Thread: Car audio question?

Grand Prixs Of North America • View topic - highout put alternator?

Casper has been to world competitions running off stock alternators and running sine waves to his "2kw" setup. Nothing but a stock alternator. Sine waves are very different from dynamic music. He had the batteries to help maintain voltage and power while the engine was off during his runs in the lanes. Big 3 in his case was to maintain voltage, NOT because it was cool or anything else. Voltage is your heart beat when doing SPL.

If you aren't in SPL and you can't prove scientifically that Big 3 is of help to a daily driver then there's probably some fault in your reasoning.

Originally Posted by alonzoub

I understand where your coming from and I admit I'm not a car audio guru; but, my question to you is... why not? It is an easy upgrade... a cheap upgrade... and can help sort out voltage drops. Why not do it? Also, Iceroyal never commented on whether or not he planned on competing, if he does than thats even MORE reason to maintain high voltage.

I'm not so much against the "Big 3" as I am the application of knowledge that employs it's use. I've seen a lot of threads where people come back with...

"omg windows are fast...it's awesome!!"
"my lights still dim"
"I have no idea what it does but everybody says I should!!"

My honest advice for MOST people is that 4awg power wire is probably fine for their applications and that Big 3 is more of a feel good moment. It's still somewhat easy to work with yet large enough for most applications. And you're right, 3 second bass note is different than listening to DMB or Kenny Rogers. Most of the time that's not generated by an instrument though which really changes fundamentals and transients. I don't like most computer generated beats. People can really tell the difference in recording quality in my car. I get made fun of for OCD but then friends and family start skipping songs just because of quality the same way I do; kinda funny.

I'm really glad you addressed a lot of what I said. Again, sorry for coming off like an ass. Another reason I don't like the Big 3 is because most people don't crimp or solder wires correctly. It's more quantity than quality. Again, if you know how to do it the right way...I'm all for it. But don't think it's really going to make a big difference with your music applications.

When I had my "2kw" system I averaged about 35amps of power draw. At home I have a "15w" sub/amp setup and people think I have a gorilla hiding somewhere. I would go as far to say that tweeters couldn't handle a constant 5w or a mid handle a steady 25w. The coil is cooling off during those fractions of a second it's not being used. Big difference from that and turning into a heat sink.

Competing? My first assumption is that if he is asking simple questions then he doesn't know much about designing boxes. Voltage is the simplest aspect of competing. Maybe I just go head first into everything? Most guys think power is key. Not really...there's guys that can hit 150 with two 12's and 500watts. There's people who can hit 150 with a 6.5" sub too. It's all about design and efficiency. Very different ways to achieve the goals.