[linkhm.bu.edu/edf/info/wire-resistance.html|This chart is probably useful]
Here I go trying to be smart, or making myself look dumb...
The 4 gauge wire has a resistance of .8 ohm/km. Now, if you double it, I'm assuming it would cut the resistance in half. This would leave you with a .4 ohm/km resistance. The 0 gauge wire has a resistance of .31 ohm/km, which is lower than .4, so I'd say 0 gauge is the way to be.
0 will also be easiier to run. when dealing with wires that big, and considering the power of you system, you won't have to worry about resistance losses.
You guys are nuts! That 4 gauge wire will have .0016 ohm resistance over the average car speaker wire length of 2 meters - you probably couldn't even measure it!
I worked for Ultra Sound, Inc. - the Grateful Dead's sound company, for the better part of 10 years. We typically used 12 gauge cable for runs of 100 feet - total resistance of .17 ohms - it's just not significant. Things like sub-par connectors will have much more affect on performance.
If you can hear *any* difference going to a heavier cable, it has more to do with other parts of the system, (plug connections, etc.), than a heavier cable. Of course, it won't hurt going with heavier cable - it always looks impressive.
well, im going to be running three amps with a total really heavy duty amperage pull but just the amp that im going to need for the IDMAX itself will need its own 4 gauge supply.
Plus if im not mistaken, DC signal degrades much faster than a AC signal..
Maybe if you were running 100-200 feet of wire it would make a difference, but not 20 feet. Get a 0 gauge wire, and a nice fused distro block, and you're all set.
Why do you think we have triple-phase AC over miles and miles of power lines instead of DC? I guess if cost isn't an issue, why not run two 0/1 ga power wires? Realistically, I'd stick with one 0/1 ga run.