Lex Luga

iTrader: (11)

Went home and tried driving my 06 gs 3 and found that the car couldn't start. The steering wheel made it only half way down before dying (the steering wheel adjusts to drivers settings upon push starting.) I also tried putting the key to the push start button and tried starting it that way and no luck. I'm guessing my battery is dead since I am at around 57-58k miles and i still got the original battery in there. I have a JL w7 10in sub and a alpine mrp 1000 watt amp. Any recommendations of what battery to get?

Mind you when I bumped my system hard with the bass turnt up, the tail lights would dim. Was that because of a weak battery or do I need a thing that prevents that (sorry forgot of the word, but it sounds like something from back to the future.)

So yeh, which is a good replacement battery to get for a car with that sound set up and do I need to buy something else too?

Lex Luga

iTrader: (11)

Btw i haven't started my car in 2 months since i drive a beater camry in nyc (better to be incognito at some of the areas i work at).

Sffd103

iTrader: (16)

I use a Stinger deep cycle SPP 1500D battery. I don't drive often either and can be drained and jumped or charged without damaging. I also have a large stereo system.

Lex Luga

iTrader: (11)

Damn man your set up is quite a "large" set up. I only have an amp and sub, your set up looks fckn intense lol. Since your recommendation, I been reading reviews of yellow top battery vs stinger battery. Most reviews are saying these type of deep cycle batteries are not optimal for starting the car, but more for audio performance while the engine is off. They say if you want a battery for optimal starting and for audio performance then go with the Red Top. What's your input on this. My main goal is overall reliability for cold starting, then the performance of my amp and sub.

Lex Luga

iTrader: (11)

So i went with the optima Red Top since it is supposed to be the best starter battery. It was rated 720cca but the worker at advanced auto parts tested it and it was 1024 cca, beast. If i had a crazier system i probably would havegot a stinger or yellow top.

Slammer1

Mariano, what's the distro block to the left of your air intake for? I never noticed that in your pics before....

Shibumi1

red tops are the best batts out.. 20+ yrs in the car audio industry an not many batts (if any) come close.. i'd also suggest a battery tender since u dont drive the car much..also if u have a dei brand alarm (viper/python/clifford, etc) set the alarm to smart start mode voltage at 10.5 this way if the voltage drops below 10.5v the car will crank itself an run (to the programmed time limit) and charge the batt...



http://batterytender.com/waterproof-...emisphere.html

rogzballz

iTrader: (9)

A capacitor? Does it still dim with the new battery? I would also make sure all your wiring is clean from rust, sized right, etc before buying a capacitor or upgrading alternator.

inkredible

I had the same problem when I first upgraded my audio from factory. I first upgraded to a optima yellow top. The only reason I went yellow over red was that it was a deep cycle battery and I'm running around 1500 watts currently and wanted room to grow. Furthermore, I found that my alt didn't like the amplifires pulling constantly so, I had to ended up upgrading to an 160amp alternator. I'm running 4 gauge wire from my battery.

I personally would not run a capacitor without an upgraded alternator. It would just be asking for more voltage to constantly stay charged.

Lex Luga

iTrader: (11)

Yes it does still dim with the new battery, but all the wiring is good.

Shibumi1

if your lights still dim it sounds like your not letting you battery charge long enough.. i've seen it a 1000 times, blast the stereo all day never turning down the volume an wonder why the lights dim...a good rule of thump (with red tops) is let the engine run (preferably while driving) an volume down to a lower level 1/3 the time u spend blasting it...with other batts its longer closer to 50% because charge time is longer....

DONT USE YELLOW TOPS unless you have a show vehicle an plan on keeping a trickle charger on it. the yellow tops have the same power as the red ,but they only accept a 10amp charge max.. anymore shortens the battery life drastically..

a brief battery lesson: all power in the car generates from the alternator.. if a car is running u can take the battery out an drive as long as u dont surpass its power output(or run outta gas ) the battery is there solely to start the engine..

the term DEEP CYCLE means just that.. its designed to be steadily drained to a very low level then slowly charged back to full.. great for boats,rv's, an show vehicles that sit all day on a show floor all day without the engine running..

STARTING batteries are designed to provide short bursts of high output then return to normal (like the demands of a car stereo) the yellow top starting battery is still a deep cycle which gives quick bursts of power but still require long recharge periods

the reason the lights dim is because the stereo is drawing more power than the alternator can put out thus using the battery as a back up for the alternator.. if the battery is weakened its due to lack of charging or constant abuse.. then the lights will dim...

solutions:
add more batteries(but that can get expensive not too mention heavy) and they still need to be charged

get a larger alternator (but they can only go so big and your car may not accept a very large alternator an the increased power can cause cpu issues)

add a capacitor (which draws its power from the batt anyway so its only a bandaid so see solution 1) try this lil experiment before you argue.. disconnect the cars starting battery.. connect a fully charged cap in its place (i dont care how large or how many) an try to start the car....NOTHING WILL HAPPEN the cap will die before the engine turns over..

change your listening habits an let the battery charge for a lil while before you pound it to death..

LASTLY: look into class d amplifiers they provide more wattage while drawing less amperage( batt lasts longer)

also.. EVERYONE READING THIS if you havent done so already.. INCREASE THE GROUND WIRES THROUGHOUT THE CAR to the same size as the amp power wire if not larger.. run a new ground from the engine block to chassis,the neg batt terminal to chassis remembering to remove any paint when making chassis ground.. please make sure to use 100% copper (OFC) wire NOT CCA (copper colored aluminum) it has more resistance than copper an increases current draw

and as of last weds the law in florida against loud stereos was overturned for violating our constitutional right to freedom of speech.....

SO CRANK IT UP..AND PRACTICE SAFE SOUND...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS (

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

I've had probs with Optimas, Odysseys, and certainly regular batteries as well, as far as leaving the car idle for too long. If you have any significant ignition-off static drain, your battery will be dead and gone if you leave the car for days. What they don't tell you about Optimas and Odysseys and Stingers is that the discharge voltage is only about 10.5 volts. Below that the battery is in critical condition - very depleted discharge and likely sulfating itself to death. It is DIFFICULT to bring an AGM battery back from this condition, even though it is advertised as a "deep-cycle battery". Buyer beware.

Lex Luga

iTrader: (11)

When you say charge do u mean by running the car (with the stereo system off or real low) or do you mean with an actual battery charger? And also with your rule of thumb, 1/3 of time car is on, no/low Stereo and let it charge, then 2/3 of the time i can bump the music? I am definitely bumping music within 2 minutes lol.

Slammer1

Here is a good read for anyone interested in the varying theories regarding adding batteries, caps and high output alternators to a car stereo system. I believe the article is attached in the fourth post, and should open lots of eyes in regards to how the typical vehicle electrical system works. I've been doing this for years, and have run caps, extra batteries (Kinetiks were my favs) and also high ouput alternators. My advice is to use high grade OFC wire, clean grounds and secure connections. If upgrading the starting battery doesn't fix you're issue, upgrade your alternator first.... Enjoy!

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...ard-clark.html

Shibumi1

running the engine or driving (which is better because the rpms higher an varying) just lower the stereo volume and allow the battery to recover..so if u have 30mins drive 10mins should be at lower levels

as stated above 10.5 is a critical level for MOST batteries. yellow tops or deep cycle batts can run much lower..BUT they MUST to be TRICKLE charged back to full, so 2-3 amps max.. and it takes hours to do so.. which is why most people kill yellow tops quickly..an red top to die at about 9.8.. but they can an will recover at normal rates.. the reds can be cycled from 10.5 to 14.4 thousands of times with no worries..

i had 3 reds in my last car for 8yrs.. no issues at all.. but i blast my music about 1/2 the time.. in my LS now i have 1 red (2yrs old this week i literally swapped it when i brought the car home) i have 2 2000watt rms full range class d amps an the lights never dim AT ALL


PRACTICE SAFE SOUND!!!!!!!