The entire system costs $250 for a 3000W system for the AMP, the sub, the enclosure, and wires.

First of all don't get pyramid cause it might be good for a week or so it will be in the trash can.
You have decent Sony Subwoofer so get decent amps. Stay away from Pyramid, Pyle, Lanzar, Legacy and some others but these is the crapy amps to get.

capacitor only stores extra power and it releases when amp needs more power than usual.(When u hit big bass)And yes you should get those cause your headlight won't blink when you hit big bass. But If you have small alternator that doesn't produce enought power to amp, capacitor won't help in this case. Amp just drains power from battery and it will be dead.

What is the wattege on your sub??

If it is less than 250w RMS it won't kill your battery on most cars.

the sony 12" sub is 1200 watts and 350 watts RMS continuous. So do i need a capacitor?

you never *need* a capacitor.
they don't really do anything. It's marketing hype.

read the following:
http://pub14.ezboard.com/fcaraudiotalkfrm27.showMessage?topicID=10.topic
and
http://pub14.ezboard.com/fcaraudiotalkfrm27.showMessage?topicID=23.topic

I get so tired of repeating the same things over and over.
especially in the same thread.. heh

you need an engine overhaul first, then a high output alternator.
no capacitors.

Better than nothing huh? That must have been what God said when he/she went to give you a Brain Ukw10. Caps are BS. And so are you.

- We helped design caps and I know how it can help you, and why it will help you. first off a capacitor is just like the battery in your car only it is one cell instead of 6.

wrong. there isn't much to designing a capacitor. they haven't really changed in the last fifty ears or so.
a capacitor stores energy, and releases it as needed, but it only stores about 30 seconds of charge in a car system at most.
A battery on the other hand actually *produces* energy via chemical reaction until it's charge is depleated. However, the battery is only used to start the car, and nothing more. Once the car is started, the alternator is the sole source of electrical energy for anything that needs it.

-basically the capacitor will store a charge coming from your alternator to ensure no damage to your alternator or to other electric devices occurs.

yes, the cap holds a charge for a few seconds, and discharges very quickly. Then, it needs to be recharged, drawing more current.. and guess where that comes from? The alternator.
If your alternator can't supply enough current for the demands of the devices connected to the car's electrical system, then a capacitor will only place more load once it's charge is quickly depleted. You can't get positive numbers from negarives. When the system is overworked, you can't magicaly pull more current out of your random orifice to make everything better.

What you're quoting is nothing more than the rhetoric from companies who try selling capacitors.
Any electrical engineer worth his education can tell you what I've just stated if they take the time to think through the logistics of the circuit.

the only reason a capacitor prevents lights from dimming is by smoothing out the voltage rails. those rails will still be sagging though if the alternator can't keep up. this just emans you'll have non dimming lights getting about 10 to 11 volts instead of the 12 to 15 they should.

when the car's motor is running, the battery is in a charging state. Nothing should be drawing current from the battery as a source of energy unless the motor is shut ott.
The SOLE purpuse of a starter battery is just that. To start the car.
When you see banks of deep cycle RG batteries in the trunk of a car, they are on a battery isolator, and have a high output alternator to work with them. They are not, and I repeat NOT there to replace the need for that alternator.

GlassWolf
E.E.
MECP Master Installer
old fogey