twotone

What is the best battery to use with the aftermarket audio systems you guys are running?

Shibumi1

optima red top 1000cca hand down.. the yellow top is ok as well but has a longer recharge rate.. (yellow is better if u plan on sittin in parking lots for hrs w ur engine off listening to music)

twotone

Club Lexus do you guys have your alternator upgraded for better electrical stability in addition to a batter upgrade?


What is the stock alternator amp output?

cmasten

I didn't change anything on the alternator, I did get a DuraLast Gold battery to put more current capacity and made sure to use only 4 ga, stranded copper to the back for + and -

I don't have any issues driving several Focal Amps.

twotone

Thanks... I just bought a interstate megatron battery to start. The lights were dimming everytime my bass would hit or in general. So I was guess if I change the battery it might solve that problem, however, the concept is that equipment draws directly from the alternator mostly once the car is running and a better battery would not solve the dimming issue. We shall see what happens when the battery is replaced.

cmasten

you may want to consider a Capacitor then to help you pool some juice. You may also want to make sure that your amps are tied in directly to your battery and not through the cars power.. that would happen with the symptoms you are describing. My amps are tied directly to a tie box that then goes into the battery, the alternator just keeps the battery charged when the motor is running.

Shibumi1

i still suggest the optima red top 1000cca. optima batteries have a lower internal resistance compared to ANY other battery..ie they put less of a load on the alternator. ex. 4 optima batteries in parallel (pos to pos & neg to neg) shows the same resistance load as ur 1 megatron.. the reason this helps is its less strain on the alternator to charge the batt.. so it can put more power to the cars electrical system.. 2nd the optima has a faster recharge rate (from 60% to full charge) so it takes less time to regain full charge status..

in my last car before adding the 2 optimas as aux load batts. i only had 1 as a starting battery an my lights never dimmed once.

as for capacitors they are only necessary if u r using low grade quality amplifiers.. most name brand product have twice to 3 times the capacitance required to produce the power they list rms.

if u replace ur battery an u still see dimming lights:

add a 2nd ground to the battery (LARGER gauge wire than the positive lead) an ground it to a new place making sure to remove the paint (grinders works well) an make a metal to metal contact. then do the same at ur amp (keeping both ground less than 18" long)

voltage actually runs neg to pos not the other way round.. ur ground is the most important connection in the vehicle...

pm me if u need any more help..

Shibumi1

the battery acts as a back up to the alternator when the draw from the electrical system (or stereo) exceeds the power put out by the alternator (which is why the lights dim)

twotone

Thanks again... i replaced the battery and weeeh!!!! the lights are no longer dimming. I think because the installers had the doors open, radio turned on they might have killed my battery. Either way the stock battery is not enough for an aftermarket system. So far so good, however, I am thinking eventually the battery will drain if the alternator does not provide enough amps power. I would say that an alternator upgrade would be the next mod down the short term road.

The car sound great and I can't immagine the car without it. Safe and Sound in BK NY is the shop to use in tri-state area. I'll will post picture as soon as I take them. I opt for a 2 12" set up band pass custom build box ported through the stock sub location and replace all internal speakers with tweeters and mid bass speakers. I did not change the dash speakers only added tweeters as the space was not enough for alternate speakers.

For the money aftermarket is the way to go for the full control of what type of sound you are looking for.

cmasten

most critical speaker to the human ear is the mid-range.. hence its tuned for human voice (vocals).

You will want to upgrade your dash speakers. I would kill the center and just wait till you can afford some really good 3 ways or Mids if that is what you have left.

The mids in front will make a big difference if everything else is lined up, i.e you have some clean power and a high grade cross over going to it.

Glad your enjoying your new system, the LS460 is a great car to put an aftermarket system in.

cmasten

March of 2012 this Focal system will be TWO years old.

Its running strong, looking back there is isnt a thing I would do differently, The Focal amps have never missed a beat nor have the Focal cross-overs or drivers. The install was solid and worth the investment by a person that does this well, its just as tight as the day it was installed.

The Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty DSP has also been very solid, I have connected into it with BT several times from my laptop top and changed delays, cutoffs and crossovers, but nothing major, most of them I ended up changing back to the way they were adjusted by the installer.

I have considered upgrading my LS a few times to a newer model, but every time I sit in a new one and listen to the stereo it makes me appreciate mine all the more, I think I ll keep my 07 for a few more years and see what Lexus does in a future version, once you have heard this vehicle sound good its hard to sit an another one. It was worth a few grand to invest in this part of the vehicle, IMO. It has probably saved me 5-6x that amount in upgrading to a newer model.

Im sure that Lexus has something spectacular in mind with the body change, but until then, this audio upgrade has allowed me to feel content with what I have.

Shibumi1

i dunno if an alternator upgrade is needed... jus make sure u allow ample time for your batt to recharge...at least 1/3 the time u spend blasting your music... thats usually enough time for an optima to recover as long as its not too cold out if so add an extra few just in case...

treemed67

I’m thinking of buying used LS460 and installing a tube amp Milbert (Milbert.com) and appropriate speakers.

Anyone here with any experience with tube amps and Lexus?
Also, I know LS is quiet, but I’m sure there is always space for improvement. Do you believe there is much possibility to further improve LS460 in sound deadening department?

Mikey100

As much as I know you'ld like to try this, in my humble opinion it (the TUBE amp) is a bad idea. Quality Vacuum Tubes Amplifiers cost a pretty penny today. Having said that, I am surprised you are even considering a “Milbert.” While part of my reasoning is that you can only purchase it direct, from the factory, and the fact it costs $3500.00 (delivered). HOWEVER ... That’s not the bothersome part. Why pay $$100 PER WATT ????? I mean 35 watts (per channel) – in a Lexus ? Solid State products have come so VERY far in terms of QUALITY audio reproduction in our automobiles.

The Milbert, whether or not it was designed by David Berning or not, is not what, in my humble opinion, you should be looking at.

Where then ? You will receive the ‘Biggest Bang For your Buck’ by spending your hard-earned dollars on QUALITY Speaker drivers. Such as the FOCALS, particularly the PolyGlass line-up. If you still wish to create a real audio experience, then go spend your money @ home on this issue.

Pay close attention to what cmasten has written in this thread, as he has written an extremely useful, and prudent guide, we all might wish to follow for our LS's.

Best Wishes to you ...... Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA

lexusnutt

Marky2mark, PM sent