I just picked up a pair of Rockford Fosgate Punch amplifiers (450.4 and 550.2) to replace a pair of ageing Alpines (MRV-F400 and T500) and want to be sure my electrical/charging system is up to the task. The system currently consists of a newer(less than 1 year) 105 amp alternator, new Optima red top(less than 6 months), the Big 3 (plus 2 and about a year) and high quality wiring throughout. I'm also using a relay in the turn-on circuit for the amps and there's an MSD6A and Blaster coil for the ignition. I just finished reading through a search about this subject and wanted to get opinions from members more knowledgeable in car audio than I. Also, the car is not a daily driver, has no a/c and comes out on good weather weekends and shows only.
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I forgot to list a Racetronix hot wire kit for the fuel pump.

 

Seems like you've got more than enough to run your system. I've ran more electrical with less backing it and never had an issue.

 

I've got a pretty similar setup and mods with one less amp. Seems to do the job just peachy.

 

Not sure what those amps run at, but maybe a capacitor would help...

Raf

 

NOOOO everyone stop talking about capacitor and stop telling people to get them.. DO NOT GET A CAPACITOR.. you have more than enough to run what you have.. you could run well over a 1000watts with no problem with what you have imo..

 

That's what I was hoping to find out, thanks for the replies. Now my only concern is will these two fit in the space I have side by side.

 

What gague is the power wire for each amp or amps? Do you have a seperate power wire to the batttery for each amp or is it a single wire to a dist block and to two wires. The P550.2 I assume is for subs. You need a 4ga. wire to this amp to gain full potental power output from it. Be sure to have a good 4ga ground as well. The 450.4 I assume is for mids and highs. It is recommended to also have a 4ga power/ground to it as well, but would not be hurt by having an 8ga wire is used for the mids/highs. Having a single 4ga to a dist and splitting it to both amps isnt a good idea. The amp used for subs will pull the most current and starve the other amp for power. I have sold RF amps for years and for a few years they had gotten away from building a good amp like they have in the past. The newer amps from the past few years, which is the same design as your new ones, have more power than advertised and are a very sound accurate product. I had a 500.2 on some Boston 6.43x Componets and a 600.2 on a RF sub. I was impressed by them.

 

Unfortunately the Rockfords won't be going into the car. I did a preliminary test fit and they won't fit my amp rack due to the center of the rear panel that covers the hatch pulldown motor. My plan was to mount them side by side and almost touching each other to look like one massive amp but the setup I have in place won't allow that and I really don't want to build something that would come out of the rear well area so I returned the amps this evening and am back to the drawing board again.
As for the wiring, I was going to go with the 4 gauge I already have in the car and come off the distribution block with more 4 gauge to the amps. The grounds would have been the same way but since I'm not going with them it's a mute point but thanks for the info, I'll keep that in mind while I regroup.