How much power off stock wiring?

[uz1290 10+ year member]

A question for the wise. How much power would you guys say I could run off stock wiring without having to do big 3 upgrades, 2nd battery, etc? I'm building a daily system in an Audi TT so nothing too big just something to replace stock crap. As of now I'm hoping to be able to run an amp for front stage and sub stage. Probably won't be more than 1500 watts total. Thanks in advance.

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[Flex68 10+ year member]

And what size/type is the OEM wiring, alt, and batt....??

1500WRMS sounds like ur expecting too much from normal OEM electrical, but maybe Audi is the shizz there

 

[uz1290 10+ year member]

The wiring seems to be about 4 ga from what I can guess. As for alt and battery I'm not entirely sure. Just got the car so I'm still learning what I can from it ha. I guess I could install the system and see how it holds up and thereafter determine whether I would need to upgrade my electrical.

 

[Sonic. 10+ year member]

Typically, around 1000 Watts rms.

 

[uz1290 10+ year member]

Hmm I kind of thought it would be in that range but I wanted to push my luck I guess. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Sonic. 10+ year member]

You can put a system in with more rms, but monitor your voltage and be easy on your volume knob, then later upgrade the electrical.

 

[SplAffair 10+ year member]

Just go ahead and do a big 3 in 1/0 and a battery upgrade. Your ears and electrical system WILL thank you.

 

[cyn 10+ year member]

Most High End cars will have stock 4 or 2g battery / starter / ground wires... Alternators should avg. between 120-150amps

speaker wires will be around 12-14g sometimes 18g but norm. is 14g on High End cars.. Audi is pretty good about using bigger wires tho. Depending on the year and upgraded packages on the audio side.

I would still take the 30mins and do the Big 3 upgrade and get a bigger front battery.. I'm running 1200watts on full stock right now with major dimming but voltage doesn't drop below 12.9 in my 07 Impala. all wiring is 4G cept for 1 ground thats like a 12g wire.. but it already has 2 grounds one is a 4g the other is a box ground that is 12g...

 

[uz1290 10+ year member]

Cool. Thanks for all the replies guys. I'll start with the big 3 at least for sure and will add in 2nd battery if necessary. I'll keep you all posted if I run into any problems

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

The answer is completely dependent on the equipment choices and utilization of the equipment. The difference in electrical efficiency between a amp that produces 1000 watts at 1 ohm @ 60% efficiency and 1000 watts at 4ohms at 85% efficiency is this:

@ 14.4v/85% eff.:

1000w/.85 = 1176 watts required

1176/14.4v = 81.6 Amps required

@ 14.4v/60% eff.:

1000w/.60 = 1667 watts required

1667/14.4 = 115.8 Amps required

34.2 amps difference in the example above, just by equipment choices alone....and this does not even take into consideration the loss in fidelity at 1ohm.

just a FYI.

 

[psych0ticnemes1 5,000+ posts]

The answer is completely dependent on the equipment choices and utilization of the equipment. The difference in electrical efficiency between a amp that produces 1000 watts at 1 ohm @ 60% efficiency and 1000 watts at 4ohms at 85% efficiency is this:
@ 14.4v/85% eff.:

1000w/.85 = 1176 watts required

1176/14.4v = 81.6 Amps required

@ 14.4v/60% eff.:

1000w/.60 = 1667 watts required

1667/14.4 = 115.8 Amps required

34.2 amps difference in the example above, just by equipment choices alone....and this does not even take into consideration the loss in fidelity at 1ohm.

just a FYI.

Well said man. So much to consider. I've always been able to run 1k or so with minor voltage drop at full tilt, but I never pushed it. When I jumped to 1.5k, I had major issues. Alternators are just so **** expensive.

 

[uz1290 10+ year member]

The answer is completely dependent on the equipment choices and utilization of the equipment. The difference in electrical efficiency between a amp that produces 1000 watts at 1 ohm @ 60% efficiency and 1000 watts at 4ohms at 85% efficiency is this:
@ 14.4v/85% eff.:

1000w/.85 = 1176 watts required

1176/14.4v = 81.6 Amps required

@ 14.4v/60% eff.:

1000w/.60 = 1667 watts required

1667/14.4 = 115.8 Amps required

34.2 amps difference in the example above, just by equipment choices alone....and this does not even take into consideration the loss in fidelity at 1ohm.

just a FYI.

Very well put. Thanks for the explanation I'll need to consider this when installing my equipment.

 

[st0n3r 10+ year member]

i too recommend spending the time and money to do the Big 3. I did mine over the weekend and having 0 knowledge of my car's engine compartment i think 3hrs total was invested in taking stuff off, cutting wire, wire terminals and putting them back on.

my big issue was not having any wire terminals so i had to hit my local electrical supply store for wire terminals. those things were $8.99 per b/c they are solid copper, but they gave them to me at cost of $4.79 per x 12. Im running 2 0awg wires from the front to my trunk for the +/- wire to a 2nd matching battery. I know, likely overkill for 1500 watt rms, but id rather be safe than sorry.

 

[uz1290 10+ year member]

i too recommend spending the time and money to do the Big 3. I did mine over the weekend and having 0 knowledge of my car's engine compartment i think 3hrs total was invested in taking stuff off, cutting wire, wire terminals and putting them back on.
my big issue was not having any wire terminals so i had to hit my local electrical supply store for wire terminals. those things were $8.99 per b/c they are solid copper, but they gave them to me at cost of $4.79 per x 12. Im running 2 0awg wires from the front to my trunk for the +/- wire to a 2nd matching battery. I know, likely overkill for 1500 watt rms, but id rather be safe than sorry.

True that man. I had that in my accord for only like 1000 wrms and I never had electrical problem. I just need to stop being so lazy and pull all the stuff out and transfer it to the Audi haha. But thanks for your input