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I wanna know if I would need to upgrade the 4ga wire I have now to 0ga? I have 2 options here.

Choice 1:
I have an Alpine MRV-F540 for the front and rear speakers, and an Alpine MRD-M500 for the subs. My boy might sell me his M500 so I can run one to each sub. Does anybody know if 4ga is good enough to run 3 amps or will I have to rewire the car?

Choice 2:
Purchase an Alpine MRD-M1000 and still have only two amps.

To be honest, I kinda like choice 2 b/c our cars are small in the trunk and space is an issue.


I also need to know if the alternator and/or battery will give me problems from either choice.
Thanks in advance for any help guys.

 
Rep Power: 317

i was running two amps off 4 gauge also (4 gauge from battery to d block, then 8 gauge to each amp).
but in all honesty, unless cost is an issue, get the 0 gauge, atleast you'll have large wire already ran just in case you upgrade some more in the future.
btw, i would go with option 2, i dont know why, but thats just me.

 
Rep Power: 328

Easy to figure out...look up max amp draw per amp add them up. Figure out length from battery to amps and plug it into this chart to figure out what size wire you need.

 
Rep Power: 329

alpine M-1000 has 4 gauge inputs.

i had one, got rid of it, but i planned to upgrade to 0/1 gauge

 
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tfnaaf: Good looking out with that chart. I saw something like that awhile back but couldn't remember where. Thank you.

DoubleDeuce2k2: Why did you get rid of it?

Any thoughts on the alt. and battery?

 
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0 gauge is over kill.... i should know, i have it....

 
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^^^ werd...so in convenient...i have too many wires under the panel. 0 guage running from battery to rear, another "customized" 4 gauge running to my components and rear 6x9's (just a whole bunch of 16 gauge wire mangled together...same thing as a 4 gauge ^_^)

i rewired the 0 gauge down to 4, and i'm happier...i can at least close the kick panel now. woohooo!

 
Rep Power: 403

^^^ thats what i don't like about the 0 gauge, its a really tight fit in the panel

 
Rep Power: 786

I would use the biggest wire that you can fit in those amps. If they have 4 guage inputs, use 2 gauge and split it to 4 at the distro. If it's a 4 and an 8, then still use 2. Anything smaller would create a bottleneck, as a single 4 awg wire will not supply enough current for an amp that is sucking off a 4 and another that is sucking off an 8.

Basically, as a rule of thumb, use one size larger than the largest wire that will be going to your amplifier.

 
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go with the 0 Gauge

 
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OK...............looks like 2ga for me. What about the alternator and battery? Actually, I already know which battery to get (Optima Yellow top) But what about the alt?

 
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Use the same size for your big 3 upgrade as you do for the longest wire run in your system, which is obviously your battery to distro wire.

 
Rep Power: 328

are you planning on competing or playing at high level of volumes over long period of time? If not i would just stick with stock alt, and maybe upgrade battery if needed.

 
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Def. NOT competing..........high volume during long periods? Depends on what your definition of long period is. I usually crank it up while driving anyway. I never just have the stereo on in a parking lot w/ the car off.

 
Rep Power: 320

you could also go w/ a red top if you do the DIY.

http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...optima+red+top