So my speakers are crapping out :/ Should I avoid getting 6x9's and just get some 6.5's with a baffle?? I am kinda lost, also, I am running a 500w amp powering 2 10's, but it's dimming out my lights. If I add a Capacitor, would that help out, if so, how many Farads would I need.

Thank you for any suggestions.

1996 Honda Accord DX

 

yeah dude, get a cap for sure, your beating the crap out of your battery and your alternator with your subs. I have a 500/1 mono (2 JL 10"w6) amp with 250/4 (my component speakers) amp and i put in a 2 farad stinger cap and i still noticed a little draw on my lighting. I had a friend give me a 5 farad power acoustic cap and i wired it in parallel to my stinger and nothing bogs my car down anymore. I really found success in putting these two caps together. Try out a 2 farad cap and if that doesn't do the trick add another in.

 

screw the caps...upgrade your big three first and if you still have problems after that thennnnn try a cap. check out the sticky guide on upgrading big 3.

I have a 2.0 farad capacitor by gsi and I really never saw it do anything helpful lol..maybe I need bigger? who knows, but upgrading big 3 def. fixed all problems! i left the capacitor in bc it kinda looks cool

 

off to the junk yard I go

 

true... lowering the over all resistance in your car's electrical wiring will give you better performance. but the power is still drawing directly off the battery and then the alternator. Basically when the stereo hits hard low bass its discharging the battery and putting a higher load on the alternator. Put the strain on the capacitor thats what they are designed for to charge and discharge quickly batteries are not so quick and cannot do it forever. Batteries and alts are too expensive to risk. but check the loads on them with a volt/ohm meter... the big3 upgrade might pass with what your running... i would not rely on it alone.

 

SO ur guys r half in half.. Should I just do both?

 

i'm an electrical engineer with 15 years in audio system design and installation. here is my input.

stiffening capacitors were marketed back in the 90's as a solution to voltage stabalization. this doesn't mean they worked, but that was their market. some amplifiers were designed with poor power supplies, and a cap may help if it is inside the amp. once you put wire between the amp and the cap it's performance is greatly reduced. most modern amplifiers don't require external stiffening capacitors. worse yet, the capacitor is another load on the system and is too small to do much good anyway. once the amp demands more current the voltage drops, the cap dischages then needs to be recharged along with the increasing demand by the amp. the result is a REDUCTION in voltage with the cap compared to without. the only time a stiffening cap is useful is when the electrical system (alt, battery, wiring) are all perfect. then small transient dips can be handled by the cap.

a cap can't prevent the voltage from dropping unless the demand is only for an instant and the demand is less than the energy stored in the cap (which isn't much), in which case it still needs to be recharged.

look at any competition winning system and you won't see stiffening capacitors.

most important is the big 3 and adequate power and ground wiring. reducing wire resistance is the #1 way to increase voltage and reduce voltage drop. make that your first step.

 

as to your original question, any rear speakers you install will be distorted and damaged by the subs in your trunk. the subs pressurize the trunk and the rear speakers take the abuse. your bass output will increase without rear deck speakers since you'll give bass a better path into the cabin.

if you haven't upgraded your front speakers - start with them. get some nice component speakers then buy an amp for them. that is the first step to a nice sounding system. rear speakers can be re-introduced later when you have extra funds and time to fabricate proper enclosures for them so the subs won't distort them.

 

Im looking at a 4 channel amp right now, for 60 bucks, and I would probably use that to power the front speakers. I think it has pioneers, but I don't like them.

So here is what I am planning..

1. Upgrade my BIG 3
2. Upgrade my front speaker and disconnect my rear speakers (for now)
3. Get a capacitor ( Cuz they look cool) lol
4. Maybe build a custom surrounding for the rear speakers.


How doe that sound?

 

sounds like a pretty good idea. i don't think you have to disconnect your rear speakers tho. you probably won't even hear them anyway