Should I swap out my CCA wire for OFC?

[blazian87 10+ year member]

I've read plenty of articles of why OFC is better but is it worth it for me to rip out everything to put in OFC?

Here's a little info on what I'm running. I have 1/0 gauge KnuKonceptz CCA wire to my Audioque 2200d amp. Also did my big 3 with it. Also have a separate 4 gauge KK CCA wire to run my 4 channel amp for mids and highs running actively through a DSP. I have a cheap 165a alternator I got from ebay that is ready to give up on me soon. I see the battery light indicator on my dash sometimes and I get irregular charging patterns from time to time. I get voltage drops pretty easily and it doesn't even feel like I'm bumping it that hard. My system actually bumped pretty nice when I had it first installed but I have a feeling that because of this CCA wire, it's really creating too much heat and resistance overall. Now it just doesn't bump the way it used to and I did notice there is a lot of corrosion in the 0 gauge wire. How I found out was because after I started seeing irregular charging patterns and noticed the battery light indicator turned on a lot, I noticed that the bolt for alternator had been melted and when I took the KK wire out from my alternator, it was like friggin burnt up like a mofo. I then contacted Mike Singer to build me an alternator for my car. The highest he can go for my car is 180a but atleast I know it will be well built compared to my current alternator I have in now.

So my question is should I spend the money and time to rip all of the 0 gauge CCA wire out to swap with the OFC? I'm thinking of just keeping the 4 gauge CCA wire in there because it's not like it's running that much power. It's my sub amp is what I'm worried about. It seems to be a current hog and my electrical can't really keep up. Or should I just keep the CCA in but upgrade my big 3 wires to OFC and go from there?

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[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

I would personally do the ofc upgrade kuz i like overkill on the electricals. Still, i'm pretty sure CCA should work fine with your amount of current draw. You can always run double runs of CCA for big 3 if you want it a lil cheaper, should have a lot less resistance with two going at once. Test the resistance at each end of the wire at every problem spot you suspect with your DMM and see where's the problem at.

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

Your alt going out is why it's not as loud. Single run of 1/0 CCA is plenty for your set up. Get a GOOD alt and if that's not enough consider a 2nd batt in back.

The AQ2200 is NOT a current hog. It puts out solid power, so you need good electrical to get the most out of it.

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

Thank you guys. But is it not true that CCA wire will get more hotter than OFC? or does it really depend on how much power you run? Do you think upgrading to OFC is almost pointless in my situation? I'm just worried about corrosion. After seeing the burnt up wire, I thought maybe if I had went with OFC in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. Or was it inevitable because of the build of the alternator?

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Thank you guys. But is it not true that CCA wire will get more hotter than OFC? or does it really depend on how much power you run? Do you think upgrading to OFC is almost pointless in my situation? I'm just worried about corrosion. After seeing the burnt up wire, I thought maybe if I had went with OFC in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. Or was it inevitable because of the build of the alternator?

the burned wire could be the result of a bad voltage regulator and bad alternator. You might get the same case with OFC too its in the same conditions as your current wire. I would recommend not bumping your system as hard until you get your alternator, regulator and burnt wire replaced/checked out.

 

[supra1987]

^^^ what he said, but if your replacing melted wire anyway I would go ofc.for maybe 1.50 to 2.00 more its worth it.

 

[tc300 10+ year member]

You can probably get by with what you have... next time spend the extra money for OFC!!

 

[garychurch84 10+ year member]

I put 0ga kk CCA in my car last March,I kept having problems with connections at the fuse holder.pulled the wire loose cleaned the fuse holder numerous times with no luck.Finally melted the housing on the holder and about 6 inches of insulation on both sides of the fuse holder.I bought a memphis fuse holder from my local shop an ordered 1/0 welding cable.problem solved.

 

[ace_800 5,000+ posts]

I'm running all CCA 0ga and never had any issues with the amount of power I'm running.

 

[Beatin' 10+ year member]

"hey guys, my alternator is fucked up but do you think it's the wires?"

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[bbeljefe]

If you have corroded wire at the terminals, it has nothing to do with the wire. CCA is copper clad aluminum, meaning that the outside of each strand is tinned with copper so, if CCA will corrode, so will OFC.

As for heat generation, that's most likely a result of poor termination and again, that can happen with CCA or OFC. Your terminals should either be properly soldered or crimped with a hydraulic crimper, as other methods do not work with cable this large.

 

[Chromatic]

Good question.

There is no doubt Oxygen Free Copper is more efficient/better than CCA. Copper > Conductor than Aluminum.. period.

First as others have said.. an Ebay cheap alternator , imo, (I do a lot of work on cars),.. is arguably worse than running a factory alternator due to the build quality, likely a poor regulator, or at least with a short life.. Brushes that wear out quickly, etc.

Your issues are likely 1) Alternator and 2) To lesser extent corrosion. Would need to see the corrosion to see just how much of an effect it is having. Ensure the cells in your battery(s) are good if you've been using it for any length of time.. An alternator that is spiking can damage and/or shorten the life of any battery.. low or high end.

With OFC vs. CCA -- The bottom line is How much current,.. Amperage you will be pushing through your wiring on a regular basis. OFC has a roughly 35-40 percent lower resistance/better conductivity than CCA. That said,.. CCA is still VERY effective.. and there is absolutely nothing wrong with using it.

I like "overkill" as well.. but spending a ton of money on wiring that is insane overkill that could be spent on audio components, etc are another matter entirely.

Your CCA running at say 18 Ft,.. will still handle 200Amps or more..

A rough way to figure what wiring you should be running is to calculate your speakers/amps power:

Actual RMS Power / efficiency at operating impedance / desired operating voltage / 2

IE - 1,000 Watts RMS / 75% eff / 14.4 VDC / 2 = 46.30 Amps

So a 1,000 watts RMS system on CCA (giving it a 75% efficiency rating due to the length of the run, etc..) 14.4 as it is the standard for a car being run off a proper functioning alternator.. is going to pull around 46-47amps.. ) -- YOu run 2,000 watts RMS do the math. As you can see CCA at 1/0 can hang in there with VERY high levels of power.

Some people will tell you that if you use OFC over CCA you will gain 1-2dB.. This is ridiculous,.. not saying it's not possible under some circumstances,.. but there are just way too many variables to state something like this.

If you are running many thousands of watts RMS then by all means,.. replace the CCA with OFC.. It WILL help for sure. Will you hear ANY difference in music/sound/dB? -- no.. Will your OFC run have considerable more 'headroom' than your CCA had.. absolutely without any doubt.

I just run a 900watt Amp for my two coaxials, two components, and single Sub -- It's a low end Amperage rating/power rating for a "system".. with Medium SPL,.. and VERY upper mid, to low High range SQ. This is just what I was aiming for with my components, and wiring!

I run KnuKonceptz for everything,.. and run the 4 Gauge power wire 12-14ft (give or take).. And a 3 ft. 4 Gauge ground. CCA. My terminals are soldered via torch,.. and I paid great attention and detail to running the wires and prepping the ground(s) ..

Still doesn't answer your question.

Here's what I would do.

If your CCA is corroding well beyond the terminals for some reason (up into the sheathing).. Then buy new wire to replace it.. and YES, buy the OFC.

If you are running several thousand watts RMS.. Buy OFC,.. and upgrade as money allows. IE: Start with what you can afford. Say you can only afford a main power wire of OFC at the moment.. just go with that.. and over time replace your power/grounds/distro wires/block wires with all OFC. For speakers themselves, there is much less of an argument to go with OFC .. Again, except for say.. Subs that push in excess of 1200-1500Watts RMS a piece or more..

Yes,.. resistance combined with high amperage in a line causes heat. But, unless you are pushing 4,000+ Watts Continuous (RMS) .. It's VERY unlikely your 1/0 Wire is heating up.

Let me put it this way.

If you have to ask about it -- And you are considering it -- Shop around for the best deal.. and go ahead and buy it. You want it,.. of course you don't want to do new runs.. it's manual labor that's a pain.. but if it is going to bug you until you have OFC in the car.. just bite the bullet.

Check that battery asap,.. and Replace that alternator even faster (which you mentioned you are having "the man" himself building you an alternator.. ) So you are set in that dept.

I have a feeling once you swap out the alternator your issues will vanish.

Lastly,.. my opinion on this matter is solely off of my electronic knowledge,.. and NOT from any experience using CCA and then OFC and experiencing results or lack thereof. So take this with a grain of salt.

Take care,