Current flow

K

kev415

Registered
Not buying wires yet, but just kind of planning...
What will get better current flow with less resisitance:

Running 2 separate 4 gauge lines or running a single 0 gauge?
 
RE: Current flow

[link:eek:hm.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. :)
 
RE: Current flow

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.
 
RE: Current flow

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.:)

John
http://mark8.org/users/johnaec/Mark_VIII_s.jpg
'97 Mark VIII LSC
'96 T-Bird 4.6L:)
 
RE: Current flow

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..
 
RE: Current flow

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.
 
RE: Current flow

Plus if im not mistaken, DC signal degrades much faster than a AC signal..
Click to expand...

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? :D Realistically, I'd stick with one 0/1 ga run.
 
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