Hi all, probably a silly question but i am yet to find a definitive answer. I am about to mount the amp in the car and am now look at my wiring options. for the most part i know what i want to do, however the issue im having trouble with is in regards to the gauge of wire i should use. i am going to run lengths of 14 gauge from the amp to the speakers in the rear which is simple enough. However the speakers in the door initially came with some wire that they provided which looks to be something like 18 gauge wire, i had to use this as well because the wire goes into a small sony amp, and then the tweeter and woofer come out of the small amp with the same gauge wire.
If i run a larger gauge wire to this jumper wire, then essentially i am dropping the gauge of the larger wire to the gauge of the provided speaker wire. What i want to know is if i use 18 gauge wire that i have to the door speakers (as it closely matches the provided speaker wire) will it be sufficient enough to carry the amplified signal?
Another option is to run a larger gauge (14?) wire directly to the door woofer and completely by pass the small sony amp and the tweeter, and whenever possible, perhaps splice the tweeter into this. Based on this write up from a while ago http://stephenmason.com/cars/mr2audio.html he used 18 gauge for the door speakers as well, but am wanting to know your thoughts/experiences.
14 gauge to the rear
18 gauge wire
sony speaker wiring already in car
door speaker layout
Speaker wiring gauge
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This area is dedicated to technical discussions concerning in-car electronics. Stereos, alarms, GPS etc. Please try to spell correctly because this will help people find information later if they are using search functionality. If you need assistance with your car and want to host a spanner day, please use the appropriate section of the forum: http://mr2.org.nz/phpbb3/viewforum.php?f=35 Thank you.
This area is dedicated to technical discussions concerning in-car electronics. Stereos, alarms, GPS etc. Please try to spell correctly because this will help people find information later if they are using search functionality. If you need assistance with your car and want to host a spanner day, please use the appropriate section of the forum: http://mr2.org.nz/phpbb3/viewforum.php?f=35 Thank you.
- Jabeo
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Speaker wiring gauge
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Re: Speaker wiring gauge
You haven't given the power output specification of the amplifier nor what the speakers can deal with, but based on the typical power levels I highly doubt you'll have any issue with 18 gauge. People tend to use wire that's thicker than it actually needs to be in car audio.
- GDII
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Re: Speaker wiring gauge
What Michael said. Thick wire does carry more current but then you normally only need much thicker to travel long distances like in a house. Cars are so small it normally isn't worth going with really thick stuff unless you are doing some sort of very high powered show car build. That 18 looks fine to use. The stuff you get with normal speakers works for the direct to head unit stuff but for amps it's not great.
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- Jabeo
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Re: Speaker wiring gauge
my bad sorry about that, the door woofers/tweeters are rated at 350 watt peak power and the rear 6x9 speakers have a peak output of 420 watts. based on rma calculations the amp has more than enough power to deliver to each channelmknz wrote:You haven't given the power output specification of the amplifier nor what the speakers can deal with, but based on the typical power levels I highly doubt you'll have any issue with 18 gauge. People tend to use wire that's thicker than it actually needs to be in car audio.
1992 MR2 GT Turbo Complete with Traction control!
1997 N/A Honda Civic EK3
Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jabeo_waho/
Im still learning a lot about cars so bear with me!
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Re: Speaker wiring gauge
Peak is from the marketing department. What you want to know is RMS (root mean square)Jabeo wrote:my bad sorry about that, the door woofers/tweeters are rated at 350 watt peak power and the rear 6x9 speakers have a peak output of 420 watts. based on rma calculations the amp has more than enough power to deliver to each channelmknz wrote:You haven't given the power output specification of the amplifier nor what the speakers can deal with, but based on the typical power levels I highly doubt you'll have any issue with 18 gauge. People tend to use wire that's thicker than it actually needs to be in car audio.
- Jabeo
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Re: Speaker wiring gauge
mknz wrote:Peak is from the marketing department. What you want to know is RMS (root mean square)Jabeo wrote:my bad sorry about that, the door woofers/tweeters are rated at 350 watt peak power and the rear 6x9 speakers have a peak output of 420 watts. based on rma calculations the amp has more than enough power to deliver to each channelmknz wrote:You haven't given the power output specification of the amplifier nor what the speakers can deal with, but based on the typical power levels I highly doubt you'll have any issue with 18 gauge. People tend to use wire that's thicker than it actually needs to be in car audio.
sorry i also meant to say rms* not rma. the door speakers/tweeters are 60watt rms power, pair of 6x9s are 30 watt rms power, all hooked up to the 1000 watt amp.
70 Watt RMS x 4 @ 4 Ohm
85 Watt RMS x 4 @ 2 Ohm
175 Watt RMS x 2 @ 4 Ohm bridged
if my maths serve me right i can run all four at 4 ohms?
1992 MR2 GT Turbo Complete with Traction control!
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- Alsw20
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Re: Speaker wiring gauge
LOL modern audio ratings crack me up. 1000 watt amp.