0/1 gauge wire - less ofc or more cca

[Crownvicon28s 10+ year member]

My point of asking the question about the amount of current is that if the current draw was for instance 125 amps or so then that would explain a lot because it's no secret that cca can't carry the amount of current of ofc. I don't think the op will notice a a difference between two runs of cca and one of ofc but it's not my decision.

 

[Spl4200]

Wow I didn't know all that. Thanks bro

 

[Spl4200]

My point of asking the question about the amount of current is that if the current draw was for instance 125 amps or so then that would explain a lot because it's no secret that cca can't carry the amount of current of ofc. I don't think the op will notice a a difference between two runs of cca and one of ofc but it's not my decision.

He might not see it but **** if he's holding around 12v he'll hear it.

 

[ChucklezZ 10+ year member]

I think I'm Just gonna get one run of ofc then save and add another after.

Forgot to add I'm also running sax100.4

 

[fatboytyler]

Until you get to BIG power, CCA versus OFC is futile. Also for all you people nuthugging that video, we know nothing of the conditions. It could very well be a rigged video. Sky High, Knu, and other similar quality companies have very high strand count which also helps.

I know I plan on running 2 Soundqubed 2200s (or equal power) and will run 2-3 CCA runs because I can get 100ft of Sky High CCA for $144 which is the price of 50ft OFC. With 3 runs of CCA I'll get roughly 750 amps of throughput whereas 2 runs of OFC (which would be all I could get with a 50ft spool) will only give me 600 amps. Plus the multiple runs of CCA will have less load per wire, so heat wouldn't be much of an issue.

I recently helped a friend run 3 Positive CCA runs and 2 Negative CCA runs as opposed to going the OFC route.

Just my .02 on this whole ordeal.

 

[Crownvicon28s 10+ year member]

Until you get to BIG power, CCA versus OFC is futile. Also for all you people nuthugging that video, we know nothing of the conditions. It could very well be a rigged video. Sky High, Knu, and other similar quality companies have very high strand count which also helps.
I know I plan on running 2 Soundqubed 2200s (or equal power) and will run 2-3 CCA runs because I can get 100ft of Sky High CCA for $144 which is the price of 50ft OFC. With 3 runs of CCA I'll get roughly 750 amps of throughput whereas 2 runs of OFC (which would be all I could get with a 50ft spool) will only give me 600 amps. Plus the multiple runs of CCA will have less load per wire, so heat wouldn't be much of an issue.

I recently helped a friend run 3 Positive CCA runs and 2 Negative CCA runs as opposed to going the OFC route.

Just my .02 on this whole ordeal.

I agree

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

People buy $500 in subs and can't afford $2 more a foot for cable. The life blood of the electrical system. Yall crack me up.

I plan on doing this but I haven't but I say it works because I haven't done it but I know it will.

Funny thing is you don't need 3 runs of cable to power 5k, if you use OFC you only need 1. How much power do you guys think you are getting from the front of the car? Are you going to have dual alternators over 360 amps?

 

[Crownvicon28s 10+ year member]

People buy $500 in subs and can't afford $2 more a foot for cable. The life blood of the electrical system. Yall crack me up.
I plan on doing this but I haven't but I say it works because I haven't done it but I know it will.

Funny thing is you don't need 3 runs of cable to power 5k, if you use OFC you only need 1. How much power do you guys think you are getting from the front of the car? Are you going to have dual alternators over 360 amps?

Where do you get three runs?

2 runs cca 500 amps or 1 run of ofc 300-350 amps. Hmmmmm?

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Where do you get three runs?2 runs cca 500 amps or 1 run of ofc 300-350 amps. Hmmmmm?

Yall must be the most hard headed people. You still don't get it. That CCA will carry 250amps until it gets warm, once it gets warm it's just going to keep getting hotter. This is not rocket science. It's fu cking aluminum. aluminum is 59% as conductive as copper.

Do it right the first time and it will save you a lot of money.

 

[Crownvicon28s 10+ year member]

Yall must be the most hard headed people. You still don't get it. That CCA will carry 250amps until it gets warm, once it gets warm it's just going to keep getting hotter. This is not rocket science. It's fu cking aluminum. aluminum is 59% as conductive as copper. Do it right the first time and it will save you a lot of money.

Ok. You win.

 

[fatboytyler]

Yall must be the most hard headed people. You still don't get it. That CCA will carry 250amps until it gets warm, once it gets warm it's just going to keep getting hotter. This is not rocket science. It's fu cking aluminum. aluminum is 59% as conductive as copper. Do it right the first time and it will save you a lot of money.

But when you divide that load over multiple runs of CCA, heat is no longer a major contributing factor. Your argument about people spending $500 in subs and trying to cheap out on the wiring is stupid. Not all people are made of money and doing it this way is just as good. Unless you're competing and running massive power it just doesn't matter. The performance increase you gain by going from CCA to OFC doesn't justify double the cost until you get into big power.

EDIT: And in case you are wondering where I get my information from... My grandfather and father both have extensive electrical experience in the real world (motors, houses, etc.)

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

But when you divide that load over multiple runs of CCA, heat is no longer a major contributing factor. Your argument about people spending $500 in subs and trying to cheap out on the wiring is stupid. Not all people are made of money and doing it this way is just as good. Unless you're competing and running massive power it just doesn't matter. The performance increase you gain by going from CCA to OFC doesn't justify double the cost until you get into big power.
EDIT: And in case you are wondering where I get my information from... My grandfather and father both have extensive electrical experience in the real world (motors, houses, etc.)

This is not a motor or house. Our current demands can not compare. The heat may be more spread out but it's still heat isn't it? Does something heating up not build more heat? And my anology makes perfect sence. It's just like buying batteries, you can buy one good one or three cheaper ones to match that good one. The cost difference, ease of running, connections needed adds up to about the same.

For example from someone that has actually had a fairly powerful setup used day in and day out with zero power issues ever.

I had 2 runs of OFC for 6000 watts. Both where fused under the hood like normal. One fuse got hot due to being to close to the header and it popped. I didn't know it popped for a long time. After it popped I was down to 1 run with only 300 amps of fusing. Do you know how much my electrical and term lab score changed? NONE.

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

i understand that OFC is better then CCA, however i have never had issues using CCA and i still do currently. Before i ran a bc3500. I ran 4 runs of cheap CCA(Bullz audio 1/0-2 pos & 2 neg) and never had issues, even tested the wire temperature while playing full tilt just to see how much heat actually built up but it really didnt get very warm at all(probably due to me having plenty of head room and the current split). I would only drop .5 -.6v at idle and like .2 - .3 @ 2k rpms also this was with only a 220a alt, and 2 dekas. The reason i got it was because i could get 100ft for less than the price of 50ft of good OFC. Im not saying its the best option or "the right way" if you will", but if you have the means to do it, then why not save some money(in my case, i saved about $40 or so to go towards something else in my build). But im not arguing, just given a opinion from personal EXP.

I dont understand how the statement " do it right the first time" applies to this part of a build. Yes OFC is the better option, YES we all know this, BUT this does not make using CCA "the wrong way"... People have been using CCA for years and STILL do today... So not understanding how its the "wrong way".. just my .2

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

Going to be running an saz3500, the question is..2 runs of knu cca to the back vs. 1 run of quality ofc

Honestly if you can get the 2 runs of CCA cheaper a bit cheaper then go for it. I mean its KNU so its good wire after all either way. In the end its "YOUR" money you work for, so spend it the way YOU want to.

 

[Spike243 10+ year member]

How is it that everyone on this forum will bash and badmouth people for buying budget or "crap" brands when they could have just done it the right way, yet turn around and recommend going with the lesser of two options? (CCA vs. OFC) This is like saying go with two budget subs vs one quality sub because the two budget subs are higher wattage than the one quality sub. Here's another situation, why recommend getting high quality 80 mil sound deadener when 2 layers of budget brand stuff does the same thing? I get the feeling there are some double standards flying around here.