tranny problem..!!!!

[Teebs]

get a capacitor, if you want to throw money at it.

It takes power to charge a cap after you discharge it. Where's that power going to come from? You ask for 20amps from the capacitor, it gives you 20amps. Then the cap pulls the 20amps from the cars charging system.

So in the end, what did you accomplish with a cap?

[MaverickFlyer]

But a cap pulls 20 amps from the charging system over time. The sound system asks for it instantly.

[Teebs]

But a cap pulls 20 amps from the charging system over time. The sound system asks for it instantly.

You don't get something for nothing. A capacitor does have a sloped charge and discharge rate, but we're talking quicker than a blink of the eye. Essentially instant...

This article is fairly accurate in its description of why caps are useless money grabs.
Car Audio Capacitors Are a Waste of Money

I'm pushing 1600Watts RMS with no cap and no issues on the original 9 year old stock battery. Yes at full volume I do get dimming of the lights, but I also wouldn't be able to see the road because my eyes are bouncing around their sockets and my charging system can't push the current needed to do that for more than a few minutes at most. I can turn it up a fair bit before dimming becomes obvious and that's really the best you can do without getting expensive.

[MaverickFlyer]

You don't get something for nothing. A capacitor does have a sloped charge and discharge rate, but we're talking quicker than a blink of the eye. Essentially instant...

This article is fairly accurate in its description of why caps are useless money grabs.
Car Audio Capacitors Are a Waste of Money

I'm pushing 1600Watts RMS with no cap and no issues on the original 9 year old stock battery. Yes at full volume I do get dimming of the lights, but I also wouldn't be able to see the road because my eyes are bouncing around their sockets and my charging system can't push the current needed to do that for more than a few minutes at most. I can turn it up a fair bit before dimming becomes obvious and that's really the best you can do without getting expensive.

It depends on who you talk to. There are just as many arguments for capacitors as there are against them. As you can tell from reading the comments to that article. Some of that article is BS to. "a capacitor can only hold a charge for less than one second" BS Anyone who has used one knows that you have to charge it before you use it and it will hold that charge until you us it much like a battery. I have had a cap unhooked from the battery for hours and accidentally shorted it. You get a huge spark much like you would if you shorted you car battery. The difference is a cap can charge and recharge quickly when your amp needs it. "the capacitor sits in between your battery and your amplifier." More Like someone else stated in the comments, the cap is not connected to you amp, it is part of the electrical system much like your battery. That article is full of holes, I wouldn't put much faith in it. The benefits of a cap are obvious. Without one, you lights dim, with one they don't. It obviously does something. The sound quality is also way better. I used to build huge systems, some with and some without. It's always been better with them.