rollin92

I have a 600watt crossfire 602d amp and two 12" cadence subwoofers. I've been

wanting to hook up a second 600 watt amp for a while, but I'm just now getting around

to finding all the stuff. The amp has two 30 amp fuses in it and the one by the battery is

60 amps I'm pretty sure(didn't look cause its raining). Right now it has 8 guage power

wire, if I I'm running two amps will 4 guage be enough to run from the battery to the

distro block or do I need bigger wire? Isn't 4 gauge only rated to 80 amp, so it wouldn't

run the two amps or am I completely wrong? Thank you for any help, I really

appreciate it. Sorry if this is a stupid question.

fcm

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rollin92 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a 600watt crossfire 602d amp and two 12" cadence subwoofers. I've been

wanting to hook up a second 600 watt amp for a while, but I'm just now getting around

to finding all the stuff. The amp has two 30 amp fuses in it and the one by the battery is

60 amps I'm pretty sure(didn't look cause its raining). Right now it has 8 guage power

wire, if I I'm running two amps will 4 guage be enough to run from the battery to the

distro block or do I need bigger wire? Isn't 4 gauge only rated to 80 amp, so it wouldn't

run the two amps or am I completely wrong? Thank you for any help, I really

appreciate it. Sorry if this is a stupid question. </TD></TR></TABLE> There are no stupid questions, [maybe there are] only stupid answers go to http://www.the12volt.com click on power and ground under car audio on the left. bingo 94

rollin92

First of all thank you for the quick response and the helpful link.

Now if I'm reading the chart right, I should really use 2 guage wire back to the trunk

then split off into 4 guage to the two amps. Is that right? Will this distribution block

work http://www.crutchfield.com/S-K...block

or is there another brand I should use? From what I can tell this one would work

and I would need to put 60 amp fuses in the fuse holder right. I really appreciate

your help.

o_O

either way, you're going to have to replace that 8 awg wire.....i suggest you just run 1/0 awg and be done with it......this gives you room to expand/upgrade if you want something more powerful in the future.....yes, you would run the 1/0 awg wire to the trunk and split it with a fused distribution block (remember to always fuse when changing wire sizes) you would put 60 amp fuses in each slot on the dist. block...also remember to properly fuse the wire coming from the battery.........fuses protect the wires not the amps.......

check out http://www.cardomain.com they have a wider selection of fused distribution blocks and also cheaper than crutchfield..... http://www.cardomain.com/shopt...locks

i also suggest looking for a fused dist. block that uses MAXi fuses for easy change/removal....

rollin92

I'm looking at cardomain right now, but I was looking at this amp kit first and I

was wondering if this is a good deal

http://www.hifisoundconnection...price

Is that an okay brand? If I can do it without breaking the bank I would like to go with

1/0 awg that way I don't have to worry about it. That kist at hifi looks like the way to go

and then I can just buy some 4 awg or 2 awg to run to amps. Will I be able to run 2 awg

into the amps? I really appreciate all the help from you guys.

o_O

Stinger is a pretty good brand, you should have no problems in fact my LED fused dist. block, fuse holder and RCA interconnects are Stinger brand.....on the other hand I don't know how good ordering from hifisoundconnection is...never heard of them before.......running 2 awg to the amps? depends on the connection terminals....i had to grind down my ring terminals to get it to fit to my Eclipse amp.....

rollin92

Yeah the terminals aren't that big. If I run 4 awg will it hurt anything? I'll probably get a

2 amg connector somewhere and see if it will fit before I order everything.

Hifisound seems alright, but I may just order from cardomain since its not much more

expensive and I'll probably get my distro block and connectors from them(way better

pricing than crutchfield). How hard is it to run 1/0 awg? My battery should be okay to run

this stuff right? I asked a guy before about the two amps being to much for my alternator

and he said that it would work out since they will only pull 120 amp. Thank you again

for all your help. Now off to see if I can afford to buy all this stuff.

o_O

run 4 awg from the fused dist. block right? nope, won't hurt anything.....running 1/0 awg might be a problem depending on what type/layout of car you have....you might have problems getting it through the firewall or trying to run it under the carpet/plastic trim......battery? depends on if you bump your sounds with the car off, if so get an optima yellowtop or any deep cycling battery....alternator? 120 amps is the max they will pull........don't know what your alternator is rated at.......

rollin92

Yeah I meant running the 4 awg from the distro to the amps. I can't remember what the

alternator is rated at, but I know I was told by a few different people that it will hold up

fine. I'm not worried about running it under the carpet, there is quite a bit or room under

there. I am a little worried about getting it through the firewall, any suggestions as to

what I can do? The 8 awg thats on it now was installed by a shop, so I don't know how

big of a hole is there. Can I make it bigger or what? Thank you for still helping me even

though I have a million questions.

o_O

so you're going to do this install yourself or take it to a shop again? the 8 awg wire is probably coming from a factory grommet in the firewall, but you got to remember there are also other wires coming through this hole as well so the remaining space might be tight for 1/0 awg.......on my civic there are factory grommets on both sides....you could check which grommet has more space....if not the only thing to do is drill a new hole.....check and double check and triple check that you're not drilling anything on the other side.......install a grommet on the newly drilled hole...run the wire....done! also be sure to use the same gauge wire for the grounds as well......preferably grounding them to the same spot to prevent ground loops....if your alt can't handle the two amps, you might experience dimming lights and idle drops when the subs hit......

rollin92

I'm going to do it myself. Yeah I dont really know if I can get the 1/0 awg to fit or not

I'll look tomorrow. I really don't want to have to drill on the firewall, but I guess if I have

to then I will. I'm going to buy a amp kit so I'll have 1/0 awg ground wire and I'm going

buy 4 awg ground wire to match my 4 awg power wire. I think the alternator can handle

it especially since I'm the majority of the time I'm not goin to be pushing it that hard.

I'll have the amps turned down most of the time unless I'm showing off . I'll just be

careful not to play the stereo very loud at idle. I'll rev it up some when ever I turn the

stereo up very loud. What will happen if my alternator dies?

o_O

good for you that you decided to do it yourself! you will not only learn but save money as well........here are a few forums/websites that I found helpful when I was starting out as well...

http://www.bcae1.com
http://www.the12volt.com
http://www.caraudio.com
http://www.sounddomain.com


if alternator dies? your car won't start and you will need to replace it.....

rollin92

Thanks for the links. I'm double checking on the alternator thing. Is it going to pull 120

amps all the time or just when its turned all the way up? I really hope I don't have to

upgrade because alternators seem pretty expensive and all the ones I'm seeing are

80 or 90 watts at idle. If I just keep the revs above idle will that work. Like being in park

but give enough gas to be at like 2000 rpms. That would up the amperage output right?

Thank you again for the amazing help.

o_O

it won't pull 120 amps constantly, just when you crank everything up...gains, volume...etc.....

check out this thread....of course this guy is running way more stuff than you......

http://forums.caraudio.com/vb/...r+amp

haha don't do the rev thing, you'll just be wasting gas.....


oh yeah, and remember the gains **** is not a volume ****.........

rollin92

What do you mean gains ****? The amp I have has two different adjustment *****.

One for Hz the other is something else I can't remember the name, but when I

turn it up it seems to hit harder and louder. Is that the gains ****? I'm sorry for all the

newb questions, but I'm still learning. Thanks for all the help.

o_O

the Hz **** controls the cutoff frequency, the other one is the gain ****....please do not use this as a volume ****, it you turn your gains all the way up you will probably induce clipping which will damage your speakers.....

please read this on how to properly set your gains....

http://forums.caraudio.com/vb/...63933

rollin92

I think I understand whatyou mean now, but since my amp can't possibly put out

enough wattage to harm my speakers does it still affect me now. Since my amp can put

out a max of 600 watt and each speaker has a max of 600 watt. I'm sorry if I'm not

completely understanding. I know that once I have the two amps hooked up I won't

turn the gain **** up I'll probably set it around the middle and go from there or I guess

really I should set it like that link says since I'm putting all this money into it.

When I'm running that wire through the firewall can I just make the existing hole bigger

to accomodate the 1/0 awg? Thank you for all of your help I really hope to get the

stuff for this ordered next week.

o_O

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rollin92 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think I understand whatyou mean now, but since my amp can't possibly put out

enough wattage to harm my speakers does it still affect me now. Since my amp can put

out a max of 600 watt and each speaker has a max of 600 watt....... </TD></TR></TABLE>

please read #29. Too Little Power on the http://www.bcae1.com website, it should answer your question

rollin92

I was reading about setting the gains on that site and really it seems more dangerous to

turn the gain down because then at like 25% volume you would be pushing the amp to its

max output where as if you have the gain turned up to far then even when you turn the

volume up the amp won't be pushed to its maximum potential. I think I read it right. I read

the too little power thing and really it goes along with what I said. Since even when I have

two amps hooked up I won't be outputting more than the speakers maximum. And

right now when the amp is pushed to maximum the speakers are only at RMS so

I should see a large gain from another amp right? I would just have to be careful of

clipping, since right now I really can't hurt them from clipping but with two amps I

will have enough power to do damage if I'm not careful. Thank you for your help

I really appreciate it.

fcm

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rollin92 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was reading about setting the gains on that site and really it seems more dangerous to

turn the gain down because then at like 25% volume you would be pushing the amp to its

max output where as if you have the gain turned up to far then even when you turn the

volume up the amp won't be pushed to its maximum potential. I think I read it right. I read

the too little power thing and really it goes along with what I said. Since even when I have

two amps hooked up I won't be outputting more than the speakers maximum. And

right now when the amp is pushed to maximum the speakers are only at RMS so

I should see a large gain from another amp right? I would just have to be careful of

clipping, since right now I really can't hurt them from clipping but with two amps I

will have enough power to do damage if I'm not careful. Thank you for your help

I really appreciate it. </TD></TR></TABLE> Sorry rollin92 your not getting it, it's easier to blow the speaker when you under power it , say you have a 300watt continues , [RMS] speaker, but you have a 100watt RMS amp, If you turn up the gain on the amp,and the volume on the HU enough, you will drive that amp into "clipping", square wave it , or DC it , its all the same, you will burn up the VC on the speaker. It is better to be overpowered then underpowered.

When you add the other amp , [double the watts] you will get a 3dB gain in output, [spl] that's what it takes for us, as humans, to tell that it's louder.

You always have to be careful when setting up the system, [adjusting gains on amps] 94