clip and wires, do they relate?

[SQBubble 10+ year member]

is it easier to clip an amplifier when using 8gauge instead of 4gauge power and ground wires?

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Really the wrong way to look at it...you should be concerned about the input voltage, not the 12VDC side of things.

If you have the wire sized too small, ideally your fuse will blow before the amp has a chance to reach rated power. If you don't have your gains set correctly, it still may clip at a lower power level.

 

[SQBubble 10+ year member]

well i have 4gauge wire that divides to 2 8gauge for 2amplifier...

i thought of getting a distributor which will be all 4gauge, would i hear a difference or its money wasted?

i see 8gauge can transfer 50-65amp

4gauge can up to 120amp

http://www.partsexpress.com/resources/cablecalc.html

and my amplifier is 120amp(30x4)

so i have a feeling that im not using my amplifier's full potential?

am i correct...?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

How long is the run of 8awg?

If it's only for a foot or so, that shouldn't make a difference in current handling. Now, if you have it coiled up everywhere, that's a problem //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[SQBubble 10+ year member]

How long is the run of 8awg?
If it's only for a foot or so, that shouldn't make a difference in current handling. Now, if you have it coiled up everywhere, that's a problem //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

1 8gauge is about 1feet long and the other one is about 3foot(my other amplifier is 60amp...

alright so its not necessary to change to 4gauge right?

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

It is possible to cause premature clipping by causing a significant voltage drop by running too small a power of ground wire. 1 foot however, isn't going to be an issue. A bad ground or power connection might be though.

 

[Hydrastas 10+ year member]

Is 120 amps the total of the fuses on your amp, or what is it's continuous amp draw? One of my amps has 2 30 amp fuses for a total of 60amps but only draws 33.4 amps max... 8 gauge should be fine.