Hey,

I am running 4 gauge power wire to dist. block in back, and 8 gauge ground, and 8 gauge to the amp, is, i will be up granding amp to 800rms, is a short 8 gauge run gonna be ok, or should I run straight 4 gauge from dist block??

any help would be great.

Thanx
Joe

you should be using 4 gauge.

depends, what kinda amp is it. you could even run a pair of 8's from the distro block if you dont have enough 4 to reach your amp.

^Or a pair of 10's, OR a pair of 12's or whatever ridiculous set of subs you run. That part is irrelevant. What's relevant is the amp you're using to power your subs.

Rule of thumb: For any amp with a fuse rating higher than 60 amps, use 4 gauge.

You MIGHT get away with a 3 foot run of 8 gauge if the fuse rating is 80/90.

If the amp puts out a real 1000 watts, you should have 1/0 ga all the way, and at least a 4 ga from battery to chassis.
At the very least, keep the whole thing 4ga, including all the grounds, or your amp will never attain it's full output, and you will likely destroy the subs.
Upgrade the fuseholder to an ANL type if you don't already have one.

wow are you serious distroy your subs
from now on im not going to buy amps with thin copper traces and fuses as that is probably the cause of all by blow subs
the fuses in my amps are nowhere near 4 guage

[ May 21, 2005, 05:41 AM: Message edited by: pinhead ]

ok, for a 3' run, 8 guage will get you by, on a short run your losses are minimal, and the 8 guage will handle the current.

another alternative you may want to look at is going to a car stereo shop and get a 4 guage inline fuse holder, and 3' of 4 guage, and use the fuse holder to extend the wire, and provide another point of protection.

LOL

some of these responses are funny.I run a 1000 watts rms amp for bass and 300 watts to my components and i use, 4 guage from battery to distro block and 8 guage from there to both amps and i'm fine.So, keep it as it is, you'll be fine.

Yep...be fineas long as everything is 100% perfect in the chain.
All the little voltage drops add up. You can get by with the bare minimum if you're tight for cash, but when things start getting old, and loose, and oxidized etc. then theres not much extra headroom left.
Over-do it, instead of "just good enough".
The chain is only as good as the weakest link, and from a cost point of view, the wire is cheap relative to the price of subs, amps, amd install.

A sub oscillating in the trunk from a low voltage amp may go un-noticed for a while and when they go....most will blame the subs, or amp.

Cheap insurance I think, but that's just my opinion.

__________________
Charlie Lamble
Sault Ste Marie ON

I'm sure you think you understood what you heard me say, but I hope you realize that what I said is not what I meant