ALMOST THEIR. 4 gauge f to f and suggestion for ground gauge?

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

Well yea bought some 4 gauge wire BUT im like 5 feet short...I know fail right? Well I dont want to cut into the wire and do what you would do with a speaker wire so yea...is their a female to female for 4 gauge wires? Where would I go to pick one up?...hoping like Walmart, Radioshack, or maybe an audio shop.

ALSO I will be running 1500 RMS to 2 subs using a monoblock amp. What is the absolute minimum gauge that would be best to ground with? As in the thinnest wire...hoping its 8 since I got a bit of it for free lol. Atleast I think its 8...I know its thicker than 16 and thinner than 4.

Yea I know your all going to suggest 0/1 BUT I am cheap and I am just wanting the bare minimum. Most of you all focus with competitions and high end stuff. Me I am just the average person wanting a bit of a thump in a car lol. Dont have any intentions of EVER upgrading to a bigger system...will get a component setup+a 2nd battery soon or later. But for now what I got is what I got and what I got is good enough ya know?

K anyways yea back to wires...help? I will give you a cookie //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif...ok im lying about the cookie I dun went and ate it.

Click to read more...

 

[Ronmeister]

Stinger makes couplers. It's like a large butt connector with a set screw on each side. An audio shop worth a **** will have them on hand for sure.

Remember to completely isolate the sucker though, as the whole coupler will be hot.

NO, 8G as a ground for 1500rms is not okay. Even if it is a 1 inch long ground that is too much. I always say 1kW+ is 1/0 territory, but I have ran 1800rms through 4G before. I made the switch over to 1/0 rather quickly though. As, the plastic cover around the positive terminal on my amp melted. Running too small a cable = heat!

P.S. 1500rms done properly can be MUCH more than "a bit of thump in a car," You could do a small setup with even 300-400rms and run 8G and probably satisfy your thumping needs. Lol, however, I'm sure you will catch the bug, and want more and more as time goes on ;-)

Ron

 

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

Stinger makes couplers. It's like a large butt connector with two set screws on each side.Remember to completely isolate the sucker though, as the whole couple will be hot.

Ron

Would just wrapping the thing in black tape help with the heat? Lol. Chances are it will end up somewhere inside the car on fabric.

 

[Ronmeister]

Would just wrapping the thing in black tape help with the heat? Lol. Chances are it will end up somewhere inside the car on fabric.

Lol.

No buddy, I don't mean "hot" as in heat in that case. I mean the whole coupler will be "hot" as in being positively charged. It will be like have bare wire open. And yes, wrap the sucker up in electrical tape, and you should be fine. The audio shop you go to will have these little translucent plastic covers that slip over the couplers as well if you just want to purchase that with the coupler. But secure it on with tape as well just to be safe.

Also, a word of advice: please don't cut corners. Be sure to fuse your setup properly. Being safe now may pay off much, much more than you could have ever imagined.

Ron

 

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

Lol.
No buddy, I don't mean "hot" as in heat in that case. I mean the whole coupler will be "hot" as in being positively charged. It will be like have bare wire open. And yes, wrap the sucker up in electrical tape, and you should be fine. The audio shop you go to will have these little translucent plastic covers that slip over the couplers as well if you just want to purchase that with the coupler. But secure it on with tape as well just to be safe.

Also, please don't cut corners. A word of advice: be sure to fuse your setup properly. Being safe now may pay off much, much more than you could have ever imagined.

Ron

O lmao ok black tape it is. HEY my solution is still correct though. Well that solves that little issue...now the other...the ground wire lol. Also yea I know the amp I bought came with a 100 amp fuse as a "gift." Probably just a reason to bump up the price a little. Thought about using it as a coupler but I think its just supposed to be a foot or 2 from the battery and not 5-10 feet or whatever.

 

[Ronmeister]

O lmao ok black tape it is. HEY my solution is still correct though. Well that solves that little issue...now the other...the ground wire lol. Also yea I know the amp I bought came with a 100 amp fuse as a "gift." Probably just a reason to bump up the price a little. Thought about using it as a coupler but I think its just supposed to be a foot or 2 from the battery and not 5-10 feet or whatever.

No, it isn't a reason to bump up the price a bit. It's them not wanting you to burn your car to the ground. Safety first!

Yes you could use it as a coupler, it essentially is a coupler, but 0-18inches from the battery is ideal for the main fuse placement.

Just wait, and pick up a coupler, and a length of 4G cable from the audio shop tomorrow. 1) Install the fuse holder close to the battery. 2) Use the coupler and couple the cables together. 3) Isolate the coupler with electrical tape and try to place it somewhere where it won't be disturbed too much. Or at least where you could check on it periodically. Tape can rip you know? 4) Use the leftover of the length of 4G cable to use as your ground. 5) Enjoy bass.

Ron

 

[xshellshock]

if you're using 4gauge + you need to use at least 4gauge -. Go to an electronics store, you could prob get pretty close to a spool of wire for what you're going to pay for a coupler and extra wire elsewhere. I think I paid 40 bucks for 25 ft of good quality wire.

 

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

if you're using 4gauge + you need to use at least 4gauge -. Go to an electronics store, you could prob get pretty close to a spool of wire for what you're going to pay for a coupler and extra wire elsewhere. I think I paid 40 bucks for 25 ft of good quality wire.

O wow really? I payed $40 for the 15 foot of wire I got right now lol.

 

[lostdaytomorrow 10+ year member]

use a fuse holder

 

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

Change of plans...not running the hot wire through the car...going to run it under it while in a rubber tube. Should use up less wire and the wire will be out of the car. Going to run it along the side of the frame of the car...SO if the car does rub anything then it wont damage the wire.

Bought a 4ga ground wire from hibbits which is a appliance/parts store. The copper wiring is in thicker strands and the cable isnt as flexible but just for grounding it should work right? Cant beat $.67 a foot. Be REAL nice if it was possible to use it for a hot wire...but yea was told by several people that it wont do what needs to be done.

 

[1hawaii50 10+ year member]

Why don't you just call KnuKonceptz and get some wire? They have 4g Fleks for $1.60/ft, and if you get the KLMX 1/0, it isn't much more. Also, I'd run the wire INSIDE the car...you want to make sure it's protected. Do it right the FIRST time, if not, it'll just cost you more in the end. Make sure you fuse your positive connections, and I'd use nothing less than 1/0 to ground a 1500w amp.

 

[Blue Fury 10+ year member]

THERE

 

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

THERE

I live in SE KY no one cares about my e-grammar other than you k?

Why don't you just call KnuKonceptz and get some wire? They have 4g Fleks for $1.60/ft, and if you get the KLMX 1/0, it isn't much more. Also, I'd run the wire INSIDE the car...you want to make sure it's protected. Do it right the FIRST time, if not, it'll just cost you more in the end. Make sure you fuse your positive connections, and I'd use nothing less than 1/0 to ground a 1500w amp.

Never heard of it...also tube should protect the wire. If it doesnt then I guess im out $40 and whatever amount of money the tube is. BUT then again we do get a decent amount of snow where I live and I do have a first shift job that I have to drive through snow to get to since I live on back roads...HM...well could run it along the break lines and gas lines and stuff...would be up above the frame...and if snow gets up that high I usually call in anyways lol.

 

[m3dia_lab 10+ year member]

i have real power wire for sale right now, its knu konconptz 4 ga. search my name

 

[Blue Fury 10+ year member]

I live in SE KY no one cares about my e-grammar other than you k?

grammar =/= spelling