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Quick question, can i use a 8 gauge power/ground wire for an amp thats 1000W? recommended is 4 gauge from what the manual says. reason i ask is i already have an 8 gauge wire and ground running thru the car. i dont feel like re-wiring the whole car again =( Any advice would be nice. Thanks in advance!

 
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is it 1k rms? it might be ok if thats the only thing u have hooked up to the line.

 
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no way... 1k rms is way too much for 8 gauge. if the manufacturer thinks you should run 4 gauge, then run 4 gauge.

 
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well. the amp is 400W RMS with a peak of 1000.

 
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Audio manufacturers tend to chose the size of the power wires for their cosmetic appeal. If you see to 400W amps and 1 uses 4WAG and the other 8AWG, most ppl will see this and assume the one with 4awg is more powerful, not necessarily so. I see where ya comin from so do this...use your 8AWG, run the amp HARD for awhile but monitor the temp of the wire (with your hand is fine). If it gets warm at all, I would change it, if you feel no diff, don't woory 'bout it.

~Tbone

 
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dont be cheap and lazy, get 4gauge and just rewire it, you'll be getting full power to your amp that way.

 
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How do you figure he wouldn't get "full power" to his amp? True, the heat caused by the resistance of the power wire will produce a slight voltage drop across the line from the battery to the amp but with a 400W amp, this voltage drop would prolly be negligable. So say it is 250mV drop and your amp gets 14.150, so that makes your amp do 390W instead of 400W. It is impossible for this change to be detected by the human ear! I wouldn't be concerend with not gettng to "full power" as much as I'd be concerned with the power/gnd wire over heating and meltin, possibly resulting in a short. If he wants he could go out and buy 1/0 or 2/0 but with the power levels we are talkin, he won't notice and difference, except that his wallet will be a few bucks lighter, lol. I stand by my try and see policy


~tbone

 
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Thanks for all the advice guys . I've been talkin to a few people and they all seem to say "it should be fine, but then again.. i'd be concerned with your amp shorting out and causing a fire" and "it'll be ok but you wont be really using the full potential of your amps". I got a little paranoid about the whole shorting out stuff and causing fires so i just decided to buy some 4 gauge wire over at ebay and will re-wire the whole thing