is it better to strap 2 amps together or to wire them individually?

[marquisbrah 10+ year member]

okay so i currently have two 15's l7s with one kx 1200.1 by kicker.

i just got another identical amp so i would like to run both amps and subs. however, i dont know which is better:

(1)Run each sub separately with each amp.

(2)or strap both amps together

How would i go about doing each of these options?

right now i have one of the subs connected with 4gauge power wire, (+) and (-)'s to the amp and 4gauge ground with kicker rca's

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[Chriszle 10+ year member]

Running both of those amps will require many electrical upgrades, and a lot of money. Just to let you know.

 

[marquisbrah 10+ year member]

Running both of those amps will require many electrical upgrades, and a lot of money. Just to let you know.

how so? i already have the amps

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

your going to be doubling the current draw on your system, which can easily over work your electrical system, running that much power with no electrical upgrades your going to run into issues and will likely blow up some equipment.

 

[marquisbrah 10+ year member]

your going to be doubling the current draw on your system, which can easily over work your electrical system, running that much power with no electrical upgrades your going to run into issues and will likely blow up some equipment.

so would it be more reccomendable to do each individually? separate wires, rcas,fuse holders?

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

your still going to be doubling the amp draw.

plain and simple you cant safely run 2400watts on a factory electrical system. YOU WILL SEND AMPS/SUBS UP IN SMOKE.

 

[9515ROB 10+ year member]

your still going to be doubling the amp draw.
plain and simple you cant safely run 2400watts on a factory electrical system. YOU WILL SEND AMPS/SUBS UP IN SMOKE.

the man speaks the truth you will need at least 2 100ah batts to run that safely (along with your batt under the hood) along with your big 3 upgrADE

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

when i told him that in the other thread he stopped posting in that one as well. so im doubting that he will actually listen or take advice.

 

[marquisbrah 10+ year member]

when i told him that in the other thread he stopped posting in that one as well. so im doubting that he will actually listen or take advice.

hey im still new to this stuff so bear with me please. before this forum i had no idea on what to do, plus im writing an 8+page essay at the same time. so im not checking it at the same time.

 

[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

your still going to be doubling the amp draw.
plain and simple you cant safely run 2400watts on a factory electrical system. YOU WILL SEND AMPS/SUBS UP IN SMOKE.

I did. For about 6 months. 2679w clamped, actually. I saw no smoke. Is it recommended? No. Can it be done? Yes.

Just tell the guy that you recommend he get an extra batt or two instead of telling him that it's going to cost a billion dollars to add another 1200w. You guys didn't even ask him what kind of vehicle it was. Maybe it's a big *** diesel with a giant alt and a pair of gangster batts already.

 

[Chriszle 10+ year member]

Yep and maybe its a Yugo with a 40 amp stock alternator. Either way, he is going to have to spend a lot of money in wire and batteries and all the miscellaneous connectors that go along with running 1/0 add up. I am guessing he did not plan this in his budget, and to be honest, it seems he may be a bit over his head. All we can do is explain, and hope he listens.

 

[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

"A lot of money" isn't explaining anything. That doesn't help. Besides, what's a lot to you may not be a lot to him. And, he already has a system in place, so he must have some knowledge. Especially since he knows what "strapping" is.

OP, they are right about probably need extra batts. Budget will dictate which ones you get, but 100Ah of batts and a run of 1/0 ofc would be a great place to start. O'Reily's sells an Optima yellow top clone for like $120 or so. A pair of those would be fine assuming your alt is 90-100amps. Or you can look around on here or other CA sites with classifieds and find deals on batts and wire. C&D batts are awesome and are priced really well. Sometimes your local batt place will have some generic AGM batts for a steal.

Knu makes great wire for a great price. Or, again, look in the classifieds for someone selling wire.

 

[Chriszle 10+ year member]

2 runs of 1/0, not 1 as well, because grounding to the car is not that great.

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

2 runs of 1/0, not 1 as well, because grounding to the car is not that great.

you can ground to the car with out an issue as long as you do it right and put it to the chassis not just a trim/body piece, ive never had a dedicated ground run or an issue with my grounds.

 

[Chriszle 10+ year member]

You might be able to get away with 1 ground on the chassis, but thats it. Multiple different grounds on the chassis can lead to the ground looping. Not saying Op would do this, but it happens farely often. Also, on higher power systems, I reccomend grounding to battery, maybe I am overcautious.