Car audio: Sub wiring. normal vs Heavy duty cables

[D-Maxima]

hey people.

i just bought a MTX sledgehammer 7500 and need to get my amp installed. one place gave me a good quote and said that to use better, heavy duty wiring would cost more, about $60 0r $70 more

is it worth getting the better wiring or should i just go with the normal stuff...or look around and get better wireing cheaper?

If you havent seen my other post 'interior lights' im in aus so, although any info is appreciated, i cant go to most any shops in US!

im getting my headunit and back speakers done at the same time.

thanks people!

[Darktide]

It's simple. The thicker the wire the more juice it can handle. You want to find out just what kind of step are they taking. What gauge wire are they intending on putting in the car? 8gauge? and they'll sell you an upgrade to 4gauge? I'd personally stick with at least 4 gauge. I put a battery in my trunk when I did my last amp/sub install so I ran 0 gauge. I've still got that stuff kicking around.

How big are the subs you are adding? and how hard do you plan on making them hit?

[jltibbs]

but it also depends on how much power you will be drawing. just because your amp may say (i.e.) 1,000 watts, that may be the amps maximum potential (peak vs. RMS). if you note the fuses that are physically in the amp, that will tell you more about how much power the amp is putting out. say you have two 30 amp fuses, then most likely the power coming from the amp is around 600 watts. (30A + 30A = 60A, 60 x 10 = 600W) this also depends on the steady current. the power can only be so much at a given voltage. to maintain that voltage there are a couple of options:

1 get at least (2) one farad caps or (1) two farad cap.2 get a power cell, like kinetik and have its power wire run straight to the alternator.

so, if you want to get the best sound possible without damaging your charging system, add one of the above options and go with 0 (zero) or 2 Gauge wire.

[D-Maxima]

to darktide:

i dont know the rating of the wire that is original, or what it would go upto, i can find out. and the sub im putting in is a 12" MTX sledgehammer 7500 400wrms 800w max. the amp i got is a pioneer 800w monoblock amp. i want it to go hard but not stupidly loud if you know what i mean...i want it to be as much of an investment it can be.

to jltibbs:

as above i got 800w mono at 4 ohms thats 360rms on the box anyway...with your calculations it would be... just checked it says 2x 30A. So is that 600w peak or rms then?

so this amp is a pioneer GM-7300M. it should run this sub well? Will better wiring help its cause?

ive been told that because the sub is a bit bigger it can damage both amp and sub. how much truth to this is there? im hoping this guy is wrong but i trust him and i can still run the sub well right?

[D-Maxima]

to darktide:

i dont know the rating of the wire that is original, or what it would go upto, i can find out. and the sub im putting in is a 12" MTX sledgehammer 7500 400wrms 800w max. the amp i got is a pioneer 800w monoblock amp. i want it to go hard but not stupidly loud if you know what i mean...i want it to be as much of an investment it can be.

to jltibbs:

as above i got 800w mono at 4 ohms thats 360rms on the box anyway...with your calculations it would be... just checked it says 2x 30A. So is that 600w peak or rms then?

so this amp is a pioneer GM-7300M. it should run this sub well? Will better wiring help its cause?

ive been told that because the sub is a bit bigger it can damage both amp and sub. how much truth to this is there? im hoping this guy is wrong but i trust him and i can still run the sub well right?

and by bigger i mean power rating

i dont know the rating of the wire that is original, or what it would go upto, i can find out. and the sub im putting in is a 12" MTX sledgehammer 7500 400wrms 800w max. the amp i got is a pioneer 800w monoblock amp. i want it to go hard but not stupidly loud if you know what i mean...i want it to be as much of an investment it can be.

to jltibbs:

as above i got 800w mono at 4 ohms thats 360rms on the box anyway...with your calculations it would be... just checked it says 2x 30A. So is that 600w peak or rms then?

so this amp is a pioneer GM-7300M. it should run this sub well? Will better wiring help its cause?

ive been told that because the sub is a bit bigger it can damage both amp and sub. how much truth to this is there? im hoping this guy is wrong but i trust him and i can still run the sub well right?[/QUOTE]

[.:Kevin:.]

I think it's kind of along the lines of the bigger the better. You can't really have too much. The less resistance the better. I've always done mine with 0 gauge and have had zero problems.

[mattynicks3]

i would use thicker wiring. you might not need 0 gauge but i'd definatly go thicker than what is recomended.

[davskins97]

Get yourself a Scosche wiring kit and do it yourself. I am running 800W (3 amps) total in my system with a 5ga power wire. It's clean and loud. How do you even terminate a zero gage wire on the amp terminals? If you are necking it down to a tiny ring then you have a current restriction anyway.

What are you running for front speakers/amps? You want to get loud bass out of your sub but will your fronts keep up?

It also appears from the sub specs and the amp specs that you will be under power (360W rms into 2ohms, woofer handles 1000W rms and recommends a minimum of 500W). Pioneer is not really known for their amps and I would guess it is actually overrated on output power too.

[D-Maxima]

in the front i got alpine s types (should've got the r types but thats another story). no amp on them as yet but will prob do that later on.

if the sub does run underpower will it be bad for it or just not put out as much bass?

[davskins97]

That sub looks like a bad boy. I don't think I would try pushing it real hard with it being under power. I haven't ever heard of anyone destroying a woofer with too little power. It's more probable that the sound quality will suffer. Same with your S-types (should have got the X-types). If a speaker needs more power to play a part of the music and it ain't there, it's going to sound funny or distorted. Passive crossovers can eat up some power in inefficiency too.

I doubt you are going to hurt anything by trying it, but I would be careful with the volume and make sure you listen for and avoid distortion. I would think without an amp on your fronts you shouldn't be pounding that 12 real loud as all you will hear is boom boom boom. I guess for some people that's the point, but I like a more balanced sound, with maybe some slightly pronounced bass.

[D-Maxima]

yeah depending on how i feel i may upgrade the front splits later on down the track, but want to get the sub in first.

would it be worth amping front and back speakers (back pioneer 6' 4 way...from memory 50w rms 220 max) with a 4 way amp or just amp front speakers with a 2 way?

do they needt better wiring to match the sub wiring too? id assume its best to keep everything equal

and yes the x-types would be nice but at the time seemed too much! shoulda, coulda, didnt haha

[D-Maxima]

Hey people

Just thought Id let you know that i got all my stuff installed yesterday.

they did a pretty good job i think. especially the rear speakers they look good and the wiring is solid.

as for the sub wiring i went with normal 8 gauge wiring. the price was ok for it being included in the installation cost.

will put some pics up if i get around to it!

Thanks for all your advice everyone it was much appreciated.

and for the record the sub goes really well

cheers

[davskins97]

Happy Booming! Get off your duff and get us some pics!

[D-Maxima]

ok ive finally done it. thought id take these pics of the job before i left for sydney for work tomorrow. here you go ppl! ive thrown in a few of the outside for good measure

let me know what you think people!







this is under passenger seat

[D-Maxima]

got a related question but thought id save making a new thread;

so ive had this stuff for a month now maybe and the other day i suspect the alternator belt is making a noise. so i put some soap on it and it was ok, then started it up to go to work in the morning and it was making the noise again

i went and bought some proper dry lube...put a bit on the alternator and the power steering belt and that shut it up for a day or two but now the noise is back and the only way i can descibe it as its variable in the intensitty of the noise, which is just a squeaking type noise. like a rusty gate if you like but not as metalic.

could the amp drawing extra power affect this at all or would the belt be just worn?

i had the alternator replaced in the last 10 months or less id say so the belt should be new?

or is just lubing it up a good way to go?

thanks ppl

[Darktide]

don't assume that the belt is new.... even if the mech. told you it's new he may just be lying to you. Chances are it's just time for a new belt... double check the tension and the alignment of the belt... I doubt it's your amps fault (unless your alternator dies out... then it might have been the amps fault... but on a 10month old alternator I wouldn't think it'd die).

[the converted]

Just replace the belt with a new one and clean the pulleys to get the lube that is on them off. I've never had any luck with that stuff as it only works for a few days or weeks until you have to do it again.

[D-Maxima]

yeah i was thinking it would prob just be the belt and i didnt think the amp would do too much because it is only one amp after all.

how much would an alternator belt cost? would it be easy to do myself?

[the converted]

>$20? Shouldn't be to hard but I haven't worked on one of your cars yet.

[D-Maxima]

yeah i might get one coz i gotta do the top radiator hose too so might just do them both at the same time. hopefully that stops the damn noise!