• If you currently own, previously owned or want to own an Avalanche, we welcome you to become a member today. Membership is FREE, register now!

What Gauge Wire?

S

simtechray

Charter Member
SM 2004
SM 2003
Full Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2002
Messages
430
Location
New Jersey
To those of you that have swapped out the stock speaker wire, what did you put it?
I've got an 85x4 channel amp comming and new component speakers of course. Tring to decide if I should do new speaker wire too.

 
I think I used 14....I have an amp with the same power ratings as you. RocknZ66 I think went hardcore with 12 gauge.

Let me know if you need help.... ;)
 
I ran 12 gauge just because that's what I had. I am almost positive though that 16 gauge can handle up to 100 RMS for 10ft.
I started a thread asking this same question if you search back about 45 days.
 
I ran 12 guage. My thinking was this, for the amount of time and effort I am putting into running new wire, go ahead and ensure that it will handle whatever I throw at it. Future mods may come up, and dont say they won't. Modding is a disiese!! >:D
 
The difference in price from 12 to 16 gauge is not much. I think I bought about 55 feet of wire and I got all 4 doors done with a couple of feet left over. Haven't had any problems yet that I can relate to the wire gauge.

:cool:
 
Perhaps, but if I remember the way an audio system works over 2/3 of your power is soaked up by the low end. As long as you run the large guage wire to the sub I think you're okay. I wonder what the wattage drain would be on average listening around 95 to 100 db on the door speakers?

While I do agree that there is a technical advantage to running the larger guage wire I really don't think sonically you are going to hear the difference. I also believe that much of the hype surrounding large wires is a marketing ploy to get people to buy more expensive parts. Hey, afterall it does look a lot better.

In all fairness the longer your run the more important it is to have a larger guage wire.

The bottom line though is that if you really think they're important you should put them in. You'll always wish you did. I used the factory wires on my setup but ran new wire to the sub.

Of course I could be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time.ORV :B:
 
Orv: I think to a certain extent some of it is marketing but I know I can tell the difference between cables both with audio and video.

ex. take a DVD player and run RCA to your projector. then swap out for s-video. now do component. you will see the diference granted its not exactly apples to apples since we are sending different signals but you get the picture.

go get yourself some cheap speaker wire for radio shack and hook it up to a monster system then grab some decent 14 gauge monster or steetwire speaker cable. u will see a difference. especially on a well tuned system at high volumes where the noise gets amplified.

if you could hook a scope up to the wires you would be amazed how much noise gets introduced in cheap cables. your speakers/amp will interpret this as sound and attempt to reproduce it.

You are right that the average joe may not hear it but some folks can!

:)
 
I agree, I certainly wouldn't use anything but a component cable on my DVD player. But I still think as far as the speaker wire goes it's just basic electricity. If the wire is a large enough guage for the load it is carrying then there shouldn't be a problem. I believe the wire in the AV is around 18 guage. Not being an electronics tech I really couldn't tell you what the limit is for this type of wire.

I will definitely agree that if you are willing to go to the trouble of running the wire then you are ahead of the game. Nothing wrong with overkill.

The average Joe or the person that sound is not as important to as those of us on this thread is just going to leave the stock system in. It's obvious from your home system you know good sound. I used to know a little about it but I could be going deaf in my old age. LOL, ORV :B:
 
SImple example for you guys from an EE.

Electricity flows through wire like water flows through pipes. The larger the the wire/pipe the less the resistance and "turbulance".

In the case of music.. the larger the wire the better the sound. Until you start getting real esoteric with "oxygen free" copper wired that is complexly braided to help reduce any outside interference as well as interal EMF that might be coming back out of a low frequency speaker/sub.

Most car applications if you are not running down in 2 ohms range or 500+ Watts per speaker you should be very happy with 12 guage.

my .02......
 
SimTechRay said:
Got the amp today and the manual actually recommends 12 for the speakers and 8 for power.
Click to expand...

Personally, I would "overkill" the power wires WAY before I would overkill the speaker wires. Need clean power. Especially if you amp has an unregulated power supply. Just make sure you always use the same gauge wire for your positive and the ground! :cool:
 
irontrain said:
I'm going with #4 to power the amp and using #14 for the speakers.The amp is 75x4.
Click to expand...

Your in great shape! Have you selected a location to ground you amp yet? Remember, the ground wire needs to be as short as possible, no more that 7-10 inches.
 
irontrain said:
Not yet,most of my stuff should start arriving tomorrow at the earliest.My amp is going on the passenger side,under the rear seat,so I was thinking some where back there I'll find a bolt.
When you brought the amp feed thru the firewall did it slip thru easy at the location shown on your pics?
Click to expand...

check out this picture for where I did the ground. I did not use the seat bolts since most of them are painted:

Grounded Amp

Well it should be easy for you to get through the firewall. But I have a weird body and fingers and it was challenging the first time. If you can bend your body like a pretzel...you will be allright! ;D
 
irontrain said:
It looks like you drilled your own.Sounds do-able just have to check underneath first. ;D Hmmm I may have to have my son get the #4 thru the firewall,after a couple of back surgeries I'm not as flexible as I used to be. :p
Click to expand...

the ground cable in the picture is on the passenger side. As a point of reference it would be under the carpet under the jack thats bolted to the seat. No way for it to get stepped on, etc. There is also nothing underneath on that side. Gas tank is drivers side.

I just drilled a small pilot hole and drove a screw through it.

Advice: it's much easier to get the wire through if you have one person feeding it from under the dash and another pulling from within the engine compartment. Not knowing how old or big your son is, probably easier for him in the cockpit with you pulling from the enginer side. MAKE SURE ENGINE IS COOL! (y) Also, that rubber grommet is tight and requires a lot of strength so if your son is really young....
 
irontrain said:
Was it in the same location as carrerarods?Cool idea,I'll have my fish tape out.
Click to expand...

Just be careful with the fish. they are a lot of small wires that go through the grommet and some are not protected.

patience is all you need! :cool:
 
irontrain said:
Fiberglass tape,just in case.Plus I'll probably diconnect the battery.Where did you mount your fuse for the amp?
Click to expand...

hard place to describe. up under the lip of the fender behind the fuse box....I can try and get you a picture tomorrow if you want?
 
irontrain said:
No thats o-kay.Did you buy a mountable fuse holder or go with an in-line?
Click to expand...

Still using in-line for now but when I install my 5 Farad cap I will change a few things and clean it up. i really like these new caps that come out of Russia....

Also planning my next mod... >:D getting a custom fiberglass console made (CD holder area) and custom mount a fixed 7 inch screen with video switcher for a few "things"... ;D
 
WOW! :eek:

Do you know how overkill a 5 farad cap is for your system? How much is it running you?
I'm considering adding a 1 farad cap that I have, but it's not really necessary.
 
zimmsAV said:
WOW! :eek:

Do you know how overkill a 5 farad cap is for your system? ?How much is it running you? ?
I'm considering adding a 1 farad cap that I have, but it's not really necessary.
Click to expand...
Would that cap be OK for this or would you go with 10 farad? >:D

A5000SPL Limited Special Edition amplifier

 
zimmsAV said:
WOW! :eek:

Do you know how overkill a 5 farad cap is for your system? ?How much is it running you? ?
I'm considering adding a 1 farad cap that I have, but it's not really necessary.
Click to expand...

I am told that these are a new kind of cap that does not use the same "math" we are used to. So we are probably not comparing apples to apples.

These are Russian made and have a distribution block built-in so both amps feed off this cap. 5 farads = ~$350 (my price)

more info when i spend time with them tomorrow
 
OMG :eek: :eek: - That amp is unreal. I thought the Soundstream Tarantula, and that Pyramid one from Oz (both 2000 watts) were the biggest out there.
You know how many amps of current that thing has to draw :eek:
You would easily need 3 alternators to keep that thing pounding... :rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top