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i've had a infinity 12 with a audio bahn 900 watt amp. in my car for a while now. and i've noticed that my dashlights and headlights are dimming a little bit. i was wondering what would be the best solution? would it be a capacitor or a bigger alternator? people have suggested both of them to me i'm just tryin to figure the best of the two.

 
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optima battery and a cap should treat ya right

 
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upgraded alternator is always going to be the best solution, but an Optima Yellow Top and a capacitor (in that order, if you have limited funds) are an easy fix until you can get around to getting a H.O. alt... if you have a little extra to spend, i VERY HIGHLY recommend buying a BatCap 800... there are few retail shops that sell them, but you can find them on eBay with no problem... i was running just a Yellow Top and a BatCap 800 for over 2 years with a ~1400 watt system, and never had ANY electrical issues... i even disconnected the BatCap and used it to jump-start my friends' cars a couple times, so it definitely packs a punch...

also, just for future reference... a good 'rule of thumb' for alternators is 70 amps per 1000 watts, so keep that in mind when/if you get around to makin that purchase... and when/if you decide to make that purchase, i recommend an Ohio Generator alternator, cuz they're teh $hit

ooh, one more thing... if you decide that a BatCap and or Yellow Top are not for you and want just a good ol' capacitor, i have a pair of 1 farad Rockford Fosgate caps (one has the digital voltage meter on top) that i'll sell ya for a real decent price... just let me know what's up...

hope this helps (*cough* rep me *cough*)... good luck!

 
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Battery would be the best place to start. You aren't really demanding the kind of current that would deem a high output alternator to be necessary. A cap may or may not help, but a battery would definitely make a difference. If you get a battery and still have problems after, then get a cap. If you STILL have problems after that... well I wouldn't even recommend an HO alt then because I really don't think you need it.

My recommendation for a battery is the Exide 34XCD.

 
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thanks a lot for all the replies, helped me get everything kinda put in the right place and figure out where i'm goin with it

 
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I, personally, would start with upgrading the big 3 wires in your grounding system. This is the cheapest mod you can do, and is effective. It'll cost you abour $30 in wire and connectors. From there, I'd replace the battery with a spiral cel, such as an optima or the excide MH recommended above. From there, you have two options. Cap would be the next step in the equation, should you desire one. The problem, however, is that caps don't always work, and they aren't guranteed to effect dimming positively. There is a chance it'll be a solution to your dimming woes, but you never know until you try one. General rule of thumb is 1 farad per 1 kw. Lastly would be to upgrade your alternator. With the wattage you're running, the alternator shouldn't be necessary once you replace the battery and upgrade the wires. Caps are never necessary.

 
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what kind of cap is the best?

im running rockford 551x amp and 2-12" subs...

 
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everyone has their own personal preference, so you're going to get a million different responses... plus, different people have different results with different products... in my opinion, my BatCap 800 is the best thing i've ever purchased, but the next guy to post may hate it and say it sucks etc...

i say do the following (in the following order... if 1 doesn't help, go to 2 and so on)...these steps should get your electrical system up to par:

1) Big 3 wiring upgrade (using 4ga. cable)

2) upgraded battery (i recommend an Optima Yellow Top, but it's not your only option by any means)

3) capacitor (i personally recommend the BatCap, but do your own research and make your own educated decisions)

4) high output alternator (70 amps output per 1000 watts is a good rule of thumb)