mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
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hi
gonna get some 0ga power for my amps. got a corsa B and was wondering if its quite hard stuff to work with? got my old cable through no probs but that wasnt very thick . how thick is it in mm? it should go through the rubber grommet behind the glovebox no probs shouldnt it? cos its a big grommet?
thought id see wot other peoples opinions were first. oh ye its the Voodoo VDK0 that im on about.
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Scotty_B
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Registered: 11th Jun 03
Location: East Kilbride
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About as thick as a 5p, I think if not slightly thicker.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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its pretty meaty mate and you might a few probs but nothing serious  However, if you running that kinda cable then alot of people will tell you do a split charging system if your going to get a powerful system in mate That way you can run 8 gauge from front to back, then 0 gauge from the battery in the back. Saves cash too
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drunkenfool
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Registered: 7th Feb 03
Location: Hereford Drives: Audi R8 V8
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^^^^^ The man speaks the truth. 
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mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
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not havin a second battery. just an Optima Yellow top. im havin 2 x Alpine MRD-M300 amps and 1 x Alpine MRV-T320. u reckon 4ga would be good enough for this then by the sound of it? i just thought that cos the 0ga kit was only £20 more i may aswell go for it.
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mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
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quote:
Originally posted by VisibleMan
its pretty meaty mate and you might a few probs but nothing serious However, if you running that kinda cable then alot of people will tell you do a split charging system if your going to get a powerful system in mate That way you can run 8 gauge from front to back, then 0 gauge from the battery in the back. Saves cash too
i think i must be goin a bit over the top with 0ga by the sounds of it. but do you not think i may as well for the small difference in price?
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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it wont hurt mate And 2gauge is going in mine when i get the chance, just for good measure However, you will have a few probs, like bending it around stuff, so poking it through the gromet is abit of a git. I would recommend round it down the sills if the door sills are big enough (they should be). Just have to drill a few holes in places
However, 4 gauge will be good so will 2 gauge, so what ever floats your boat mate, and how much of a hassle you want. Also, 0 gauge is inbetween a 5pence size and 1pence, so you get the idea of the size of it
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Trotty
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Registered: 22nd Feb 01
Location: Bristol
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 I've got 0 ga...
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mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
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ye i think i may aswell go for it just to be on the safe side. there is loads of room under the sill covers and ill take the battery out to get through the grommet. it might not be too bad. and it sounds more impressive
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drunkenfool
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Registered: 7th Feb 03
Location: Hereford Drives: Audi R8 V8
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part of the reason i went for split charge in mine too, is cos i didnt feel happy with that much current going under the car. Dont know if it makes any difference, but makes me feel safer!
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cdcool1
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Registered: 9th Jun 02
Location: Scunny
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if the cable you use is too thick for the power you are running, you will lose power. you need to match it as close as you can.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by cdcool1
if the cable you use is too thick for the power you are running, you will lose power. you need to match it as close as you can.
thats a good point, i forgot about that Yea, might be worth working out how much power your gonna need and go from that mate But your not gonna loose that much power, but if you going for a SPL system then it deffo wont help 
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mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
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right well i got 2 x MRD-M300s both 300w RMS 600w Max. and gonna get a MRV-T320 but dont no the rms or max off the top of my head. wot do u reckon ill need?
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drunkenfool
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Registered: 7th Feb 03
Location: Hereford Drives: Audi R8 V8
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600w RMS isnt gonna need 0gauge. I got 2400w RMS running on 2 gauge.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by drunkenfool
600w RMS isnt gonna need 0gauge. I got 2400w RMS running on 2 gauge.
lol
corsa boy, your looking at about 800wRMS at the most, so you can get away with 4gauge to behonest. Infact, im sure you could get away with 8gauge but dont hold me to that
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Sando
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Registered: 24th Feb 04
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The RMS value only relates to the maximum current that is safe to be ran through a cable. Search on the net for a chart that shows the maximum current that different gauges of cable can handle. Using a thicker cable will result in less voltage drop as the voltage has to be carried from the battery to the boot.
It isnt a case of 'getting away with' thinner cable, its a case of being safe, you wouldnt want to return to a soldering mess because you scrimped on cable.
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cdcool1
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Registered: 9th Jun 02
Location: Scunny
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quote:
Originally posted by Sando
The RMS value only relates to the maximum current that is safe to be ran through a cable. Search on the net for a chart that shows the maximum current that different gauges of cable can handle. Using a thicker cable will result in less voltage drop as the voltage has to be carried from the battery to the boot.
It isnt a case of 'getting away with' thinner cable, its a case of being safe, you wouldnt want to return to a soldering mess because you scrimped on cable.
hmmmmmm
rms is a measure of power, the square root of the mean of the power squared. RMS values are an equivalent of average power for alternating frequencies.
"using a thicker cable will result in less voltage drop"
not sure where you get that from?
if the cable you are using is too thick for the current you are carrying, there will be a voltage drop down the wire due to the increased resistance.
if the cable you are using is too thin, the current will heat up the wire, becoming dangerous, and then you'll have more to worry about than voltage drop!
[Edited on 10-03-2004 by cdcool1]
[Edited on 10-03-2004 by cdcool1]
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mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
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prob get 4 guage then. just wanted to be safe rather than sorry but it sounds like i was over doing it a little!
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Sando
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Registered: 24th Feb 04
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quote:
hmmmmmm
rms is a measure of power, the square root of the mean of the power squared. RMS values are an equivalent of average power for alternating frequencies.
"using a thicker cable will result in less voltage drop"
not sure where you get that from?
if the cable you are using is too thick for the current you are carrying, there will be a voltage drop down the wire due to the increased resistance.
if the cable you are using is too thin, the current will heat up the wire, becoming dangerous, and then you'll have more to worry about than voltage drop!
What I meant by the RMS value was: Manufacturars of wiring kits always say: 2400w wiring kit. Which doesnt mean it is safe for 2400w, what they dont tell you is the ampage that it should be used for. Theres loads of charts on the net that will show you which cable you should use for which ampage you will be drawing. You need to use the ampage draw to determine what cable you use, not the amount of watts your amp kicks out.
Using thicker cable will result in less voltage drop. fact.
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cdcool1
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Registered: 9th Jun 02
Location: Scunny
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yes, it is the current (no such word as ampage) which determines the minimum size of cable, but since it is for car use, the voltage is always going to be around 12-14V, so its convenient for wiring kits to label as power (Watts) since amplifiers are rated as power, so its easier for the consumer to match up.
as for thicker cable resulting in less voltage drop, thinking about it, probably so, what i was thinking of was current, and therefore overall power. If the cable is too thick for the current being drawn, the electrons have so many different paths within the wire to take that overall power is reduced
[Edited on 12-03-2004 by cdcool1]
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