Does a small amp and a subwoofer (Bazooka Bass Tube) affect mileage?

[4G63]

Hi everyone I'm new here and I'll be getting my HCH-II in July. I'm getting one without the navi and I wanna add an amp and a sub to the stock unit. I'm not looking for loads of bass but just some additional boom so I'm looking at the Bazooka Bass Tube with a built in 50watt amp. I've experienced it in my friends car and its a pretty neat unit gives out clean bass and I've read lots of review and 99% of the people like it. I think it should make a good addition to my HCH-II. But will I see a significant loss of MPG? Anyone has the Bazooka too? Share your thought. Thanks.

[duk]

Shouldn't affect your mileage at all.
A few of us are rocking subs in our hybrids and no one has mentioned anything negative.

[07mugencivic]

i dont think so......

[legendx]

My amp goes to 11!

[xtv-sidecar]

If you are looking to hyper mile that is one thing but if not don't waste to much time thinking about it. The difference the weight will make is too small in the grand scheme of things IMO.

[Osager]

I upgraded the sound in my HCH II and at my last fill up got 51.7 mpg. Your fuel economy may dip slightly because of (1) added weight and (2) increased drain on the electrical system. Combined, the drop will be less than 0.1 mpg. You have nothing to worry about at this level of upgrade. Go for it.

OTOH, adding a 3000 watt amp with 2 12 inch subs, plus 2 layers of sound deading material everywhere, yeah it adds up. You could lose up to 1 mpg if you add enough weight and amps, maybe more.

[4G63]

thanks for the input guys

[4G63]

i was reading some posts about the hybrids' alternator being too small and cant handle a high wattage amp.. are u guys running a really small amp? the bazooka amp i'm planning to buy shouldn't cause a problem right...?

[GoHuskies]

Originally Posted by 4G63

i was reading some posts about the hybrids' alternator being too small and cant handle a high wattage amp.. are u guys running a really small amp? the bazooka amp i'm planning to buy shouldn't cause a problem right...?

The civic hybrid doesn't have an alternator. Electric current is supplied via the charged rear battery which is then transfered to the 12V battery. The power level flux's depending on energy usage and car draw off either just the 12V or the battery bank via DC-DC transfer. I'm no expert but the system should have no trouble providing a larger current draw.

The only downside to that is a long term mpg hit. When your drawing more electrical power over time your more likely and more often going to find regen unable to keep up with electrical/assist needs and hit a forced battery regen which hurts fuel economy. Its not a question of exactly how much time or power you can use, its more how much you can regen vs spend. The more you spend and the less you regen the worse the fuel economy.

[Osager]

The built-in amp (50W?) for your proposed sub seems rather small, and should not cause a problem. The drain on your electrical system from such an amp is trivial compared with what your air conditioner uses. I have a 550 watt amp in my HCHII, and the only time I notice battery drain is with the AC blasting in city traffic. My system is puny compared with what some people install.

If your new subwoofer starts rattling every panel in the car, and you get annoyed, and you take your car apart to add hundreds of pounds of deadening material, well, don't say I didn't warn you: your fuel economy will suffer in proportion to the weight added.

[turbocivic]

not at all!

[furryferret7888]

i thought the added drain might do it alot on a hybrid....lol


i dont know ANYTHING about electrictal systems in cars

[4G63]

i think it should be fine... its a TINY amp that i have .. and it doesnt weight much.

[SuperJay]

mine is certainly affected, then again, my system is almost 400 pounds. the trade off is worth it. 44mpg, and crystal clear music.

SoundDomain: 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid

[4G63]

Originally Posted by SuperJay

mine is certainly affected, then again, my system is almost 400 pounds. the trade off is worth it. 44mpg, and crystal clear music.

SoundDomain: 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid

i think 44mpg with a 400lbs system is impressive since the listed mpg is 40/45

[SuperJay]

before the system I was getting 52 on the highway. I get closer to 36 around town. still not bad though.

[tonyCiviCitalia]

im sure the mpg difference will be negligable with that small of a system. pus, if you already have the system, just install it and see for yourself. if your mpgs went down significantly, simply take it out.

[SuperJay]

or don't. music is important

[ajhuntsman]

Can all of you who have aftermarket systems update this thread with your amp details? For instance, how many watts RMS? Do your lights dim at all? Did you upgrade your battery or use capacitors?

I'm planning a system right now, and want to be sure my hood battery won't drain, and that my MPG won't fall more than 3-4.

[lithosphere]

I have a Rockford Fosgate Punch P325.2 (2-channel car amplifier) 100 watts RMS x 2 at 4 ohms (200 watts RMS x 2 at 2 ohms) 400 watts RMS x 1 bridged output at 4 ohms (4-ohm stable in bridged mode) total max power 800 Watts. I also have a Half Farad capacitor to help ease the power drain on the battery. I have one 10" Infinity Sub (1052W) in a ported bassworx box. No tweeters, no 6x9's. The factory speakers seem to be fine with this setup. I also kept the stock deck unfortunately because of this I have to buy one of those RCA converters so I could connect my OEM Deck to the Amp. This has affected my overall sound quality compared to an aftermarket deck. But its not noticable if you simply turn up the volume. You won't be winning any bass contests but you'll be happy the bass output.

I am looking to upgrade my battery just to ease my nerves cause lets face it the motor battery is small...like smurfanator small.