richs1000

what type of wire should i use for a grounding setup? and where can i get some online?

SlammedZChatch

I used '4' gauge wire when I re-did all my grounding and power wires. But I bought mine from a local stereo shop. Keep in mind, I drive a '90 Civic Si with the 1.8 ZC, so I don't need anything more. If I were you, and you have the money to spend, go with '0' gauge

unTuned

4 gauge is the best to use for a grounding setup. 0 gauge is way overkill and it will not make a better grounding system.

another very important thing is to get a higher quality wire. all 4 gauge wires are not the same. i also bought mine from a local audio store and the stuff i got is an 1800 strand 4 gauge line that costed about $2.00 per foot. they also had 4 gauge wire that was the junky made in china stuff which was what they called '900 strand' and it was about $1.00 per foot.

you also need to get good quality ring terminals for the ends. the gold plated ones work great. the same audio store wanted $2.50 per ring, and i needed 10 in total so i didnt want to spend $25.00. i ended up getting 20 in total online for about $20 or so.

Mad Dog Tannen

I grounded mine to the bolt underneath the carpet in the back that goes to the frame. I think I used 4 guage, but I can't remeber cause it's been a while.

SlammedZChatch

[QUOTE=unTuned;4480364]

another very important thing is to get a higher quality wire. all 4 gauge wires are not the same. i also bought mine from a local audio store and the stuff i got is an 1800 strand

I bought the 1800 strand here too, mine was $3.15 a foot, but none the less, I spent the money for the quality like you said

richs1000

how many feet of ground wire is needed?

pjb3

[QUOTE=unTuned;4480364]
another very important thing is to get a higher quality wire. all 4 gauge wires are not the same. i also bought mine from a local audio store and the stuff i got is an 1800 strand 4 gauge line that costed about $2.00 per foot. they also had 4 gauge wire that was the junky made in china stuff which was what they called '900 strand' and it was about $1.00 per foot.
QUOTE]
Just curious, why do you consider the one wire better than the other?

lazlong

[QUOTE=pjb3;4481092]I think "1800 strand" and"900 strand" would be a clue.

richs1000

so how many feet????

unTuned

the 1800 strand is higher quality wire because it simply has more strands. im not an electrician but ive done research on it and apparently the more wires you have, obviously the more surface area there is in total. think of the surface area of one single wire of 4 guage compared to the surface area of 1800 strands that make up a 4 gauge when twisted together.


anyway, for a good 5 point grounding kit, you need just under 10 ft of wire, 10 gold plated ring terminals and some basic soldering skills. i think i used about 9 1/2' or so to be exact.

pjb3

I thought the audio store sold it as higher quality, but in this case it doesn't make any difference. Strand count and surface area affect AC (such as speakers) due to skin effect which varies with frequency but does not affect DC.
Any 4 gauge wire should work the same for ground cables or power cables for an amp but more stands tend to make wire more flexible which may make a difference in the installation.

unTuned

any 4 gauge wire wont work the same as another because not all 4 gauge wires are made of the same type of metal or have the same density or conductivity. the higher quality wires that use better metals with better conduction are generally the same wires that have more strands.

in our particular case it isnt going to make much of a difference because we arent going to get any horsepower out of it. i just like to do things properly the first time, and if the price of the garbage is 10, and the high quality is 20, ill spend the extra 10$ to get the better quality material to work with. its not like its a price difference of hundreds of dollars.

pjb3

There are three ASTM grades for oxygen free copper (OFE, OF and ETP). All home audio is either OF or ETP which have identical conductivity requirements.

You paid twice as much and got nothing for it and are trying to justify something you have no idea about. I was just pointing it out for those reading this so that they wouldn't waste a lot of time looking for a specific wire based on your suggestion.

unTuned

haha, you think im trying to justify paying an extra $10? i couldnt care less what you think, and i care even less about you and your google skills. you are a complete bonehead if youre trying to compare a knockoff wire thats made in china with no name brand on it and it cant even guarantee what the actual metal that the wires are made of (whether theyre oxygen free or not), to a named brand high quality, made in the usa product that has twice as many strands and guarantees you that theyre the oxygen free wiring. please stop talking and continue to buy your no named brand chinese product that guarantees absolutely nothing to you.

the funniest part about this is the difference (like i said earlier) is not hundreds of dollars. its spending an extra $10 which barely gets a person lunch at a fast food restaurant to know you have something thats higher quality in your car for most likely the entire time youre going to own it.

pjb3

Sorry, not Google but looked it up in an ASTM handbook ( I'm an engineer in the utility industry). It's not worth my time to argue this. I didn't mean to offend you, I thought you might be interested in learning about wire, I was wrong.

unTuned

it didnt offend me. i just dont like when i give advice to someone asking for help then some smart-*** butts in like he knows everything. engineer or not, it doesnt change the fact that a piece of wire made in china that tells you absolutely nothing about whats in it is 'the same' as a piece of wire made in the usa thats obviously twice the quality.

you didnt even bother to help the guy, you just waited until you could butt in and act like you know it all. if you know it so well, why didnt you bother helping the original topic? nobody on here likes smartasses like that.

Mad Dog Tannen

Damn dude. Getting a little defensive? You definately were trying to justify paying an extra 10 dollars. And you failed misreably. If pjb3 is a smart ***, then you are definately a dumbass for thinking that the most expensive is always the best. Just get over the fact that you wasted your money.

Also Both of you are trying to help. And both of you are on topic. What? Like you are the only one allowed to give advice on a forum?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

how about if spending more money on something makes you feel better, go ahead and do it. we all do for certain things...

unTuned

how braindead are some of you people? i never said or implied that 'the most expensive is the best'. i implied that if you want to SAVE 10 dollars, go ahead and buy the stuff that doesnt guarantee anything.

i dont know about you, but to me, $10 is well worth having a guarantee on something thats going to be in my car forever. like i said, if you dont like it, stfu and keep buying your chinese wiring that cant even guarantee what the metal is made of, i couldnt care less.

richs1000

finished my ground wiring setup. didnt really see any difference. i used 4 gauge 2048 strand wire with gold terminals.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

you wont see or feel a difference, but your electronics devices will thank you.