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Silver Member Username: 420pimp2Post Number: 874 Registered: Jan-06 | Where does everyone get all there wiring the cheapest at online? About getting the power into my car im not trying to drill holes and f*ck up my firewall is there a way around it? 12 gauge wire is all you need for a 1200 watt amp and that should be way more than enough thickness correct? Can i go lighter? 1200 watts to 2 alpine type r 12's is plenty for me. Im not trying to go pro n sh*it.... |
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Silver Member Username: Gcs8Atlanta, Ga Post Number: 389 Registered: Sep-09 | 12 gage is way to small unless u wanna start a fire. you will eather need 4ga at 125 amp fuse or 2ga for 1200 watts. and theres a rubber grommet thats usaly on the passenger side of the car that you can take a razor blade to and run your wire throw, just lube it up. |
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Silver Member Username: SkdooleyRoanoke, VA Usa Post Number: 567 Registered: Oct-09 | Wow, 12 gauge.. 4 gauge is a minimum for 1200 rms. If you ever plan on adding a second amp, for whatever reason you might as well run 1/0 gauge so the wire is already there. |
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Silver Member Username: Gcs8Atlanta, Ga Post Number: 390 Registered: Sep-09 | http://www.vertexaudio.com/store/pc/Shok-Industries-Reference-CCA-1-0-Red-50-Spo ol-62p178.htm http://www.vertexaudio.com/store/pc/Shok-Industries-Reference-CCA-4AWG-Red-33-Sp ool-62p181.htm |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfColumbia, SC USA Post Number: 13128 Registered: Dec-03 | for speaker wire, 18-12AWG is sufficient if you have short runs, since it's carrying high voltage AC, but for power you need much larger gauge wire because it transfers high current DC voltage, which accumulates heat, and isn't able to avail itself to things like "skin effect" like high frequency AC voltage is. For 1200 watts RMS, from a class D amplifier, that's 120A of current. If your alternator can even supply that much current, you'd need a minimum of 2 gauge wire from the battery to the amplifier if your run is 10' long from battery to ground point. If you run longer, or want two amplifiers on that line, you need to step up to 1/0 gauge wire. If you aren't comfortable with running the wiring, have a professional do the job for you. Please. You're not just talking about a crappy sounding stereo if you mess this up. You could be facing a potential vehicle fire. |
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Silver Member Username: 420pimp2Post Number: 876 Registered: Jan-06 | Would I be better off ordering the wires seperate or install a kit? I have been looking up prices naturally it would seem cheaper to order separate but im only finding wires in more length than I need. Does any one know a kit I could get for a decent price that would fit my system? One major question I have is were does everyone usually hook there ground from the amp to , being me I would like to run it back up to the battery so no drilling is required , also the ground does not need to be as big as the 2 gauge hot wire does it? |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfColumbia, SC USA Post Number: 13133 Registered: Dec-03 | try www.knukonceptz.com you can order the wire by the foot, and then order teh ring terminals, distribution block, and so forth a la cart. The ground wire should be the same gauge as teh hot wire. It's all one circuit, after all. If you run the ground back to the battery negative terminal, you run a greater risk of introducing EMI or RFI noise into the system, as the wire becomes more likely to act as an antenna. What is typically done, would be to find a good solid chassis ground (sheet metal trunk pan or similar, and sand the spot down to bare metal, and sink a bolt into the spot to secure your ground terminal ring as close to the amplifier(s) as possible, to keep the line as short as possible. The only time I reocmmend wiring the ground back to the battery terminal is when you are running several thousand watts of power, and as a result, several hundred amperes of current. At this point, you will also however, be using a high output alternator (or several) and a bank of isolated deep cycle batteries in the trunk of the car, so the ground run is still rather short, as the batteries will be in the back, with the amplifiers. The reason for doing this is because the chassis spot welds that join your subframe and floor pans are typically equivalent to a 4 gauge run of wire, so for several hundred amperes of current, you need a more adequate connection. This is typically only done for competition SPL vehicles, however, as a 3000+ watt audio system really is not necessary for daily driving music purposes. |