i got some wire from a friend, the ground wire says 4awg and the power wire says 4ga so i thought they were both 4gauge but when i compared them the 4ga wire is bigger than the 4awg wire, so i was wondering would it still ok to use the awg wire as a ground for my amp.
Hmm...the actual wire was bigger, or the wiring + the insulation? One brand might be more heavily insulated, but they should have the same amount of wire strands on the inside.
Just to let u know wire is wire.Dont go spend hundreds of dollars on rockford fosgate wire kits ur just payin for the name and if u do a clean install u shouldnt c any wires anyway.Go to walmart and get a $30 4 gauge amp kit,throw away the rca's and get a good set then thats all ull need.
Some companies do actually make their wires a little larger than the AWG rating. Kunkonceptz 4 gauge kollosus is actually 3 gauge.
The insulation does play tricks with your eyes though. Crappy companies love to throw super thick insulation around their wires to make them look a lot bigger.
there different brands ones scosche and the other is power acustick, but the wire itself is bigger, cause i can fit the awg wire in my kicker amp but i can't fit the ga wire in the amp.[this is not the amp im going to use the wire for]
well i allready have my car wired its just with 8guage wire and i want to get 4gauge wire for my mtx 801d amp im getting, so i figured that getting this wireing for free would save my 20 or 30 bucks, so would that awg wire work or should i say screw it and just buy a 4gauge wireing kit.
What do you vets think of this? I'm curious to know if there are advantages to gain from the more expensive power and speaker wires. What about the tinned power wires?
I purchased all of my wires and cables from Knu Konceptz. Even with their low prices, I spent a small fortune on wire.
AWG and Gu are simply different numbering systems. AWG is typically used for non-ferrous metals, and are standard for sterling silver and copper. Gu is just another numbering system as well, and used for a lot of things, and differ according to the metal. No real difference except size.
In basic electrical performance, you could straighten a wire coat hanger and scrape the ends and it wouldn't be a bit inferior to $2000 miracle cable. Anything short of radio frequencies, resistance, inductance, and capacitance are the only parameters that will affect cable performance. You will need to keep an eye on resistance over long runs, but any decent wire can accomplish that task. I'm not saying to spend rock bottom on wire, you have to spend a given amount on wire for good connectors, shielding, and insulation. Knukonceptz is very good and perfect for anyone's needs.
"In basic electrical performance, you could straighten a wire coat hanger and scrape the ends and it wouldn't be a bit inferior to $2000 miracle cable. Anything short of radio frequencies, resistance, inductance, and capacitance are the only parameters that will affect cable performance. You will need to keep an eye on resistance over long runs, but any decent wire can accomplish that task."
well put. unless you're running the length of a semi trailor (interesting idea. karl malone?), "high qual" wire is a complete waste of bread. i've decided that once my system is absolutely complete (if ever there is such a time), i'll save up for pretty wire.
good wire is supple and easy to route due to the high strand count. The high strand count is also good for high DC current draw for systained periods. good shielding doesn't hurt either if you have to do things like run power lines near crossovers.
it has it's purposes.. but mainly it's just easier to route. I hate trying to run cheap stiff wire.. you need a pipe bender to route that crap.
regardless of wire quality though, that doesn't mean you can skimp on wire size.. always use large enough power and ground lines for the current draw and length.. for anybody considering this to mean "oh I can just use lamp cord for power wire!"