JOMO

okay, what wires should i use, i plan to change all grounding wires when i install an amp, i wont be going over a 600 watt maybe, 2 subs and some mids, i already have 12 guage wires for the speakers..is this good enough, and also, can it hurt to buy cheap wires? i just see some on a roll at the local shops, not sure of the quality, can a wire be bad quality?

i want to do this once, i was thinking about 4 gauge for the amp/alt/batt and maybe 10 or 8 gauge for the speakers...
i love wiring myself

oh yeah, i have a kenwood cd, kicker 10's and kenwood mids, all sounding very sweet

so...should i buy the more expensive wires?
should i use 4 gauge and 8 guage?
do wires even make a noticable difference?
should i insulate the wires to reduce noise?
i was thinking of a 'gas hose' around them, i have plenty space for it...

rjr162

the speaker lines dont' need to be big at all. Actually a lot of audiophiles will tell you to use the smallest speaker wire feasible to keep sound quality (honestly i can't tell a difference). Power and ground need to be large as it carries a DC current and is more affected by cable resistance than the AC signal carried by the wires to the speakers. your 12 guage would be fine for that

JOMO

really?
i heard a guy on tempro using 4 gauge for his subs
but ill take your word for it, but would you recomend 4 gauge for the other wires?
should i insulate them to keep out noise, it seems like fun to me!

t0p_sh0tta

He must have had a rediculous amount of power running to those speakers, but it doesn't matter as much with subs. I forget, but there is something about bigger wires that takes away from the highs or something like that.

JOMO

Hmm, interesting, so 12 is good enough for speakers then right?

t0p_sh0tta

yup

JOMO

cool, what about the alt/batt/chassis wires? im thinking 4 gauge, maybe 2?

kev301

on your speaker wires, 12 gauge is perfect.. as for the power cable, if you are not running the line more than 20 feet then a 4 gauge is good enough for what u have plan. The only time when u wanna go to 2 or a 0 gauge is if u are running high power amp and has to run the line more than 20 feet

JOMO

cool, i don't get the 20 ft thing but, whatever

rcurley55

I've seen this one a thousand times...here's how it works. A wire's capability to safely carry power while having an acceptably low voltage drop has to do with two characteristics:

1. wire diameter
2. wire length

As diameter increases or length shortens, a wire can carry more current safely.

In most compact to mid sized cars, the run from the battery to the trunk is approximately 15 feet or less, so here's a guideline for sizing wires:

8 ga - approx 50A
4 ga - approx 125A
2 ga - approx 200A
0/1 ga - approx 300A+

For example, my Arc 2500 has a maximum current draw of ~135A, depending on how you calculate/evaluate it, so if that was the only amp I was running, I could run a 4 ga wire if it was less then 15feet...probably around 12feet. But I'm running a second amp with a max draw of 65A...so with both amps, I need to run at least 2ga.

Sorry if that was too long, but I hope that clears things up...

rcurley55

Typically wire quality is determined by two factors: 1. strand count, 2. jacket quality. The higher the strand count, the more flexible the wire....it will be easier to route and work with. The thicker the jacket, the more abrasion resistance you have.

Your typical 600W amp draws approx 60-75A. A 4 ga wire will be able to supply plenty of current for your needs. The same is true for your under hood wiring. Remember, the negative side of the deal is just as important as the positive.

I would say no....my general rule of thumb is that 80% of consumers shouldn't buy the cheapest model, but they probably don't need the most expensive model. I'd stick with the big companies - Stinger, Monster, Lightning Audio...etc....You can find Scoshe wires at Walmart of all places. Knukonceptz.com also makes som good quality wires that won't empty your bank account.

A straight 4 ga run from the battery directly to the amp with a fuse < 18 inches from the battery should be fine...I'm not 100% sure what else you would need 8 ga for.

Power wire no...some will claim that RCA's and speaker wires do....even IF there was a difference between wires, the noise floor in a car is too high for anyone really to be able to determine the difference. The equipment, and even the room/cabin, have to be set-up properly to be able to see any gain when changing from good wires to "great" (read: expensive) wires.

Nope, just ground properly and all should be well. Most will tell you to run the RCA's separate from the power wires. I like to run power down the passenger side, RCA;s right up the middle.

You are really just going to make more work for yourself...there is no reason to waste the $$, time and headache. The jacket on the commercially available wire is strong enough to take a sever beating...just make sure that you use a grommet anywhere that a wire passes through metal (i.e. the firewall)

Hope that helps!

audioroach

RCurley55...I duly concur with what you say. I believe the main problem
stems from lack of knowledge...meaning they have not been given alternatives.
ie:if every car ( pals and theirs) they have seen has power cable run through the
door jamb or jammed into the fuse box around a fuse,they would consider it the
norm. Yes vehicles do have a high noise floor and better cables do make a difference....but as long as consumers "settle" for inferior product..it will
never change.

IMHO...16ga is great for speakers ( considering oem is 20-22ga on avg) plus its
really easy to run into doorjambs etc. For Subs 12ga -10ga ( depends on amp
current output...use 12ga as a reference) is fine.

JOMO

thanks a bunch dudes!!!!!!!

romeo619romeo

well if you ever took electrical class.. you would kno why to use bigger wires for power ... but as in just the power and ground for the amp.. 4g is enuff ... current travels on the surface of a wire not the plastic part but just the top layer of the copper rite between the plastic and copper basicly.. .. just to let you kno..

rjr162

Thank you. I tried to explain this to someone else before when trying to describe why a solid wire in your house can handle 120v/20amps AC and that same run (say 50 feet) handling DC would be crap for the amps area.

philly-O

"you mean i cant use 2ga welding cable i bought at the hardware store for <$1 per foot? or theese jumper cables i cut the ends off of, whats worng with that?" just kidding guys, i hate feilding those questions. very nice breakdown and explination of the questions asked

JOMO