Wiring gauge

[azphat12 10+ year member]

I was looking for some opinions on which speaker gauge I should go with.

My wattage to each speaker will be roughly 100 watts.

The runs will be a max of 15'

I currently have some 12 gauge, but after looking at it closer it appears that it might be 16 gauge with just a really thick jacket.

Basically can I use what I got, or should I get the true 12 gauge.

This will be for midrange/tweeter components.

Just looking for pros/cons.

I had the wire I use now hooked up and it sounded ok. But now I have a new car and have to re-wire it all. Just want to make sure I use the right stuff before starting.

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[azphat12 10+ year member]

Well I looked at a few calculators and it appears the 16 ga will work fine. But if I change the ohms of the amps then it would not be enough.

I decided with this I will get the 12 ga so I do not have to redo it later.

 

[porksoda 10+ year member]

I would just go with what you have already.

 

[azphat12 10+ year member]

I was going too, but when I looked into it further I found that my amp will not work with 16 ga if I use it too the full extent.

Basically 100x4 @ 4ohm was ok. 150x4 @ 2ohm was ok also. But 300x2 @ 4ohm the 16 ga wouldnt be enough. But 12 ga would.

I just do not want to have to re-run wire if I choose to upgrade the speakers later.

I have 2 sets of 6.5 components. Right now I am just replacing the factory locations. But later I might put them all in the front and use the amp at 300watts. Who knows.