voltage stabilizer???

[jibbby]

spf lexus - then you don't have a voltage current problem in your electrical system... Were you experiencing any problems anyway? Any fancy voltage regulator probably would not have made a difference either if your capacitor didn't do anything... So don't sweat it..

When I upgraded my electrical system changing the battery cables alone and going with copper battery connectors made a little difference.. The voltage regulator helped a little bit with the dimming of lights at idle.. I still have a low idle and probably still could use a stronger alternator anyway to get it all just perfect.....

Dude, that sound system looks insane, how's your hearing? I got a 300 kicker amp and actually vibrate my back window almost out of it's casing.. Boom Boom Boom with the base when I desire... How many watt's is that system of yours?

 

[spf_lexus]

Well I did have an electrical problem before the re-do but thats what the voltage stabilizer advertises, on top of adding power... says its supposed to raise HP and was curious if a stable electrical system could deliver, I strongly believe it would help if i installed it before the upgrades but once the "meat and potato" upgrades are done the small mods tend to be hard to notice. Im sure it would "contribute" under very heavy loads where everything is sucking from the battery, the cap would act as a temporary second battery.

Before I started getting under the hood of my LS I was found more at the other end of my car... Ended up going through a few entire systems until I landed here. I have a 2x din Alpine screen up from, MB quart "Q" componens up front (6.5'') in custom sealed door panels. I have 4'' MB quart "Q"s in the rear in the stock pods (work quite well actually). In the back are 2 JL 500/1 mono amps each supplying 500RMS for two 12w6 subs. The components are powered by a JL 300/4 w/ 75RMS per channel. It ends up being around 1500+RMS (JL under rates their RMS power). Yeah if I blast the dvd "HEAT" in the middle of traffic w/ windows down at the bank scene people will start FREAKING OUT like theres really some crazies w/ machine guns in broad daylight lol, its to the point where if I max it out it sounds like a real gunfight, same decibel level anyway..

Hey Jibby that rattle your hearing is the biggest reason people dont want to get what they would like. Too much bass usually sounds like crap mostly from vibrations, easy fix? "Great Stuff" expanding foam. Dries extremely light, expands A FREAKING LOT and is much cheaper than dynamat. I have around 50lb of dynamat in my LS and it does its job but the foam saved me from lots of problems.

Take out your back seat + rear deck and fill the voids between the "sandwiched" metal w/ the foam until its one solid unit, fill half way up as it will expand 2x over 12 hours. It comes out pretty easy if you ever need to cut it out but the rattles will be killed and wont add more than a pound or 2 of foam. I used the foam also between the rear frame rails and side fender walls as well as the entire spare tire well. These 12's create a lot of SPL and need somewhere to go so I "squared" off the stock 8'' circle for the stock sub, made it about 10'' square... just big enough to re-install the rear light and sealed w/ foam.

 

[jibbby]

That's great info Spf lexus..That spray foam sounds like a good idea and I will try that... Yeah, the basic kicker amp upgrade with the bigger sub woof is not all that great as I find myself adjusting the bass and trebble with almost every song... I wish I had your system in my SC4... Oh well.... Love the one your with.... I can't complain that much as I do have really good base and that is courtesy of the kicker amp and 500w sub woofer I installed...

Sorry the Capacitor and or regulators don't work for your problem.. You know it's all about having good wires that aren't brittle, good grounds especially, a good battery, and a good idle that can spin a good alternator at adequate rpms from idle... It's not that dificult to really dial in your electrical system when you think about it....

 

[spf_lexus]

One thing found interesting about the lexus audio system is the pods they engineered. I know this should pro be in interior threads but o well. I spent a weekend fabbing enclosures for these 6.5'' components and they sounded great w/ good bass response, much better than stock. I never even had rears, i had the 300 watt amp split to 150rms per speaker and had no isssues until I decided I needed backs too. I then went out and ought 4'' components of the same speaker line and used the pioneer pods and the MB quart speakers were identical in speaker depth and I swear they had the same bass response as the 6.5's hve using the same power (now 75 per). So what did i learn? all those engineers used very cheap pioneer 16watt speakers in VERY well engineered speaker pods. I wouldnt mind running 4's all around if they could hold enough power (more moolah as this small speaker/large power issue goes). Solid ABS plasic (sealed w/ actual gasket) and attached very well to door panel.

 

[jibbby]

spf lexus - it really sounds like you know your audio systems...

It's funny just the other day I blew my front side lexus speaker..It pop's and is not that easy to get to... You gotta remove all the door paneling and what not to access.. Can you recommend a good replacement speaker up front spf? Do you know what size they are?

I currently have a 500watt 10" kicker sub, and two side 300watt sony next to the sub and the rest speakers up front are stock... One pops now, most upsetting... I figure I will try your foaming idea when I attack and replace the front speaker...

The backs are solid and bump...

 

[spf_lexus]

I have had an SC and an LS and both use 4'' speakers. The pods there mounted in use varying chambers to ad a "ported" design and have a vent in the face next to the speaker. If your not looking to rip the door apart and start fabbing w/ fiberglass then I would suggest just getting a high end pair of 4''. I have MB quart and the model line is the QSD. They have a QSC line that is cheaper but very close in performance (same power rating and same exact tweeters) and they sound great. They can take anywhere from 50 watts RMS to 150 watts RMS, plenty of room. They also have a very small mounting depth, almost exacting the stock pioneer depth. This is good because it will perform a LOT like stock but with much better bass depth and power. Honestly I ran my stock 4'' pioneer speakers for a while off of a 200rms amp and they played twice as loud and twice as clean, just from the power being 4x stock, they lasted 2 months of abuse too lol.



Recommendations? Its your ears and your car so get what sounds good to you.

-if you are looking for high end companies that have good 4'' ratings here's my lineup:

MB quart
Focal
JL audio
Morel


These get pretty pricey but you get what you pay for w/ electronics.

Good luck Jibby, best part IMO is part hunting lol.

 

[jibbby]

Thanks a million... I will get on Ebay and see what I can find based on your recommendations...

 

[fastegg]

voltage stabilizer

hi... i tried to find a thread on this subject and searched the net but haven't really found anything....
My question is 'what is a voltage stabilizer and do they work as claimed'?
I realize its some kind of capacitor, however there are claims of more HP, better fuel economy and just general claims of the operation of the motor and everything else conected to the battery running better.
Yeah, so can someone enlighten me ?

 

[nz jailbar]

you will proberbly more improvement with a grounding kit

 

[spf_lexus]

I read a comparo article on 5 major name voltage stabilizers and on a 4 cyl turbo, they saw about 2-5whp and 2-5wtq overall. I believe it was superstreet magazine. Anyway they stated that it "smooths out" the minor draws from the system, allowing current to stay at a steady level, allowing the ignition system to have a more consistent draw.. which gives a stronger spark. The same article took apart the units and all they are is basically a series of miniature capacitors that "drain & fill" much faster than a standard car stereo capacitor.

They do work, just more so on boosted engines. A honda integra N/A that was tested only gained like 2whp and 1wtq.

 

[fastegg]

Thanks SPF Lexus
..... so i guess my question to you is have you got one ? and would you think their worth putting on my UCF21 ?
.. If they are, is it a question of 'you get what you pay for'.... how can you tell a good one ?
.. And finaly, how come they worked better on the turbo car ?

*** id love to sit here and fire questions all day...

 

[fastegg]

voltage stabilizer

I always thought that the battery was the voltage stabilizer ?

 

[spf_lexus]

No prob fastegg. I cant remember all the brands, it was about a year ago when I read it but I remember the top 2 brands were Buddy Club and second was Sun automotive. I have not tried 1 of these personally but if a 2.0 turbo can gain 5whp, then a boosted 4.0 should be around 10whp?

I think the reason why boosted enjgines see more improvement is because the stock ignition system needs to draw more current versus N/A and any increase in spark energy will help aid complete combustion for a few horsepower gain. Is it worth $150 or more? Hard to say unless the car is tested before/after on a dyno like the magazine did. I would go with the Sun automotive brand if I had to pick.

 

[spf_lexus]

I think I may end up buying one of these real soon just to give it a shot. My daily driver is a 92' sc400 with a 2 channel amp that draws probably 60amps at full load. but is now 8psi supercharged so there's a few more amps through the ignition system. And to add even more to the electrical draw, I had to move my battery from the back seat to the rear trunk but in the end finding good grounds will be easy.


Did some searching and NRG makes a nice clean looking unit. I let you know if i pick it up.

 

[fastegg]

voltage stabilizer

There's a whole heap of them on ebay... some advertise 77%, 88%, 90%
?????? 77% what ?
And one claims all of these benifits.... I mean if all these things are true
you'd think new cars would come with them STD ?.... You can pay between $20 and $250 i wonder if there's a difference....

• Improved audio quality
• Increased torque and response and power 10% - 25%
• Stabilized idling and improved engine kick over
• Increased headlight brightness 25% - 40%
• Improved fuel economy 15% - 30%
• Improved battery life 30% - 60%
• Our confidence in performance means we can make a see-through case
• Our special condenser and our original circuitry design bring you voltage stability.
• A blue LED helps you identify any possible wiring mistakes (Even with the key off, the LED only uses 0.5mA of power, so no need to worry about a dead battery)
• Internal Dual Fuse to help prevent electrical shorts

http://shop.ebay.com.au/items/_W0QQ_sopZ12?_nkw=voltage stabilizer&_fromfsb=0&_trksid=m270.l1313

 

[fastegg]

Battery in boot

Oh and BTW mr spf lexus.... when you moved the battery to the boot, was there any difference to battery performance.... did you increase cable size? did the starter motor loss any grunt ?.... now i know this might sound like a silly question but did you notice any difference in handling ?

 

[spf_lexus]

They will help out with the minor stuff listed above but not DRASTICALLY.

I did notice a harder time cranking my engine over w/ my supercharger and batt. relocation but when I upgraded to an optima red top and lextreme's 140amp alt, I never had an issue. I just use car stereo 4awg amp line and run it under the rocker panels. An easy fix for the extra drain is to upgrade your battery. Since you have a long LS400 like i did a while back, you'll need a deeper cycling battery with more CCA's. I upgraded my ls to a deep cycle yellow top and never had an electrical issue again.

BTW the battery performance question isn't silly, it works! My LS cornered MUCH better w/ the heavy 50lb brick in the opposite location. Just brace it down real tight. It really does give the car a closer 50:50 distribution.

 

[fastegg]

Nakamichi

Hey Mr spf... (1999 LS400) I'm thinking of swapping my STD Pioneer amp 86280-50150
with a Nakamichi 86280-50160. Just looking at the photo's on ebay, all the plugs look the same (4 plugs,white,grey,green,orange) There's 2 of them
at $199 each.
Q: Will the Nak give better sound ? more grunt ?... Is this swap a good mod ?..... Would the Nak be better than an aftermarket amp ?
.... And what about speakers ?.....
PS: I'm a cronic audiophile.... Any surgestions anyone ?

 

[spf_lexus]

Will the Nak give better sound ? more grunt ?... Is this swap a good mod ?..... Would the Nak be better than an aftermarket amp ?
.... And what about speakers ?.....
PS: I'm a cronic audiophile.... Any surgestions anyone ?

I have not been a big fan of the stock system mostly becaue its so integrated, upgrading anything is an act of futility. You might gain some extra RMS power from the Nak amp, but it wont bewoeth the investment IMO. I cannot verify that the swap will work but if you can grab one cheap... give it a shot. If your looking for that clean OEM dash look, i would check into JL audio's "Clean Sweep". Its a box that retains the stock deck, but changes all the signals to digital for improved clarity and provides several RCA out for seperate amps. This way you can keep the factory Nav + CD changer and still have a thumping system.

BTW the biggest change you'll get over stock is to upgrade the tiny 4" speakers to 6.5's and modify the stock enclosures with larger MDF baffles.

 

[spf_lexus]

I forgot to mention but i just finished a pretty nice stereo in my SC. I will be starting a thread this weekend in the interior/stereo section.

2 sets of Precion power 3 ways (front and back) with 2 kenwook kac 7201's. the goal was to have a nice loud system w/o any interior or subwoofers. (im trying to keep the car light so a 3rd amp + subs are out of the question.