I'm assuming he is still having light dimming issues and suggesting a better alternative to a capacitor.

The fact is that no vehicle can supply the additional current of any aftermarket amp that draws 60A or more.

Even with A/C what is the alternator outputting? 90A? So with headlights on, climate control on, whatever other 12volt accessories there are plus thestereo equipment drawing what it does he is bound to have issues with supply and demand.

I had three amps in my lancer ralliart drawing 120A at full tilt with a stock battery and was having light dimming issues.

I swapped the stock for a kinetic and gained 1v at idle. Used to idle at 13.9v andwent to 14.9v. So my equipments seeing more power and was able to produce more output because I don't have a regulated power supply in the amps.

I'm just going by experience, I install systems daily and there are very few vehicles that can keep up with a high current stereo system without some sort of upgrade.

Just my $0.02

 

He's drawing, maybe, 20-25A max out of the entire system with his sub configured for 8 Ohms.

An argument can be made for for performance, as the fuel pump can draw ~6A at full tilt. If one has his system cranked and is constantly redlining the car, there may be issues. Don't get me wrong; I think it's wise not to draw more current than the car can reasonably provide.

Fair enough.

Given all this and the OP's desire to minimize weight by switching to a lighter battery, why not kill two birds with one stone and use a more sensitive sub that will be significantly lighter and require much less current. Hell, I'd suggest an ID IDQ12V2 right off the bat. There's also some connoisseur-appeal that comes along with the product, so it wouldn't be out of place in an expensive system.

 

i didnt read the whole thread but heres my input

what can usually help is a higher farad capacitor... about 1 farad cap per 1000 watts... if u play music without a cap at high volume level or high bass note, it will drop a lot... my cap reads 14.25 and thats pretty good but since im using a 13w7 with 2 jl amp, i only use the cap for the subwoofer and with 1.5farad i dont get voltage drop at about 1/2 of the volume level but at 3/4 it will drop from 14.25 to 12s (depends on bass note)... and even to 10s when its full(depend on bass note)... try get a capacitor and see if that will help the voltage drop... some say it wont help and i experienced it and it does help...

 

Granted he's not running the pdx 600 at full potential, so he's not drawing all 80a that's its rated for, but that isn't the only amp in the equation and the high amp (pdx 4.150) draws 60a at full tilt and I do recall the OP stating that he does run the system at full volume with bass at full and pioneers wonderful built in eq at powerfull.

I think until the novelty wears off everyone will push their system to the limits and abuse it to a certain degree.

I suggested the Kinetik's hc600 because it is smaller, lighter power cell than what he has and will give him the needed boost without much strain on the alternator.

I think at this point he's happy with the sound and will probably switch back to a smaller battery, maybe add a capacitor and may still have power issues... Hopefully he takes in all we have suggested and do some research.

I agree that if weight was an issue from the get go I would have chosen a different sub and enclosure as well (probably would have fiberglassed something small and possibly inside the cabin space instead of in the trunk so that as much bass was not needed to be as loud or fight with getting sound through the back seats).

I would have gone with a single 5-channel amp... Possibly the jl hd900/5 or even the xd700/5, little less power but smaller footprint of an amp, less power requirements, more technology (in the case of the 900/5) and less wiring which would make it cleaner.

Oh well... Hope this helps.

 

Wait, not drawing an amp's max from the electrical system means not using it to its full potential? Car audio.

He's running his speakers above ~125Hz; he's not even pushing a few watts into them aside from momentary peaks. Regardless, 60A into those things and you better wear a helmet to avoid the frying particles.

Agreed. Then, there's the car itself that produces enough low frequencies on its own to make whichever sub fight it, too. That's really the main issue when it comes to quality bass in this application. Quantity? Not so hard. Just need to be smart about the equipment choices.

FWIW, I've had a variety of gear in my Evo. At one point I was running 4 Zapco (AB) amps and a sub that could easily flex the car's quarter panels at will. The sound quality was rather impressive, if I may say so myself. Never any dimming issues? Why? Because, the gear was chosen for a purpose and it wasn't wired and tuned to wreck the car's electrical system. Just the opposite, actually.

 

[QUOTE=FJF;9926296]Wait, not drawing an amp's max from the electrical system means not using it to its full potential? Car audio.

Let me clarify what i meant by this... With his sub wired at 8ohms hes not getting 600wrms out of that pdx 600.1 amp.... So whats the point of having the pdx 600. If its rated output power is only at 2 or 4ohm? The amp is taking it easy at 8ohms which is good in the sense that it wont be overheating or working hard to make a certain output.

I just dont agree that it should be wired to 8ohms because i dont think the OP knows hes getting less power by presenting the amp a higher load.

 

Heh, of course it's good. The amplifier is producing less noise and distortion, less heat, drawing FAR less amperage from the electrical system, and the sub sounds better as a result. There's no reason at all to wire drivers for such a low load save for one - to burp the frucking thing for a few seconds in hopes of a high score on the Termlab, distortion and sound quality be damned.

He's only getting less power numerically and only if we consider just one side of the equation, not in terms of output (everything being equal). Please understand that no amplifier is perfect voltage source. For example, if we do a naive calculation of a driver's maximum output working with only two variables - sensitivity and power - we can see how this develops. Say an amplifier is rated for 100wpc @ 8 ohms and 150wpc into 4 Ohms, and the driver has a sensitivity of 90dB @ 1m/2.83V. 2.83V = ~1w @ 8 Ohms and ~2 watts @ 4 Ohms. 100wpc @ 8 Ohms = ~20dBw, 150wpc @ 4 Ohms = ~18.5dBw. getting back to the driver's sensitivity @ 2.83V, we can see that such a config will reach ~110dB @ 8 Ohms and ~108.5dB @ 4 Ohms, again, everything staying equal.

Edit: I realize that I may have lost some folks along the way, so here's an automotive comparison: What's better to drive - a 200hp car that weighs 2000lbs or a 300hp car that weighs 4000lbs, everything being equal? One of the two will make an enthusiast driver happy and the other will have better numbers on the dyno.

 

Lol i think we've officially hijacked this thread.. Hehe

I understand your point coming from an electrical / installers background... The average end user wouldnt see it this way. The demograohic of customers i get want to be loud, rattle windows, **** off their neighbours and realize that there is a price to pay for it...

I used to work at a custom shop that had the loudest vehicle in canada for 6yrs at 173.8db and i kinda miss the days of dbdrag and competition. With big box stores pushing diy and plug'n'play equipment it takes all the knowledge, education and research guys like us put into building a system to make it sound good, perform good and fit the budget.

Your set up at 8ohms will work, still make noise, will be more efficient.... But my mentality is spl and id rather the extra db i guess. I used to run 4 x treo tsi 10"s on an arc audio 900.1d (insert robert zeff / zapco plug here) and ran my system at 1ohm at 139.9db but have now tamed down and am running a single treo 10" in my truck and a factory infinity in my lancer... Now i just live vicariously through my customers lol.

 

Isn't the amp he is using only rated for 2 and 4 ohm, yet he just wired it to 8 ohm. Dude you are going to blow your amp!

I know I know old thread! a funny one tho.

 

... ridiculous.

What's truly funny is that you missed the point of the discussion in its entirety. A higher load is easier to drive, putting less stress on the amplifier, resulting in less current draw from the electrical system.

 

Hey guys thanks for all the help. I fixed my problem turns out since I have my amp connected to a factory deck I had to turn on the signal sensing on my amp and the problem was fixed.

 

Wow, settle down there tuff guy!

 

This is a technical forum. If you don't know, don't post. Pretty simple.

 

So let me see if I understand this properly.

If a sub is able to be wired at 2 ohms that requires the amp to run like crazy and pulls a lot more amperage from the car electrical system.

But wiring the sub at 8 ohms will still generate the same deep bass, sound the same but just make the amp work less as well as pull less amperage from the car electrical system.

Can any sub be wired for 2, 4, or 8 ohm even if it's not stated on the description of the sub?

 

In essence, yes. The sub will likely sound better posing a higher load to the amplifier due to decreased distortion and additional control, relatively speaking.

No. Multiple drivers, however, present other wiring options as do DVC (dual voice coil) single drivers. For example, say it's a DVC woofer rated at 4 Ohm per coil. It can be wired for 2 Ohm or 8 Ohm. 8 Ohm will draw far less current from the electrical system, won't need overly heavy wiring, an upgraded battery and/or alternator and all the other sh/t (almost literally) the mobile audio industry wants you to buy to screw up your car.