Unlike the installation portions, the sound quality sections of both scoresheets are remarkably similar. The idea here is that all systems should sound good, no matter how much time and money was spent building them. The main difference here is that the Street judging is done only from the driver's seat of the car, while the Ultimate class uses one judge in each front seat. It is more difficult to recreate good sound from both seats, making the Ultimate class more of a challenge. The Street class puts the competitor in the passenger's seat, where he or she can learn how to improve the system's sound quality for the next show. The sound quality section is worth 57% of the total score on the Street scoresheet, as opposed to 55% for the Ultimate class. The purpose of these rules is to teach a new generation of future Ultimate class competitors how to design a safe, dependable, great-sounding system.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and compete with your system. If you run across an old veteran competitor talking about how hard it used to be for beginners, just smile and be glad that you're going Back to Basics.
As for this month's question it comes from Sandell, who has a very nice system in his 1999 BMW 540i. He asks if he needs a high output alternator in his car to cope with his 1200 watt system. Sandell, the answer is, "It depends." Since your car has a lot of factory electrical accessories, it already has a large alternator and battery that can handle a good amount of extra load. Car stereo amplifiers draw power in short bursts, so the 1.5-farad capacitor you have will help out a lot. If you listen to a ton of very bass-heavy music, it could start to tax the electrical system when running some of the car's power accessories. If this is the case, it may be time to upgrade your alternator or battery. My BMW runs four amplifiers with a total output of over 1000 watts, and I have had no problems with a stock alternator and an upgraded battery.
Keep those questions coming to sbrown@alpine-usa.com, and I'll see you in the lanes.