Maplins Power Cap (Down2 £39.99)

[Siilver]

On Offer Again

·For demanding in-car systems
·Digital readout display
·Huge 1 Farad capacitance
·Improves crispness of bass
·Gold-plated terminals
·Built-in protection circuit

Bigger Picture

Maplins

Price: £39.99

 

[r16vka]

is this any good? or are power caps a case of you get wot u pay for? all i need now is somewhere that does cheap ice batteries!

 

[Firestorm_Alpha]

I bought it when i was first reduced to 100 quid noticable difference and really worth the money.... but then i put a vetra diseal battery into my 1.0l corsa so dont have a problem with power anymore lol! went from 21 amps per hour to 74 =)

 

[Boydie]

i got mine wen reduced to £50 - tis a good job

 

[Siilver]

i got 1 when it was 50£ and brought it back
mite go and get 1 now
even cheaper

wasnt there talk bout these being made by some big name company

 

[ibitza]

got mine for 50 to

 

[Jason]

wud it be worth me getting one???
2 12s runnin about 250 watts each??

 

[Ev206]

bigger battery would be money better spent

 

[andy_gdon]

Run a diesel battery. I have no problems with my car and it is running 1300WRMS

 

[Boydie]

1300WRMS

from 2 12" type r's???

 

[Richard]

I would not bother with a power cap in a well designed and implemented system the benefit is negligible (or non existent).

Try upgrading all the cabling under the bonnet from the starter/alternator to the battery and the main earth to the battery. This is assuming you have the right cable to the amps in the first place.

If thats not enough get a bigger/better battery.

Richard.

 

[Rob]

I got one of these the last time for £50, been lying in my cupboard for over a year til I get round to putting an instal in, even if it does feck all for the car itll still look decent in the boot with the wee digital display

 

[Mark_D]

I would not bother with a power cap in a well designed and implemented system the benefit is negligible (or non existent).

Try upgrading all the cabling under the bonnet from the starter/alternator to the battery and the main earth to the battery. This is assuming you have the right cable to the amps in the first place.

If thats not enough get a bigger/better battery.

Richard.

Dont want to start an argument, but I would tend to disagree - large caps can be benificial in a car. Most alternators have the capacity to meet the continuous power draw of a moderate after market ICE install - it can't however satisfy the demands of the peak draw (when the bass hits). Batteries act as reserviors of power for large current draw but high internal resistance causes a voltage drop when volts are needed most.
This is where the cap steps in - it provides a short sharp burst of power when (and local to where) it is needed without pulling down the system voltage.
Adding more batteries and/or alternators will help but the cap is the most efficient (space and cost) way to deal with it.
You can see that car audio manufacturers also believe this is true - generally the more expensive an amp, the more capacitance it will have in it's power supply - if they could afford to they would put in 0.5F, but they need to work to a cost.
If I remember correctly PG had an amp which boasted about 0.3Farads.

 

[buff]

i noticed an improvment in the mid-bass when i use the cap on my component amp,

 

[StuartyB]

I would not bother with a power cap in a well designed and implemented system the benefit is negligible (or non existent).

Try upgrading all the cabling under the bonnet from the starter/alternator to the battery and the main earth to the battery. This is assuming you have the right cable to the amps in the first place.

If thats not enough get a bigger/better battery.

Richard.

my bull**** detector is goin off scale i cnat tell why though :lol: :lol: :?:

not that all that stuff work but if you are running a big system you need a power cap but not until the above is done

 

[m00k]

stu u need to get that BS detector looked at...it aint workin on anythin u say

 

[Richard]

Fair enough they may make some difference but I think some people see the power cap as a panacea.

They might help in some cases but I think getting the basics right before investing in a cap is the way to go.

Richard.

 

[pioneer sound clio]

i hav put in a 65 amp/hr diesel battery and a power cap on the system and it does make a good difference

wat wud the upgrade 2 battery neg. cable and the altenator to battery cable actually do

 

[Mark_D]

i hav put in a 65 amp/hr diesel battery and a power cap on the system and it does make a good difference

wat wud the upgrade 2 battery neg. cable and the altenator to battery cable actually do

Lowers the resistance of the cabling, which in turns means less voltage drop - so more volts to run your amps.

 

[pioneer sound clio]

sounds like a good idea and wudnt cost much 2 do, 1 prob no idea where the altenator on my car is

 

[Marc]

its on the drivers side, behind the engine block... you need to jack car up.. remove drivers side inner plastic splash guard to get at it

 

[Blue JL Ibiza]

sounds like to much hassle to me ?

 

[pioneer sound clio]

yeah me 2 lol
might just replace neg cable from battery with 04 gauge