Have assembled all components.
Pioneer 860 HU to PG 400.1 amp
Amp to Infinity Kappa components and sub.
What brand/gauge of wire to use.
Looking for good value.

Thanks All for any ideas.

 

brand doesn't really matter.. for speaker wire 14-18 for the speaker and 12-14 for the sub

if you are talking for ground / power wire for the amp then 8 guage will suffice but 4 would be better

 

I would go at least four, if not zero. If you are only running the 400.1 you could probably do 8, but if you ever plan on upgrading, you will thank me down the road. Just warning ya, 0 is a beoch to work with though.

 

U could go to walmart they have cheap amp wiring kits there i think its was around $40 for a 4 guage kit.

 

Bigger the wire, the more power you will get obviously. Don't install 8 guage, what if you decide to upgrade one day like suggested above, you will want something that will suffice and allow for the maximum amount of power.

 

I've used 4 and 2 for power didn't notice a difference. I doubt you will either unless of course you were using an amp much bigger than the one you have.

As for the other guages mentioned that is what I would stick with.

 

Also, go to a place like Acklands or another store that supplies welding shops with their cable. This will work as your power wiring just as well as any cable you would buy at an electronics store and also goes for a much cheaper price.

 

umm... no.. thats not how it works.. the bigger the wire you have the less chance you have of causing your wires to melt from too much current. Your amp will always put out the same amount of power...

 

umm...no..that IS how it works..(on a very basic level)
It will put out the same amount of power based on the same voltage. The longer the run of wire, as well as a smaller wire causes voltage drop.

ie: at at 100 amps 5 feet of 4awg will drop .1volts
18 feet of 4awg will drop .3volts
5 feet of 8awg will drop .5 volts
18 feet of 8awg will drop 1.2 volts

now these numbers were just made up by me, but they show that at a certain current draw, there will be voltage drop. The greater the length and smaller the wire, the more voltage drop that will occur. If you get into really extreme situations, yes your wire can melt, but that is the reason that you fuse it under the hood.

 

The wire really isn't melting because of Voltage drop. That's not to say it doens't happen in your example, but a 20 foot length of 8 AWG is going to have a higher level of resistance than a 20 foot length of 4 awg lets say... the more resistance you have, the more heat buils up, and that's what melts the wire.... not Voltage Drop