics. the alternator puts out a certain amount of current. it cannot be exceeded without overworking and eventually killing the alternator. so if our car has 120amp alt, then that should be the max current it should see total. that means, while the car is on, the alternator is providing current to run the car(spark, cpu and everything it controls, a/c, etc) and then on top of that, the demand ur amps and radio put on it.

when u see the lights dim, that means there isnt enough current provided by the alternator. guess what plays backup for the alt in this situation...the battery. so u can have as little as one huge amp(kicker zr1000, for example) and eventually kill ur battery and alternator if the alternator isnt replaced w/a ho model.

first off, the alternator gets hot to begin with in changing kinetic energy into electrical energy. as its overworked, it overheats, and usually the voltage regulator is the weakest link and goes out. so why would ur battery also potentially go out? cause if the alternator can never keep up with the demand, ur battery is also providing current to the system. once this takes place, it is giving away the energy it has, instead of being recharged and keeping it in a healthy state. enough abuse and it can also be drained to death.

why isnt replacing the battery w/a yellowtop or equivalent enough? because the battery itself puts a demand on the alternator as well. even a gell cell battery like the optimas have to put some demand on the alternator, or else how are they gonna get charged up? makes sense right? sure, it wont put as much of a demand on the alt as a normal lead plate battery, so its still worth upgrading, but in order to remedy the immediate situation, the alt should be the first thing u try replacing.

yeh, some of this sounds like i read in a magazine or tech article, but thats not all, its also from personal experience. i have burned out 2 alternators in prev vehicles and killed one normal battery. at that point, i replaced it w/a red top and never had it go out, despite abusing it as stated above to the point where lesser batteries would simply not hold a charge anymore.

i have been extremely impressed with the optima red top. when its warranty of 3 yrs was about to run out, i tried killing it on purpose by running the car w/out the alt hooked up. it would still charge back up. i tried killing it by playing the stereo w/the car off, it still held a charge...very impressive!!! these are traits of the yellow top, so just to let ya'll know, either one is great, although the yellow top is a marine battery, which means it is designed to be completely discharged and recharged thoughout its lifecycle.

hope all this helps instead of confuse...

 

So how long do u think I have before I fry my Alt. This car audio stuff gets pretty damn expensive fast. I have already spent over $3500. Now is the time I am gonna stop spending any more cash into my car stereo. Time to save some money.

 

The only brand of amps I've used are HiFonics, Yamaha, Sony, Alpine, and US Acoustics. So, I'm probably not a good person to ask for comparisons. Out of the amps I've used, I wouldn't trade the US Acoutics for any of them. Power, sound quality, warranty, and built-in features beat EVERY amp in their price range and many others that cost more.

If you go to sounddomain.com and browse through the US Acoustics amps, almost every one was given a 5 star rating from the owner. You can buy the Polo shirt or the shirt made in the same factory without the horse...that's the way I see it. Like I said, I don't compete so name recognition doesn't matter to me as much as performance.

Beauty is in the "ear" of the beholder when it comes to car audio. I have never installed the mega-high dollar amps because after hearing my systems, and seeing the reactions, I've never felt the need to do so. I don't mind spending the money as long as I feel I get the proper return. With the USacoustics amps I've used, it's been the best money I've spent on car audio gear.

Sure, I've thought about seeing what the higher end stuff would sound like...but then I wondered if the ADS/Kicker/RF/etc. would sound better enough to justify the cost. Based on my satisfaction with my system, the answer I came up with was no.

To me, it's all about what works for you. Many people scoff at the "lower end" brand names without doing a direct comparison. It's like comparing an Acura to a Honda. They're pretty much the same thing but one costs less since it doesn't have the "name" that the other does.

I prefer to drop my coin on the speakers. I'm a diehard Image Dynamics fan. I think they're the best speakers made. The sound is almost magical. Subs, mids, and tweets. Again, that is only my opinion. What I save on the cost of the amp I can put towards the cost of the speakers.

It's kind of like buying the top of the line HU with all kinds of built in tweaking/eq/stuff..when you already have an EQ more than capable of doing the task and you're left over with features you don't care about. WTF? Know what you want your system to do and design it such that it does so at the least cost to you. You may not end up with the fancy gear at the gouged out prices that impress everyone on the BBS boards, but you'll end up with a system that works perfectly for YOU at a cost you can "live" with.

Just my personal thoughts..no flames intended.

 

It couldn't be put any better than that. The battery is a backup for the alternator. Once you start tapping the battery for juice, you're in trouble. The battery is there to make sure you can start the car when it's really cold out. It's not there to run your system off. Once you start tapping the battery for juice, your system has gone into emergency mode.

If you're totally worried about it, you'll have to get a HO alternator to make you feel better.

I've played the blinking lights game and have never had a failure due to it. BUT I don't crank my system at NIGHT when my AC/Heat is on as well as wipers, lights, etc.

The safest bet if you're totally petrified of dousing your system is to upgrade the alternator. High $$$$...just keep that in mind when you want to crank up the volume

 

as far as how soon to replace it, just wait til it goes out. there is a chance that acura will replace it under warranty. especially if theydont know that u have a high power sound system in the car.

if they wont cover it, and you live in a big enough city, you can try calling some alternator shops and see if they will rewind the alternator so it puts out more amps. this is a great and cheaper alternative to buying a new alternator and usually the service dopes cant tell it has been modified!

im sure ur asking how u can get around if the alt is out...make sure you have a fully charged battery. that can get ya around long enough to take care of these errands if you dont have to drive for more than an hr.

again, this is from experience and not just "he said, she said, they said...." when i had the 97 cl, the alternator went out. i was stuck about 250 miles from home. what to do??? i went to autozone and had them charge up my battery(that trusty redtop that wouldnt die!!!) overnight. i also purchased a 1000cca battery from them as a backup just in case

i used my battery first, and drove home. i didnt use the a/c(this was during the summer time, ) but drove 80mph all the way home. i managed to make it home w/out using the spare battery, so i took it back to autozone and got my money back, hell yeh!!! i got home and recharged the battery again, w/my own personal charger, and took out the alternator myself and took it to a alt shop, since it wasnt covered by factory warranty anymore, 125k miles 2 hrs later, they were calling me back, stating the voltage regulator(how did i know that) was burned out and that it was now ready to be picked up, $35 later, and another hr after that, i was back in business.

 

If your worried about killing your battery.....they make something called a battery buddy that you can find at any marine store....this prevents you from over draining your battery.

 

hmm, if ur thinking about using this bandaid, why not just pull out the amp? that will fix ur prob as well...

 

Im only suggesting this for people who are anal about killing the battery....and yes it works. If you really want to see if your system is pulling too much current ....all you really need to do is get a volt meter and amp probe .... i would do the volt meter first.

turn your system on and play it where u would usaually set the volume ..... check your voltage at the battery and see if you are getting a voltage drop below 12V....if yes then your system is pulling too much juice. You can also put a amp probe on the positive main cable feeding your system to see what the current draw is at peak,,, that will give you some idea how much demand your system is calling for.