Why Running High Voltage in car audio is Good

Subscribe, like and share!
Custom door speaker pods and A-pillar pods!
customspeakerpods.com/ref/Car...
Use Code "CAE" for a Discount!
Music in my videos
/ car-audio-enthusiasts
If you want me to review your product send me an email
[e-mail]
Shipping Address P.O.Box 10123 Springfield Mo 54808
payments and donations accept here
patreon.com/CarAudioEnthusias...
car audio data link list
#deafbonce #caraudio #bassheads #carstereo #caraudioenthusists #CAE
Join this channel to help me out:
/ @caraudioenthusiasts
patreon.com/CarAudioEnthusias...
car audio data link list
Store here
/ shop
Music in my videos
/ car-audio-enthusiasts
Hit that Subscribe button! It's free and helps a LOT! :)
MY Friends
Patreon Members
supporting members
$25 Members
Chris DeNicola
5$ Members
Qubedup
El Fuego Audio
Free Members
Dale Henry
Dan Winkler
John1320
Love you guys!

[@josephsaucedo8691]

Takes power to make power 💪👌🫡💯

[@FinsleysCustomCarAudio]

@@josephsaucedo8691 factsss

[@psementalist]

Because it takes power to make power us basshead's want all of the power we can get

[@AaronPotokar-ky4cz]

@@psementalist Need more POWER!

[@CRXUGLYKID]

More about this please. Class is in session

[@JasonWW2000]

One thing that might be worthy of mentioning is duty cycle. You can have a big amplifier drawing a lot of current, but with music it's going to draw that current in pulses and not continuously. The alternator, on the other hand, is going to be trying to replenish the battery in a continuous manner. So just because you have an amplifier that's drawing 500 amps doesn't mean you need an alternator system capable of putting out 500 amps. 👍

[@webreakforsquirrel4201]

A battery is a pool of water to drink from. If you drink more than the well can produce you end up dehydrating. If you fill the pool with a firehose there is plenty of water to drink.

[@FinsleysCustomCarAudio]

New here :~) You’re pretty smart. Subscribed..

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

thanks man!

[@primus711]

your problem is your alternator is not a steady voltage and on top of that your alternator needs to charge your batt every time you start your car 1 benefits is upgrading your wiring eg the big 3

[@adolfo4121]

Running at high voltage gives you the wattage the amplifier is rated for. Most amplifiers are rated by testing them at high voltage power sources (15v - 16v). If you run at 12.5 (14.5 when alt is running), you will not see 4500 watts from a skar rp4500 @1 ohm. To see the full 4500 watt rated output on 12.5 (14.5 v on alt running) electrical.... u need to run that amplifier at .5 ohm, and, add an extra battery or two to have the amperage available for that 4500 w output. That's why I run all my car amps at half ohm!!!! Bc I have the amps in my AGM batteries to supply the power. Also running amplifiers at half ohm is not bad at all as long as you don't try to squeeze out more watt output of what the amp is rated for. If I had a 15 - 16 volt electrical on my car, then, I would definitely not wire my setup below 1ohm.✌️

[@dougloyd5988]

Great video! I run 15.3v 400amp brand X and cmax for my salt 8k. Barely moves the voltage, only couple tenths. Big OFC runs too. 10/10 recommend high voltage.

[@JasonWW2000]

Something sounds a little bit off. Have you checked the amperage that your amplifier is pulling under load? I'm guessing it's not pulling a very high amount of current. Each individual cell at around 3.825 volt which is a mostly depleted battery. Most people with a C-Max typically charge between 15.8 and 16 volts where the cells have a lot more energy in them. If 15.3 volts is working for you and you're not having any issues, then that's fine. You're just leaving a lot of power on the table. 👍

[@dougloyd5988]

@@JasonWW2000 my bank is only 45ah, and the 15.3 fits my 15.5 max input on my Salt. I’m not opposed to stepping up voltage. My battery builder paired it for me. I like to hear your ideas.

[@JasonWW2000]

​@@dougloyd5988It just clicked for me that your running a SALT amplifier with a high voltage lithiumion battery. SALT stands for Sundown Audio Low voltage Technology. It's not the best match, but it seems your making it work. I wouldn't change anything. If you were curious as to how much power your amp is putting out you could put a DC clamp meter on the amplifiers power cable and see how much amperage it's pulling. Take that amperage and multiply it by 0.8 to compensate for efficiency losses then multiply that times your input voltage and that will give you a rough idea of the power it's putting out. It's always nice to know these things so that you get a better understanding of your system and what's going on. 👍

[@dougloyd5988]

@@JasonWW2000 for sure! I like the input. I keep clean signal and don’t max it out for sure on 2 12’s. I have a 3rd 12 waiting for my 6th order box plans to get finished. I’ll really get to see what’s I’m putting out then. But definitely not trying to turn it up to max on 2 stock zv6’s. Amp clamp on 1 of the 3 power wires times 0.8, then multiply by 3?

[@JasonWW2000]

​@@dougloyd5988Get you a DC clamp meter and put it on one of the three power cables. Let's say you see it pull 100A when playing a certain frequency. Multiply that times 3 since your only measuring 1/3 of your power wires. Look at the voltage when it pulls that current. Let's say it's 15.0 volts. So 300 amps x 15 volts is 4,500 watts going into the amplifier. We don't really know the amplifier efficiency so we will estimate 80%. 4,500 x 0.80 = 3,600 watts coming out of the amp to the speakers. It's a rough estimate because efficiency might be a little higher or lower. It's really interesting to watch the amp meter go up and down based on the frequency the subs are playing. My suv has an interior peak around 44 hz and my ported enclosure rises to around 10-12 ohms at the frequency so I get massive output on a tiny amount of current draw. Then when it plays 30hz the amp draws 10 times the current! Lol

[@FinsleysCustomCarAudio]

7:50 😂

[@gbresaleking]

I had a 600amp alt on my altima with 3 18s and it was the best upgrade for the money

[@JasonWW2000]

When you say alt, do you mean the motor generator unit of a hybrid altima?

[@gbresaleking]

@@JasonWW2000 nah it wasn't a hybrid, alt as in alternator

[@JasonWW2000]

@@gbresaleking As far as I'm aware, a 600 amp alternator that would fit on an Altima does not exist. Even if it did, you'd probably need to run a second serpentine belt just to spin it when it's under load. So did you mount a custom diesel truck high output alternator onto the stock engine? Maybe you meant to type 300A? I'm really not understanding how this would be possible.

[@gbresaleking]

@@JasonWW2000 no it was custom made by patrick when he worked at ohio gen, I needed a smaller belt but that was all

[@JasonWW2000]

​@@gbresalekingI can only assume you had a large battery bank and never really loaded down the alternator above maybe 300 amps. Even with 270° of belt coverage, you should have massive belt slip at the upper amperage draws. Plus he crammed 600A worth of stator and rotor in a stock housing? Doesn't sound possible. When you look up alternators that are actually 600 amps you'll typically find they are 24 volt and physically massive designed for the military or the mining industry. I think Patrick may have been exaggerating his numbers.

[@Smokeey409]

Takes power to make power but don't forget that amperage is part of the equation. So lithium bankd will always be more efficient than AGM, if that scares you LTO is great option safest option it won't be dangerous like a used headway bank. AGM won't kick in until your at 11v's and all your equipment mine be clipping at that voltage. Tahoes are capable of running 16v safely without issues.

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

oh i got something coming....it's coming

[@BrianWaller-qe7gr]

I can’t run more than 14.8. For two reasons one my lithium battery jp40 specifically says to not charge over 14.8. Secondly my car gives a charge system fault if it exceeds 14.8. It’s the computer that don’t like higher voltage

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

yea 14.4-14.8 seems a good number,

[@enangitau7431]

What of the supercaps, the 6pc ones that normally charge at 16v, but helping the Agm that's resting at 12.8v, will they be of any help without necessarily getting lithiums ? Love concentrating in your class by the way.

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

yea the caps work at any voltage, (up to 16-17) which ever it is, they will float or (rest) where ever the battery's in the system does, but they will quickly charge up to any alternators output and ride with it. unlike an agm, which will not.

[@patrickcrenshaw7705]

Great information 👍🏽 👌 what do you think would be a good size alternator for the new xs power xmax- 90 i have a brand x 290 amp alternator already but haven't installed it yet

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

charging higher voltage than battery rest at is fine.

[@JasonWW2000]

I can't find much data on that particular battery. It looks to be a lithium iron phosphate cell so I assumed you'd want your maximum charging voltage to be 14.6 volts. Although you'd be fine at anything above 14 or so.

[@patrickcrenshaw7705]

@JasonWW2000 Thanks for the help. Down4sound still has the product data-sheet up on their website. I'm gonna try this brand x 290 amp alternator and see how it works I'm thinking I might need something a little higher to get up in that 14 range so I might get a 320 amp js alternator

[@JasonWW2000]

​​@@patrickcrenshaw7705There's no correlation between the size of the alternator and the voltage that it can put out. You can get 16 volts out of a stock alternator. You don't need any special voltage regulators with that particular battery. Usually an aftermarket alternator will charge between 14 and 14.4 volts. If it's not high enough, you can add a diode which will bump up the charging voltage. That battery should be fine anywhere between 14 and 14.4 volts with an upper limit of 14.8v according to d4s. Probably the more important thing concerning alternators is the output curve across the RPM band. Some high output alternators require very high RPM to reach their ratings and put out very little power at idle. As long as your alternator is putting out good amperage at idle, you should be okay. Most companies will dyno the alts output across the rpm range.

[@patrickcrenshaw7705]

@JasonWW2000 Awesome thanks for the info I will check the amperage once I get it installed

[@kenman6721]

can you do a video similar to this one but with capacitors and batteries.

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

i did

[@kenman6721]

dang i thought i’ve watched all your videos can you direct me to it please im sorry for my ignorance im old im still learning i love your videos and how you make layman’s terms out of the science behind it.

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

@@kenman6721 kzbin.info/www/bejne/barFlmWboN2dsKM thanks man!

[@JonesCoWoodworks]

So basically now what I’m understanding from this video is that the two Ultracapacitors that I just installed in my Suburban are not REALLY helping me with my goals of putting out more power to my system. They are simply maintaining the 12 volts that I’m currently running at ? Is that a correct understanding ?

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

actually capacitors help , because they dont have a resting voltage, theyre gonna dump power all the time. super cap is like a honey badger, it dont care.

[@JonesCoWoodworks]

@@CarAudioEnthusiasts I guess it’s a good thing that I just got a third one today then. Lol

[@JonesCoWoodworks]

@@CarAudioEnthusiasts I also got everything that I needed to install my dual alternator setup today so I’m hoping that will help also. I’m going to be running two 255 amp “high output” alternators. So hopefully between that and the ultra caps and the two new agm batteries that I recently bought I will have plenty of power for whatever I want to install. To a certain extent of course.

[@soulstitch18224]

Got a question is it possible to put say windings from a higher amp alternator in my stock alternator. Only asking bc if I mod my current alternator I will get 200amps if I would buy for my car I’m looking at $600-$700. I have a 2012 Chevy sonic so I’m kinda stuck at 200 amps or go the high price route for a 320-350 amp alternator.

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

you can have your alternator redone to output more amperage, and / or higher voltage. you just need a good electric motor/ alternator shop do the work for you.

[@soulstitch18224]

@@CarAudioEnthusiasts yeah I will have that just curious bc a Chevy Cruze has same engine as mine but alt is a 130 and mounts are different. So curious if those windings or motor would fit in my alt housing. So in theory I would get 260 instead of 200.

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

@@soulstitch18224 man, i dono, beyond my level of knowlege. likely if all the guts fit properly in the case, it should work though.

[@kenman6721]

how do capacitors come into play with agm’s? does the voltage still drop. my resting voltage on my full throttle agms is 14.5 volts and my 2 400 amp alts produce to the batteries and caps 15.1 -16 volts. am i good to go?

[@kenman6721]

oh i’m powering a marts 8k. had a black brick 8k but that thing doesn’t produce true 8k one and got smoked by 15.7 volts. it doesn’t like high voltage at all. also black brick won’t ever get back to you they don’t even have a number to call for tech support.

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

based on your specs i would say your setup is solid, i have a video coming out today talking about caps.

[@primus711]

capacitors are meant to take the load in a small amount of time they discharge instantly they help with your peaks eg your air conditioner has a starter cap for this reason in your home because of the surge to get it running when it 1st starts capacitors are a type of battery they can discharge everything they can hold instantly and charge up instantly

[@AaronPotokar-ky4cz]

Need help, I am a knew Basshead. I have a 2005 Scion xB with a 1.5 liter motor and the alternator is only 80 amps😢, I am running a 2000 watt class D mono block amp and a 1000 watt class AB 4 channel amp. Can anyone help me with information on what size alternator and batteries I need to efficiently run the system?

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

well, you need minimum, 200-240amp alt, that would do nicely, and you will need to add a 2nd battery, probably running a 13.0v system, a good agm would do well.

[@primus711]

upgrade alternator just fyi most alternators dont put out high voltage thats why your amps have different ratings for voltage supplied 14.4v is better and more efficient than 12-13~ many buy amps based on the watts advertised on labeling but many are overpaying because they aren't getting that power because of the voltage to the amp

[@JonesCoWoodworks]

@@AaronPotokar-ky4cz I had a 06 Scion xB last year and I couldn’t find anyone who sells a high output alternator for it. The only thing that I could find was for a 08 and up xB. That being said I just bought four WLLDSE 15” subs off of Amazon along with two sets of Orion XTR 6.5 component speakers for my doors and powered everything with a old skool Audiobahn A2300 HCT amplifier going to the subs and two Skar Audio RP 150.4 amps bridged to two channels each and ran them to my door speakers. I did have to remove the back seat from the car so that the subs would fit but it worked amazingly well for the power supply that I had to work with. If I was going to do it again now I would definitely add an Ultra Capacitor to the system because they really do make a huge difference in the sound quality and the power that you get.

[@JasonWW2000]

Honestly, there's a lot of factors involved that determine how much power those amplifiers are going to be drawing. I wouldn't worry too much about it right now. Just get everything installed and see how the stock electrical system handles it. Depending on the type of music you listen to and how high the volume is you might be okay. Install a digital multimeter and calibrate it to match what your battery voltage is. Watch what your voltage is doing during the heavy bass notes. If you're going to turn up the bass for short amounts of time then you might get by with just a second battery. If you're going to be cranking the bass for extended periods of time then you may need a second battery plus an upgraded alternator.

[@Hertzsogood219]

Common sense.

[@kdog8787]

You're talking about 300 amp alternators!?! Do not run your amp on your primary alternator if it needs that much current! Your car's electronics will not like it. Run a secondary 48V alternator. If you run your primary alternator at 15V all the time, all the light bulbs in your car will burn out prematurely, not to mention the risk to all the other electrical devices. Why would you screw up your car for a 2V gain when you can get a 36V gain with a secondary alternator with no risk to your car's electrical system?

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

friend, car audio cant run on 48v, im not sure what youre talking about, sorry. and actually on my rig i have a 300amp AND a 370amp alt, lol

[@kdog8787]

@@CarAudioEnthusiasts At this point, I think it is fair to say you're past the realm of "car audio." Take a look at the TPA3255 from TI. It can handle 53.5V. Various modules are available online with this amp.

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

@@kdog8787 yea bro thats 600w at 50v, um, I making around 9000watts, and im at the bottom of the pile, we have local guys doing 60,000-100,000watts....the world is a scary BASSY place friend.