You can use 16 ga and be safe. 14ga or even 12 ga would be fine too if you have the room to run it. Going down to 18 or smaller would be silly to me.

 

So it's ok to use the same size for both the door speakers & the woofers?

 

i like using 12 ga for subs...since they are not having to be run thru door panels and door chases. But you can get away with 16 ga on 300watts with such a short run. All depends on your own level OCD

 

Oh I have it bad!!!!:thinking2:

 

sounds like two 12 gauge (in parallel) for your sub lol.
16 or 14 for the others.

 

12 gauge for speakers and tweeters is what i run knu kord, way overkill but i like the way it looks and its very good value!

 

16 or 18AWG will be good enough for your setup, as for power, 4AWG of OFC will be good.

 

true...you can run a single 4 ga cable from the battery to the trunk...thats plenty of power wire. 2 ga at the most. Running 1/0 ga would be a waste of money and a PIA to run for virtually no gain. Just buy GOOD wire...not cheap stuff.

 

BAM:
http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwireselectorassistant.swf

 

I used that calculator 300 watts going 17 feet through 18 gauge wire at 8 ohm for a grand voltage drop of 1.32 and a dB lowering of 0.23 of which they say anything under 1 is inaudible.

^ This was based on exaggerated numbers as I am going less distance with less power

I run 18 gauge wire to everything in my car including my subs. Its just a matter of keeping the jacket on the wire and the magic smoke inside the amps!

 

I run 18 gauge wire to everything in my car including my subs. Its just a matter of keeping the jacket on the wire and the magic smoke inside the amps!

Quoted for truth my friend

 

Hey kyheng & minisq , the 4awg u guys suggested in #8 & #9 sounds good to my pocket. So do I run 4 to the Distro and then 4 with fuse to each amp

 

I'm going for 4AWG for main, 8AWG for the amps.

 

You don't technically need the fused block if you aren't stepping down sizes. But it would be easiest to just run all four gauge and you might as well have a fused distribution block.

I really liked the Knukonceptz Basik distro block for just two amps and its like 10 bucks. Also Knu ofc wire is a really good price on really decent power wire.

 

I got the $10 Knu dist block it's just a choice to get fuses or not, I am fused at the battery and at the dist block, all 4 gauge since I had no g 8 wire.
Non fused dist block for the ground though also 4 g

 

You say you are running a non fused distribution block for the ground?
Do people fuse grounds?
Is it a worthwhile insurance policy for the few pounds/ dollars to fit one?
Cheers

 

Thanks guys for all the great input. Oh, I do plan on running a Dist block for the ground also from the battery, 1st time I've ever done that. I've always just grounded to the body but after reading these forums found out its better to ground from the battery..

 

Ok guys, I am new to this forum so I hope I am posting in the right thread.
I know this is the age old question of which gauge speaker wire to use and I know 12 gauge is overkill but what about for top of the line audiophile setups?

Will I be able to hear an audible difference by using pure OFC 12 gauge speaker wire as opposed to OFC 16 gauge wire using the "highest quality" amps and component speakers?

I am asking this question because it is hard to find only 10 feet of 12 gauge wire strictly for subs. I'm thinking of getting 50 feet for both speakers and sub.

Btw, will 50 feet of speaker wire be long enough for 2 components front speakers and rear sub? I'm thinking of running the rear speakers off of the head unit.

 

Gauge of wire needed depends on the length of run and amount of amperage or watts that are being used. So in order to make a decision would really need to know your speaker specs, amp specs, and length of wire runs. This chart is a handy tool to determine the gauge of wire needed.

http://www.distinctbeat.com/gaugeguide.jpg

Also, you can get 10 ft runs of 12 gauge speaker wire off ebay pretty easy.

KnuKonceptz Kord Speaker Wire Ultra Flex Blue OFC 12 Gauge Cable 10' | eBay

 

I've used the factory OEM speaker wiring in my last few builds. Never heard a difference and never burned the jacket off a single wire. lol

 

Yes

With bigger wire, you only gain less resistance, not degrade or improve sound quality.

More resistance may make the amp run a bit hotter and restrict some power.

16 g is plenty for over 20 feet per side and less than 250 watts per side.

In order to use the factory wiring, wires need to be connected to the aftermarket harness that plugs in to the factory harness. From the factory plug behind the Hu to the door is usually like 8-10 ft per side.

Running new 12 gauge wire from the amp to the dash, the harness that plugs in the factory wiring, will help reduce some resistance assuming the amp is in the trunk or under the rear seats. A 0.3 ohm resistance decrease is meaningless with under 200W/ch

 

Thank you for the helpful response guys.

I've decided to go with the 16 gauge OFC wires for the front components and 12 gauge OFC wire for the sub.

I'm thinking about upgrading my JL Amps to the Mosconis, which is why I was wondering about the speaker wires. The amps will be in the trunk. Car is about 18ft long.

Each component will be 200rms max and sub will be 500rms. I'm sure the speaker wires will be more than enough to power this setup. Just wanted to be sure since those Mosconis aren't cheap!!

Thanks again

 

Any suggestions on RCA cables? The knukonceptz look pretty good as well. But I'm not sure what overkill for auto is.

 

Thanks guys

I think that is a definite no, then
A simple throw away question, as it turns out, had quite important answers
Appreciated
Every day is a school day