[Black7]

This is more of an audio forum type question but anyway -

Can anyone recommend what gauge wire kit I need to wire a 50 x 4 rms high current amp into my MZ3? The amp will be going in the hatch area so a fairly long run for the power wire and RCA's. Can I get way with an 8 gauge kit or do I need 4g.
further to this, there are a lot of kits on the market and the prices go from very cheap to quite expensive. What is the diff between one kit to the next with the gauge being the same? Are there preferable brands? In other words, what makes for a good wiring kit?
thanks all

 

[Rockinblue]

As much as Crutchfield prices suck, I have to give them credit for providing (somewhat) helpful installation tips.

To determine the type of amp kit you need, based on power and wire run length, check out the wire gauge selector chart found here:
http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/learningcenter/car/cable_gauge_chart.html

A general amp installation guide can be found here:
http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/learningcenter/car/amplifiers_install_steps.html

You want to avoid buying amp kits through Crutchfield as you can find much better prices on other website like www.thezeb.com. I'm not too familiar with different brands so I cannot give you a specific brand recommendation. I hope this helps to get you started.

 

[Black7]

As much as Crutchfield prices suck, I have to give them credit for providing (somewhat) helpful installation tips.

To determine the type of amp kit you need, based on power and wire run length, check out the wire gauge selector chart found here:
http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/learningcenter/car/cable_gauge_chart.html

A general amp installation guide can be found here:
http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/learningcenter/car/amplifiers_install_steps.html

You want to avoid buying amp kits through Crutchfield as you can find much better prices on other website like www.thezeb.com. I'm not too familiar with different brands so I cannot give you a specific brand recommendation. I hope this helps to get you started.

thanks for the great info! So I guess I need a 4 gauge kmit (seems large for this 50 x 4 amp) - no reply on brands so I guess it doesn't matter that much??

 

[vaBooM]

www.knukonceptz.com

The above website has the best damn prices on wiring. If you plan to upgrade or add more down the line, its best to at least start with 4 gauge power.

 

[Black7]

www.knukonceptz.com

The above website has the best damn prices on wiring. If you plan to upgrade or add more down the line, its best to at least start with 4 gauge power.

Thanks vaBooM - you're right about the prices - I ordered the 4 channel amp install kit. That about does it for my install - just have to find a way to get you up here to install it

 

[vaBooM]

Lol. Tomorrow is the big day. Got the box built (needs carpet) and the amp rack is 80% done. It may snow... but if it dont, Ill be terrorizing the neighbors Sunday!

I woulda ordered my stuff from Knu as well, but I had most of my stuff already and only needed a few knick knacks here and there.

 

[mazdaspeed3]

The big differences in wire:

the thickness is one thing, 4gauge vs 8 gauge, but that is only part of it.

Most people don't know that electricity travels on the out side surface of a given wire.

So, a standed wire would conduct ALOT more electricity than a solid copper bar of the same thickness.

Where this boils down to in brand names, the more expensive wires tend to have much finer strands of wire braded in to increade the amount of juice getting to your system.

 

[bknauss]

The big differences in wire:

the thickness is one thing, 4gauge vs 8 gauge, but that is only part of it.

Most people don't know that electricity travels on the out side surface of a given wire.

So, a standed wire would conduct ALOT more electricity than a solid copper bar of the same thickness.

Where this boils down to in brand names, the more expensive wires tend to have much finer strands of wire braded in to increade the amount of juice getting to your system.

I think you're reffering to skin effect. It simply is a myth with the audio spectrum of the human ear. At high frequencies there is a tendency for the electronics to move toward the outside of the wire, but this starts happening around the MHz range, at least a couple octaves away from what any human can hear.

I haven't ever seen solid copper wire in an audio application. If nothing else, it would have a tendency to break if you moved it around enough. As long as you get the proper wire guage, you'll be fine. There are only miniscule differences in wires anyway... this is shown in this article: http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/interconnects/SpeakerCableFaceoff.htm

 

[vaBooM]

The big differences in wire:

the thickness is one thing, 4gauge vs 8 gauge, but that is only part of it.

Most people don't know that electricity travels on the out side surface of a given wire.

So, a standed wire would conduct ALOT more electricity than a solid copper bar of the same thickness.

Where this boils down to in brand names, the more expensive wires tend to have much finer strands of wire braded in to increade the amount of juice getting to your system.

No such thing as solid copper in car audio. Everything is stranded. True, some more expensive brands tend to have more strands than others. But Ive found the more expensive wire has more insulation and is nicer in custom installs. Other than that, all wire is typically the same.

 

[mazdaspeed3]

I wasn't sugesting that you would actually use a solid bar, just useing 2 extremes to get my point across.

 

[vaBooM]

Actually, there is a solid bar of copper: Capacitor bars!

I thought you were serious about solid copper. I was like.. "wtf is this guy thinking".