4/0 Power Wire

[REAudio2001 10+ year member]

Hey,

Just wondering if 4/0 welding wire is worth the extra cash. I need to run from + and - on front battery to + and - on rear battery. I am going to be pushing 5K watts. The 4/0 wire would cost me a fair amount more than regular 0 Guage. Also if I did do 4/0 would it be better to just do it for positive, or do it for ground too. I do not mind shelling out the extra money if it is worth it. I just don't want to pay it and not have a noticable difference. Thanks in advance!!!

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[Sarthos 10+ year member]

Depends on your alt and batteries.

 

[REAudio2001 10+ year member]

I have a 225 Amp alternator built by excessive amperage. I have a yellow top up front, and 2 C & D batteries in back

 

[Noobtastic14 10+ year member]

I'd do it.

-Drew

 

[SlabRider210 10+ year member]

the way i see it is the bigger the better

 

[REAudio2001 10+ year member]

well then 4/0 wire it is

 

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

Also depends on a few other things. Are you looking at 4/0 gauge welding wire? That's not very flexible and good luck running it through your engine bay and to the trunk. It can also melt and it's not gonna hold up to oil and such. If you're looking at 1/0 gauge monster wire I think that's about as thick as 2/0 gauge welding wire and will carry plenty of power. Go on ebay, they sell it for like 3 bucks a foot. Also, what are the prices?

Also, do both + and -

 

[REAudio2001 10+ year member]

I am going to run conduit under my car for this wire here is the wire I was looking at getting

https://weldingsupply.securesites.com/cgi-bin/einstein.pl?Next::1:UNDEF:OR:terms:A

you have to scroll down page to get to 4/0 wire,,,,,, is this any good??

 

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

I'd only get it if it's not horribly priced. If it's like 10 bucks a foot, go with the monster and maybe run multiple runs of it.

 

[REAudio2001 10+ year member]

You can see it on the site I posted above. It is $3.20 something a foot for the amount I need

 

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

If you need 60 feet, it'll run you 3.52 per foot, times 60 = 150+25+1+35.20=211.20 bucks (didn't feel like finding a calculator) plus shipping I assume. Go on ebay and get two of these

http://cgi.ebay.com/MONSTER-CABLE-30-FEET-1-0-GAUGE-CAR-AMP-POWER-WIRE_W0QQitemZ300320769148QQihZ020QQcategoryZ32810QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And you'll get 60 feet for 144 bucks. Either one is gonna be plenty of power seeing how you probably will get a maximum of 150 amps actually traveling to your trunk, the rest of it will be eaten by your engine and front battery. Good thing about actual car audio wire is just that it will be more flexible, look better, be more heat/cold resistant and resistant to oil (which will save the price of the wire conduit, and you probably won't be able to fit the 4/0 gauge wire into any of your terminals. Personally just for the flexibility and the fact I wouldn't want to run 4/0 gauge wire under my carpet (you might see two big bulges where your power and ground are) I'd go with the Monster.

 

[REAudio2001 10+ year member]

just ordered the 60 feet of moster 1/0 Guage. Thanks for that inof!! I will run multiple runs of it!!!!

 

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

either way it's gonna be overkill. It'd just be an advantage that with the monster wire it'll be easier to install and actually fit into terminals. Be sure to get a couple fuse holders too. If 1/0 gauge wire shorts and it's got a 225 amp alternator on one end and two C&D batteries on the other you'll see some major fireworks lol.

 

[REAudio2001 10+ year member]

I fuse after main battery and before 2cd battery right??

 

[Blue Fury 10+ year member]

I went 4/0 and am going to replace my 0 with it this week. Its definitely not as bad or inflexible as people make it out to be. The only thing is I didnt want to pay 20 for a cheapy fuse holder. I made my own that can EASILY handle high current.

And Also if you had searched, there is a guy on here selling it for cheap too.