Wire size argument

[alvitae 10+ year member]

Tell him bigger wire will save you money in the long run replacing amps. My favorite amp got fried by a guy I sold it to who thought 8 gauge was fine.

 

[xaero133]

He brought up AC vs DC, but I didn't get what he was talking about. He still insisted on my wires being too big.

ok so the major debate here is house's AC current VS your cars DC current, in a house there is anywhere from 110 to 120 volts and about 15 to 20 amps, the way electricity works this amperage only needs like 14 gauge wire to work fine with no problems, now in your car your running around 14 volts and (if you got some big speakers) about 300+ amps while running, now with amperage that high if you are to use that same 14 gauge wire it would get very hot due to the resistance that the 300+ amps would be seeing, now to keep that from happing you have to use a larger gauge wire, like 8 gauge plus (i am running 1/0 gauge in my setup) so what im trying to get acrossed here is that the more amps you are running the more wire you need to move it, hope this helps ya out

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

solid wire is a better conducter than stranded wire //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

He brought up AC vs DC, but I didn't get what he was talking about. He still insisted on my wires being too big.

AC vs. DC is really not an issue. 12 volts vs. 120 volts is. Too large wire? At a point there is overkill.

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

solid wire is a better conducter than stranded wire //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

It certainly is.

 

[TNTR70 10+ year member]

heres how to settle this......get a piece of 8 gauge and a piece of 1/0. go get your mom and show what dad says is ok to use and show her what you want to use and ask her if SIZE matters.

 

[MasterOfAllBass 10+ year member]

heres how to settle this......get a piece of 8 gauge and a piece of 1/0. go get your mom and show what dad says is ok to use and show her what you want to use and ask her if SIZE matters.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif:laugh://content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif:laugh://content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif:laugh:

 

[galacticmonkey 5,000+ posts]

Your dad is an idiot, and you should kill him tonight in his sleep, then kill yourself.

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

ok so the major debate here is house's AC current VS your cars DC current, in a house there is anywhere from 110 to 120 volts and about 15 to 20 amps, the way electricity works this amperage only needs like 14 gauge wire to work fine with no problems, now in your car your running around 14 volts and (if you got some big speakers) about 300+ amps while running, now with amperage that high if you are to use that same 14 gauge wire it would get very hot due to the resistance that the 300+ amps would be seeing, now to keep that from happing you have to use a larger gauge wire, like 8 gauge plus (i am running 1/0 gauge in my setup) so what im trying to get acrossed here is that the more amps you are running the more wire you need to move it, hope this helps ya out

300+ amps in a car. You can't be in it to listen to it. I guess its to impress/annoy people from afar. Is that why my new HU came with a remote? I never thought of that aspect. I'll never know whether the batteries fit or not.

 

[TNTR70 10+ year member]

300 amps of current....not 300 AMP-lifiers... sheesh!

 

[oldschool4me 10+ year member]

300+ amps in a car. You can't be in it to listen to it. I guess its to impress/annoy people from afar. Is that why my new HU came with a remote? I never thought of that aspect. I'll never know whether the batteries fit or not.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[oldschool4me 10+ year member]

well op daddy should stick to the gitbox and leave this complex hobby to us gifted folk. but seriously he is clueless when it comes to ac/dc comparison and the differance between v and i. 8ga is idealy used in system that doesnt exceed 75 amps, 4ga would be 150, 1/0- 300. now take into account the quality of wire used also. cheap wire would be less than good wire of course.

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

300 amps of current....not 300 AMP-lifiers... sheesh!

Ya 300 ampsx12V=3600W. Even at 60% efficiency=2160 Watts output. I have 600W in a 12'X25'X8' room and there's no way anyone could stand an album side with it cranked. Your ears would ring for days (or forever). 200W in my K-5 Blazer will also cause pain. Either these people have grossly inefficient speakers or their amp's ratings are, well "new school" Best Buy watts. Put an ammeter on that POS and see what it really draws. There was a time when 746 watts equalled a horsepower.

 

[TNTR70 10+ year member]

Ya 300 ampsx12V=3600W. Even at 60% efficiency=2160 Watts output. I have 600W in a 12'X25'X8' room and there's no way anyone could stand an album side with it cranked. Your ears would ring for days (or forever). 200W in my K-5 Blazer will also cause pain. Either these people have grossly inefficient speakers or their amp's ratings are, well "new school" Best Buy watts. Put an ammeter on that POS and see what it really draws. There was a time when 746 watts equalled a horsepower.

you have obviously never been to a car stereo contest.......3000 watts is a good start when it comes to caraudio....

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

you have obviously never been to a car stereo contest.......3000 watts is a good start when it comes to caraudio....

He's an old-timer just trying to prove a point. 600 watts in a home audio setup really isn't that much. Definitely not small, but nothing that's intolerable or that will make your ears "ring forever." //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif He doesn't have a 200 watt sub setup that will "cause pain." Maybe they hurt his ol' fogey ears, but I'm sure everyone else is asking him to turn it up louder. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif