wip99gt :
The biggest lighter socket inverter I've seen was 600 watts. Some newer vehicles do have larger than 15A fuses for them which makes it possible as lots of people use those sockets and they put more in newer vehicles. A 15A fuse at 14 volts is still 210 watts. With the car not running it's 180 watts because the battery will only be around 12 volts. Now ACTUAL the efficiency of most of those inverters are usually around the 80-85% range which will give you 150-180 watts. You'd most likely be fine with just the speakers running but adding anything else could cause problems if you have an older vehicle. Easiest way to check would be a quick google search.
You can get better quality inverters which you wire straight to the battery. They cost more though as well. I use a 2100 watt inverter in my truck and it was around $400 Canadian for it. It does have a better efficiency and puts out cleaner power than the cheap ones though. If you go this route I'd recommend just getting a cheap head unit and some new speakers as the cost will end up close to the same as a proper installation. Good wires and a fuse and holder will increase the cost $30-50. With it being black Friday weekend you could find a head unit and 4 speakers for around $200 to $250.
Thanks, very informative! One question though: are you saying that if I buy for instance a 300w inverter for the cig. socket it'll be too much? Or doesn't it matter how big the inverter is, as long as I don't draw more power than 180W?
Also, these are the power specs on the speakers:
Total RMS Power: 200W [FTC rated power]
Total Continuous Power: 120W [Estimated]
Total Peak Power: 400W
Power distribution: 120 W (Subwoofer) + 2 X 40 W (Satellites)
I don't understand anything about power, so I ask you - does this information tell you how much power it will use from a power inverter in the cig. socket on 50% volume, 75% or 100%? It says continious power is 120W, does this mean it uses 120W continiously when running maxed out at most times?
Sorry for asking alot, but I'd really like to try this, because im borrowing a car for a while, and I don't want to set up something permanent.