Point of oversized wire?

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

WTF are you talking about? In the CA world it is not accurate since 1/0 car audio wire = 2/0 AWG wire. Which is why I always tell people getting welding wire to get 2/0...
I assume you have never built a high powered system, so maybe to you it is marketing. For those of use who have it's a necessity....

no I have just been around longer than you and know what it means to have standards like what AWG have for wire sizes.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

I get that, but the wire that's only making contract is really useful correct? I could have a wire twice the size of a 0 gauge terminal, but trimming half of it away to make it fit defeats the purpose right?

No. Not at all.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

WTF are you talking about? In the CA world it is not accurate since 1/0 car audio wire = 2/0 AWG wire. Which is why I always tell people getting welding wire to get 2/0...
I assume you have never built a high powered system, so maybe to you it is marketing. For those of use who have it's a necessity....

1/0 Car Audio wire does NOT equate to 2/0 AWG..... SOME car audio wire manufacturers OVERSIZE their wire (i.e. mislabel it), so that it is bigger than the AWG standard it is rated at. Knu is a great example, as their 1/0 wire, is the size of 2/0. Guess what. That makes it 2/0 wire, mislabeled as 1/0.

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

no I have just been around longer than you and know what it means to have standards like what AWG have for wire sizes.

Ok, you've never done any big builds just like I figured....

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

1/0 Car Audio wire does NOT equate to 2/0 AWG..... SOME car audio wire manufacturers OVERSIZE their wire (i.e. mislabel it), so that it is bigger than the AWG standard it is rated at. Knu is a great example, as their 1/0 wire, is the size of 2/0. Guess what. That makes it 2/0 wire, mislabeled as 1/0.

Holy contradiction. Any REAL car audio 1/0 wire = 2/0 wire, is that better? Don't care if it's mislabeled, it will be the size of 2/0 AWG which you just said...

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

I went alttle cheap on my wire. I got 1/0 install bay wire. How ever i have 4 runs of it

2 power wires ran front to back and 2 grounds front to back to make up for the lesser qualtiy wire

But again i only paid like $15 and got 60ft from a friend...

 

[skylineTT 10+ year member]

for some theory on wire sizing and terminal contacts you can look to the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70).
When wire is attached to a ring terminal, the goal is maximum conductivity. You can solder the wire to the ring terminal for better conductivity in car audio but that isn't done in commercial wiring, and we move a lot of power. Consider that DC current is simply the movement of electrons from one valence band to another (for more about valence bands and the materials that are good conductors, consult the periodic table of elements). So at every connection you are trying to maximize the ability for electrons to move from the wire strands to the connector. Compression-fit connectors are very good at achieving this.

NEC also recognizes that the connector itself limits the amount of current you can move through a wire. So the tables are based on three different connector types.

60 deg. C is based on a set screw connection (shove bare wire in and tighten a screw to hold it).

75 deg. C is based on a compression lug with one bolt hole.

90 deg. C is based on a compression lug with two bolt holes (larger/longer).

You may have already guess that the reason they rate on temperature is because NEC cares most about preventing failure. All of the ampacity tables are based on temperature of the wire and temperature of the conductors.

The second reason we increase wire size is due to voltage drop. Voltage drop happens because all wire has resistance per linear foot. Over long distances, the relationship between current and resistance results in a drop in voltage at the end of the wire.

We increase wire size to compensate for temperature and voltage drop. We can run parallel sets or increase wire size. At a certain point it because difficult to work with larger wires. I prefer routing a pair of 4 awg wires over one 1/0 wire.

I've been wondering where you ran off to!

 

[Beatin' 10+ year member]

1/0 Car Audio wire does NOT equate to 2/0 AWG..... SOME car audio wire manufacturers OVERSIZE their wire (i.e. mislabel it), so that it is bigger than the AWG standard it is rated at. Knu is a great example, as their 1/0 wire, is the size of 2/0. Guess what. That makes it 2/0 wire, mislabeled as 1/0.

Doesn't Knu do that with their copper clad aluminum wires because it's not as good a conductor like OFC?

 

[IonRL205 10+ year member]

Doesn't Knu do that with their copper clad aluminum wires because it's not as good a conductor like OFC?

All their wires are oversized

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

"oversized" is a poor term to use. wire ampacity rating comes down to the material used (CU or AL), the number of strands, and the AWG of those strands. You can look at cross-sectional area as well, but more air between conductors (fewer strands) reduces the amount of conductive area relative to total area. so to compare based on diameter alone is inaccurate. some use extra insulation to make the wire look fatter.

if wire manufacturers published ohms/1000ft and wire strand AWG and count we would have an easier time comparing wire. they should also provide a temperature rating.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I've been wondering where you ran off to!

busy actually working on cars and systems and not just talking about it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

i'm also a family man and my work is time consuming.

i commonly pass up $ex to work on car audio late into the night.

 

[pieper88 10+ year member]

busy actually working on cars and systems and not just talking about it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gifi'm also a family man and my work is time consuming.

i commonly pass up $ex to work on car audio late into the night.

Just dumb

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Just dumb

i'm dedicated.

if she was a hooker i could just take a fvck break but wives don't like the fvck and dash.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

dp

i would not pass up DP for car audio though.

 

[kramer_212 10+ year member]

I get that, but the wire that's only making contract is really useful correct? I could have a wire twice the size of a 0 gauge terminal, but trimming half of it away to make it fit defeats the purpose right?

no the purpose is to relive the line of its resistance, terminal contact has minimal effect (within means)