[04Elantra]

Would a 10 gauge amp kit be good for a 200 watt (100x2) output amp? Also, what gauge wire kit would be best for a 500 watt (2x125, 1x250) amp?

THANKS.....the car is finally coming together

 

[southpawboston]

i always gauge the proper gauge (pun not intended) by the fuse rating of the amp. wattage outputs can be underrated or overrated, RMS or peak, and you never reall know what kind of current the amp will draw unless you look at the fuse. remember that maximum power (wattage) output is volts X amps. if your amp has a 30A fuse, then the max output will be 30A x 14V = 420W.

so, use that equation to determine the gauge wire. also take into consideration length, as resistance is length dependent. in general, i would say for a 30A fused amp with less than 15 feet of power wire, 8 gauge is fine. now, for every doubling of that fuse rating (or if you have two amps, 30A each), reduce the gauge by half. so for a 60A fuse, or two 30A fuse amps, run 4 gauge. this equation will work for most applications!

 

[04Elantra]

oh....so I can run two amps off of one (bigger) power line? I was going to run two seperate power cables for each amp...but if that isnt necessary I can save myself some time and $.

So I could just splice into the wire in the middle to power one amp (under passengers seat) on its way to its final destination (amp in the trunk).

COOL

 

[southpawboston]

yep. you can run a 4-gauge from the battery to the seat and then either splice manually or use a distribution block (recommended) and from the block run two 8-gauge wires, one to each amp. just make sure you also buy a heavy duty fuse holder for where the 4-gauge hooks up to the battery. these usually come with amp install kits.

 

[04Elantra]

Well, if things go as planned, I will be running a 30A , 2 channel amplifier and a 70A, 3 channel....close to 1500 peak watts...looks like I will try to run a 2 gauge install kit with distribution into a 4 gauge and an 8 gauge.

 

[04 elantra cvvt]

Go to your local Walmart and pick up a wiring kit by Scoche ( I think that's right). It will have a long 4 gauge cable that will run to under the back seat. From there the kit comes with a distribution box that runs two 8 gauge wires into the trunk for your amps. It is an awesome Kit and it's under 30 bucks. Make sure that when you ground these amps that you pick a solid spot, most of the noise (whine) generated from amps is due to faulty grounds.

 

[cclngthr]

If you are hooking up 2 separate amps, I recommend going with a 2 gauge or 0 gauge wire to a distribution block then 6-8 gauge to the amps. You need a fuse at least 10-20% higher up front than both amp fuses. If your amps have a 40 amp fuse, I suggest getting a 100 amp fuse or curcuit breaker for up front. The reason is the resistance and length of the wire will draw more power up front than out back.

 

[04Elantra]

I plan on using a dual amp wiring kit that is either 2 gauge (JL audio or Rockford Fosgate) or the higher rated 4 gauge [swk4d] Stinger kit (which is rated up to 1400 watts and is fused for 150A)....my amps only have 70A and 30A fuses..and will run about 1300 watts....

The bigger amp will get 4 gauge wire and some 8 gauge will go to the smaller amp....now just to decide and see what I can pickup locally immediately (need to get this done tomorrow)!!!

 

[04 elantra cvvt]

Like I said, Walmart has a lot of wiring kits available at a reasonable price. That is the one I got, just stay away from the Roadgear lineup.