Power wire review

[Boulderguy 10+ year member]

I'm considering doing an objective power cable review - a comparison of different brands & generics for overall quality & quantity. Thinking of using 8/4/0 awg since they're the most comman.

Things to compare -

• thickness of wire & jacket
  
• flexibility
  
• strand count (possibly - this could drive me insane)
  
• weight
  
• strand thickness
  
• anything else reasonable I can think of - got any ideas?

To do this I'll need your cable scraps, I don't want to spend $50 on a public service post. I have a decent collection already, if y'all are interested in this I'll post what I've got to eliminate doubles.

Do you have 13" scraps of various cables you'd be willing to donate? The broader the selection the better the review.

I'll be working with 12" sections but would like to cut them to that exact length myself, so send 13" pieces.

If enough positive responses then I'll set this up. Let me know.

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[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

I've got some AudioPipe 1/0 and 4ga scraps, some Stinger and RF 4ga and some Streetwires 8ga.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

I've got walmart wire (8ga), welding cable (1/0), and ebay shit (1/0 and 4 is what they called it. Actual is much less) scraps I'd be willing to send.

 

[Boulderguy 10+ year member]

I've got ebay shit (1/0 and 4 is what they called it. Actual is much less) scraps I'd be willing to send.

Perfect, that's exactly what I want to address. I've got some name-brand 4g that's much thinner than some generic. I think putting them all side by side could be a real eye-opener. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eek.gif.771b7a90cf45cabdc554ff1121c21c4a.gif

Keep 'em coming folks! The more samples the better the review.

 

[DoobieBrother 10+ year member]

Have to see what I have after my install. It's all Kicker wiring from a CK44 kit.

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

how about you do a test on if any of this really matters or effects the sound of your system. anyways i got a piece of 4 gauge welding wire. it's about 2-3 feet.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

I think he would need more than a foot to to test if he hits a higher number with a different brand

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

I think he would need more than a foot to to test if he hits a higher number with a different brand

i know but i don't think nothing will really be accomplished and plus something similar to this has already been done. anyways if you want my wire, pm me

 

[DoobieBrother 10+ year member]

About all I can think to test with one foot...

flexibility.

sheathing thickness.

wire thickness

 

[QtrHorse 10+ year member]

Things to compare -

• thickness of wire & jacket I'm not sure if this really matters.
  
• flexibility This would be nice to know but are you just going to give your personal opinion or use some type of equipment?
  
• strand count (possibly - this could drive me insane) All the manufactures state there strand count, so no need to count it.
  
• weight Again, not sure if this really matters unless you mean one strand of copper but all the pcs would need to be exactly the same length and you would need a medical grade scale.
  
• strand thickness Will you be using a micrometer because a ruler or tape measure will not give you a accurate number?
  
• anything else reasonable I can think of - got any ideas? I would like to know the resistance of a certain brand and if there is any voltage drop from one end to another but you would need pcs at least 12-15ft long to get a accurate number for real world installs.
  

See my comments in red above.

 

[Boulderguy 10+ year member]

Appreciate the comments. If this has already been done please show me where, you'll save me a bunch of time.

First off, I'm not a scientist. That said, all I'm looking to do is put them side-by-side so we can see who delivers what. Like this, for starters:

These are all 4g scraps I have.

Copper-only measurements are -

• Red - 4.50 mm
  
• Yellow - 4.73 mm
  
• Black - 5.49 mm

That's almost a mm of difference in diameter, or 25% thicker compared to the thinnest one.

The factors I'm most interested in are thickness of actual copper (IE not the jacket) and weight, the idea being just how much wire are we getting from each company. Resistance would be nice but that'll take a long piece.

If we jettison the weight measurement I can do this with 4" pieces. Maybe that'll make folks more willing. Otherwise we can restrict the results to only those who contribute. I don't like that personally but it may be the only way to get ppl involved.

Obviously the final review will contain all the relevant data on manufacturers/model etc.