knukonceptz
10+ year member
CarAudio.com Elite
So we are doing some field research on the generic brands found online and at local shops and came across something you all might not be aware of. Below is an image of 4 cables -
In left to right order - our former eKo Kable 4 Gauge / Raptor 4 Gauge/ KnuKonceptz KLMX Kable / and some "Apex" 4 Gauge
Looking at the three cables on the right, you'll see some copper and some silver within the wire. The KLMX Kable is Copper Clad Aluminum, funny, the two cables next to it have the same coloration/composition.....yet no mention of CCA anywhere on the cables or spools. Keep in mind, NONE of these 4 cables are tinned..... on a tinned cable, it is silver outside(tin) and copper inside the strand. These are the opposite of that, copper outside, silver inside(aluminum).
The eKo Kable(far left) is 100% bare copper and looking at that model, you see no silver material within the cable.
It seems these companies are not providing consumers accurate information about the materials used and in addition to that using grossly undersized CCA conductors on the Raptor and "Apex" Cables. Running 80A draw on these cables will create problems. The KLMX is rated to a max of 100A, I cant image what might happen using those other two models on a similar load.....
How to spot the metal used in the cable you have? Look at the ends/cross section - tinned copper is silver on the outside and copper in the middle. CCA is the opposite. We did come across Tinned CCA too!! Raptor's blue 4 gauge was made from this. The cross section was almost all silver, only a hint of copper was visible.
Check the weight 20' of copper 4 gauge should be over 3 pounds - CCA will be about 2 pounds or less depending on quality/strand sizing.
And one final note if you are getting a no name cable - check the foot markings, on two brands their markings were short of 12 inches. It seems a foot in that factory was 10.75"!!! So not only do you get shorted on metal, but now on length too! (please note that is only if the shop selling pulls it using the foot increment on the wire - which happened to us on this project, thus how we discovered such BS)
Anyway, I had to share this. This is the reason KnuKonceptz has made it clear from day one how we made the KLM kable usable by oversizing and stating what materials were used right on the cable. This sort business tactic illustrated above and probably duplicated by many others is exactly what NOT to do.
In left to right order - our former eKo Kable 4 Gauge / Raptor 4 Gauge/ KnuKonceptz KLMX Kable / and some "Apex" 4 Gauge
Looking at the three cables on the right, you'll see some copper and some silver within the wire. The KLMX Kable is Copper Clad Aluminum, funny, the two cables next to it have the same coloration/composition.....yet no mention of CCA anywhere on the cables or spools. Keep in mind, NONE of these 4 cables are tinned..... on a tinned cable, it is silver outside(tin) and copper inside the strand. These are the opposite of that, copper outside, silver inside(aluminum).
The eKo Kable(far left) is 100% bare copper and looking at that model, you see no silver material within the cable.
It seems these companies are not providing consumers accurate information about the materials used and in addition to that using grossly undersized CCA conductors on the Raptor and "Apex" Cables. Running 80A draw on these cables will create problems. The KLMX is rated to a max of 100A, I cant image what might happen using those other two models on a similar load.....
How to spot the metal used in the cable you have? Look at the ends/cross section - tinned copper is silver on the outside and copper in the middle. CCA is the opposite. We did come across Tinned CCA too!! Raptor's blue 4 gauge was made from this. The cross section was almost all silver, only a hint of copper was visible.
Check the weight 20' of copper 4 gauge should be over 3 pounds - CCA will be about 2 pounds or less depending on quality/strand sizing.
And one final note if you are getting a no name cable - check the foot markings, on two brands their markings were short of 12 inches. It seems a foot in that factory was 10.75"!!! So not only do you get shorted on metal, but now on length too! (please note that is only if the shop selling pulls it using the foot increment on the wire - which happened to us on this project, thus how we discovered such BS)
Anyway, I had to share this. This is the reason KnuKonceptz has made it clear from day one how we made the KLM kable usable by oversizing and stating what materials were used right on the cable. This sort business tactic illustrated above and probably duplicated by many others is exactly what NOT to do.
