Wow... So my alleged 1,200watt sub, being bridged to my 1,500watt amp, is really only pulling a max of 750watts from the amp? It dims the crap outta my headlights every time it hits whenever I have it cranked up. Would a mere 750watts be capable of doing that to a V6 engine/alternator? Is there a bigger alternator available for the SVT Contour..? Do you think my battery could be weak or something? It's like 4 years old and has been drained and dead several times now... 0.o
What about those things called "farad capacitors"? I've seen them installed in large, multi-thousand-watt competition systems, but is this too small a system to put something like that into?
Lets talk realistic here. Your amp is not a 1500w amp. Your sub is not a 1200w sub. You have to look at the RMS ratings of equipment to get an honest perspective on things. Peak power is basicly just an advertising gimic. I thought there was a new industry rule passed a year or two ago that prohibited companies from advertising peak power.
The true specs on your amp:
RMS Power Rating:
4 ohms: 300 watts x 2 chan.
2 ohms: 380 watts x 2 chan.
Bridged, @ 4 ohms: 760 watts x 1 chan
Your sub is rated for 400w max RMS. If you put a true 1200w to that sub you would smoke it with the slightest increase on the gain. (ok, I may be a little extreme on that, but you get the idea)
So that being said, you are putting 760w to a 400w sub. You are "overpowering" it. This is not bad, you just have to be careful of how you have your amp setup to avoid blowing the sub.
As for your lights dimming, it means little more than your amplifier is highly inefficient. A more efficient amp pushing the same wattage wont dim your lights at all. The alternators on our cars are among the higher output found in vehicles. I'm pushing 890w RMS all together and I have very little dimming issues (and I dont have the upgraded grounds as stated above) . Its mainly my 4-channel that does it, My sub amplifier stays under 110 degrees (acording to amp-link) and doesn't dim a thing by itself even pushing out 550w rms.
IMHO caps are great, Some people hate them but they are a very cheap alternative to an optima battery and should fix the dimming problem. I would recommend upgrading your main ground under the hood like stated above first though because this will fix most dimming issues.
