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i'm planning on adding another amp to power my 4 speakers, thinking of the audiobahn a4004t amp. right now i have 4 gauge wiring powering my current amp for my 12's. i was told to run 4 gauge wire for that amp for best performance, but when looking for a distribution block all i find are ones with 4 gauge inputs and 8 gauge outputs. will using one of these lower the perforamce of my subs? or are there 4 gauge distribution blocks somewhere outthere?

 
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here are some links to some diff distro blocks. as long as they accept 1/0 or 4 ga and have 4 ga outputs, they'll work fine. I know there are plenty in those sites, cause I double checked to make sure for ya, but I wanted to give you brand choice, look choice, etc.

http://www.audioperfect.com/shop/cat...1c03bc92482722

http://www.thezeb.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=2

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...?CategoryID=31

http://www.cardomain.com/shoptype/Distribution+Blocks

 
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whoa, very helpful! thanks a lot!

 
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oh yeah, since i dont have a fuse from my battery i'll need a fused block right?

 
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Fuse it from your battery, and get a fused distro block as well, never hurts to be too safe. You will not add enough resistance in the system with all the fuses and connections to make a difference.

 
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I'd probably put in an inline fuse or circuit breaker w/i 18 in. of the battery. A fused block won't hurt, I've never heard of over protection.

 
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I was also wondering this. If you add another amp will there be any "noticable" power drop to my subs if you had a 2 foot length of 8 gauge wire comming from the distribution block (compared to all 4 gauge) ?

 
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You want a fuse within 18" of the battery, the shorter the better. This leaves only 18" of wire that could cause major problems to the car. This fuse is to protect the car, not the amp. Amps have their own fuses. Then you put the distrobution block in the trunk, or close to where the amps are placed. The block can be fused or unfused. The benefit of a fused block is if one amp has a problem chances are the other amps will keep going.

A real world example of why you want a fuse within 18" of the battery is like this. When my brother did his very first install in a truck he routed the 4 guage wire down through the truck to the amp. Luckily he put in a fuse by the battery. We got it all hooked up and played w/ it in the driveway. It was rockin. Then he took off to show a friend. He stops, steps on the e-brake, and boom. Sparks and all inside the cab. The e-brake pedal caught and sliced the power wire real good as it swung down. Made it a dead short. Of course the fuse by the battery blew right away and saved everything. Without the fuse the battery would have most likely kept supplying juice till the battery boiled over and the sparks would probably continued till the truck caught fire. Not a good situation ......

Honestly I prefer circuit breakers. Then you don't need a replacement fuse if you ever have a problem. Plus its so easy to kill power just by hitting the switch when you work on the system. They can be found for under $20 shipped on ebay.

 
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the amp i am looking at accepts up to 8gauge wire, could i take a 4 gauge and trim some of it away so it would fit or is that asking for something bad to happen?

 
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A no name brand distribution block is less than $10. Get one and do it right. Even Radio Shack, Walmart, etc. carries them.

 
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The setup I would run is this:

4 gauge from the battery (with about 100 amp fuse withing 18 inches).

To a power distribution block.

8 gauge to each amp.

8 gauge from each amp to ground.

Add an extra ground from the battery to the frame, preferably 4 gauge.

As for figuring out if a wire is big enough for the flow, this site

 
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Like these guys said, 8 gauge should be fine. But... the *correct* answer is to run 4 gauge to your distribution block, and then a pair (!) of #8's to each sub.

There are two factors that determine what size wire to use:
1) Voltage drop. Simplifying things a bit, you can say that wire has a certain resistance per foot, meaning that power leaving your battery at 14V may only be 13V at your amp. A thicker gauge wire will have much lower resistance, and you'll have a higher voltage at your amp.

2) Ampacity. Your wire is rated for a certain amount of current, and your fusing should be equal to or less than that current. So if you're fused at the max for 4 gauge, run a #4 from your fuse to your distribution block, and come out with #8's, your #8's aren't fully protected. As a rule of thumb, you can run two smaller gauge, parallel wires for short distances, as long as the total ampacity is at least as high as your fuse size.

That being said, you're more likely to be busted for noise ordinance than electrical code violations... but it never hurts to do it right.