New Car, Old Amp, Power Wire Question

[Robin0925]

Hey everyone. Got a new car recently and I want to move my subs and amp into it. I have a Rockford Fosgate Power 500bd, had it for about 10 years or so now. The problem is that I'm having a real problem getting my 4 gauge power wire ran through the car. It's just too thick to fit where I need to put it, and I didn't really want to drill any holes. Now, the Owner's Manual (http://tinyurl.com/okc63to) shows on page 9, that they recommend 8 gauge power and ground wires. But I have seen charts online that say I really need to use 4 gauge, since I will be running about 17-18 feet of wire. Any chance I can get away with the 8 gauge? Or maybe 6 gauge? Thanks for any input.

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[The Camry]

nope. You run the right gauge or you burn the car down. Especially since your running such longs runs of it too. If it was really short, like >5 ft, you MIGHT be able to run like 6 awg instead of 4 but wit that length, you honestly want to run bigger. Run everything under your carpet. Look for areas under the center console or on the very edges of your car.

 

[Robin0925]

Well that's simple enough, and the answer I expected. I've been using the amp for years, and have the 4 gauge wire already. The problem is just this one spot, though the front driver side fender. I just can't get the wire up through there. I only need the smallest amount more space! I have the rest of the route easily mapped, it will be perfect, won't pinch or anything and will be well hidden. If I can just get the wire up through there... Maybe I can loosen the bolt holding the fender near the door and slide it up through.

 

[CplCuddles]

Well that's simple enough, and the answer I expected. I've been using the amp for years, and have the 4 gauge wire already. The problem is just this one spot, though the front driver side fender. I just can't get the wire up through there. I only need the smallest amount more space! I have the rest of the route easily mapped, it will be perfect, won't pinch or anything and will be well hidden. If I can just get the wire up through there... Maybe I can loosen the bolt holding the fender near the door and slide it up through.

You could just run it through the factory grommet in the firewall, if you have enough room to do so. If not, to do it right, make a new hole and grommet the firewall.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

nope. You run the right gauge or you burn the car down. Especially since your running such longs runs of it too. If it was really short, like >5 ft, you MIGHT be able to run like 6 awg instead of 4 but wit that length, you honestly want to run bigger.

Well that's simple enough, and the answer I expected.

Simple? Yes. Correct? No.

With length you're dealing with voltage drop which would cause a slight loss of power output (like a percent) -- Not danger of fire -- unless of course you under-wire (like 10 awg) and over-fuse (like 50A).

RF states the sine wave current draw of 50A. Last I checked 8 awg is good for 50A.

They also state high volume music current draw of 30A.

The fact of the matter is 8 awg would be fine.

Would 4 awg be better? Sure. And 1/0 would be better than that. And 2/0 would be better than that.

But none of them would give you an audible OR safety improvement.

 

[Robin0925]

Thanks for the posts CplCuddles, and n2audio.

I will take a look this weekend when I have time, and see if I can run the wire through the factory grommet in the firewall. If not, I will probably try out a 6 AWG wire, which I'm pretty sure will fit behind the fender.

 

[Beans]

Run it through the firewall and be done with it. Clean is mean.

 

[CplCuddles]

Run it through the firewall and be done with it. Clean is mean.

I agree. Running it behind the fender is not an awesome idea.

 

[Beans]

Yup, go to harbor freight and pick up a step bit, they're cheap.