Electrical system upgrade, voltage stabalizer worth it?

dragonplayboy · Post by **dragonplayboy** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:19 pm

I was told by an individual (less knowledgeable than yourselves) that a ground kit and "big three" upgrade is far less effective without a "voltage stabilizer", and one can be purchased on ebay for roughly 50-100 dollars. it seems like bunk, but I'd like to be sure, what say you, oh wise ones?

(thanks in advance!)

Post by **mr tibbs** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:25 pm

Voltage stabilizer?? How about an example?

SolacE · Post by **SolacE** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:29 pm

the only 2 things that come to mind would be a jacobs accuvolt and the usamps optimizer. They both do the same thing essentially. They take the input voltage and clean it up and spit out a regulated voltage from 12-16v.

SolacE · Post by **SolacE** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:30 pm

Forgot to mention they are a little more than $50-$100....

fordtough1 · Post by **fordtough1** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:35 pm

I wonder if they mean a capacitor?

Post by **Wakeup** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:53 pm

I have an optimizer!

And yes a MUCH more than 100 bux for sure.

SolacE · Post by **SolacE** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:31 pm

Wakeup wrote:I have an optimizer!
And yes a MUCH more than 100 bux for sure.

not to thread jack but what kind of current is it good for? want to unload it?

Post by **Wakeup** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:12 pm

Sorry I am dumb here.....Not an audio guru like most of you. I just like to collect things....

so when you say what kind of current? you lost me there...

Sorry again I am ignorant!

Pedi · Post by **Pedi** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:12 am

Overseas we used earlier to use Ladac exernal regulators, to make current stay constant at 14.4V... But cost here 300+ dollars...

Very nice upgrade.

BTW: The big three upgrade is a good solution whatsoever, but it will not do magic if you have big amps and a small alternator...

dragonplayboy · Post by **dragonplayboy** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 4:26 am

ok, look at ebay item #330215863877 for an example.

I'm actually not running an aftermarket system at all, it's impossible to get an aftermarket HU in the 04-08 TL (not impossible, but not worth the effort) I'm just doing a big three upgrade (and some extra grounds to look cool

) to hopefully smooth out idle and what not.

Thx again!

(this is one of the threads I was reading)
http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114981

is it just a cap in a heat sink?

SolacE · Post by **SolacE** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:57 am

@dragonplayboy: I think that is just a cap inside that heatsink. Probaby nothing more. It will help but there are better solutions out there. I would recommend doing the big 3 upgrade and getting a batcap model 300. For the money it will be one of the best choice in my opinion. You can get a batcap online for around $130-$170 and it will provide 30-50 farads of capacitance (sp?).

@wakeup: The opitmizer is a jaccobs accuvolt clone essentially. They are limited in the amount of current they can provide, but the trick is they can output up to 16v regulated so you can get the same amount of power essentially from with less current draw. I am not EE like some of the guys here and they might chime in on this but that is my understanding of how it all goes down.

tristan20 · Post by **tristan20** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:00 am

I got an optimizer that I might let go, shoot me an offer

dragonplayboy · Post by **dragonplayboy** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:45 am

so what good would adding a cap to the battery do?

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:05 pm

dragonplayboy wrote:so what good would adding a cap to the battery do?

It helps prevent voltage drops during very short high-draw conditions. They won't do anything useful if your alt/battery can't provide the type of current your amps needs on a regular basis.

dragonplayboy · Post by **dragonplayboy** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:24 pm

But what i'm trying to emphasize here is that I don't have an aftermarket system and am just trying to beef up the factory electrical system, it helped with my rough idle in my 350z, but all I did back then was the grounding kit.

Post by **mr tibbs** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:45 pm

Do the big 3, if your not drawing any more current than stock I see nooooooo reason for a cap. If the big three does not help check your alt and your battery.

SolacE · Post by **SolacE** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:30 pm

@tristan20: I dont really have a need for one right now and dont need to be buying it anyway since I am going to p/u my ti12d elite in a min. But thank you sir.

I agree with tibbs the big three with a stock setup will be all that is necessary. Anything else would be money wasted.

HoseHead · Post by **HoseHead** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:24 pm

General info on capacitance:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/capacitor2.htm

Kewl tidbit: Capacitors can also eliminate ripples. If a line carrying DC voltage has ripples or spikes in it, a big capacitor can even out the voltage by absorbing the peaks and filling in the valleys.

gkitching · Post by **gkitching** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:40 pm

We used the Accuvolts back in the day for SQ competitions. Seeing as how the vehicles are not running during the judging process, all you amps were running off the 12.5 ish voltage from the idle battery. Using an accuvolt to maintain 14.4 volts one could benefit from an unregulated amp with 'better' power ratings at higher voltages.

The drawback to them, besides price, was they were only available in 50amp and 100 amp ratings(as far as I remember). In order to create a higher voltage it draws alot more current from the vehicle. And were as big or bigger than some amps. Also had the inherent advantage of completely isolating the audio system's power from the rest of the vehicle. Helping eliminate vehicle noises from entering the signal path.