Amp and Sub Cable sizes

[AdamRoutley]

Hey guys, just picked up a used JBL Amp and Sub. Bridged will be an 180watt amp and the sub is about 320watts.

What size power/ground cables will I need?

Thanks
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[cupraslayer]

You won't need nothing special . Standard kit in halfords would be more then enough. They are about £20 with live ( with fuse ) , ground and remote.

 

[cupraslayer]

You will however need some super long phono leads . Make sure they don't run next to the power cable ( run one down one side and the other down another side. This stops interference in sound quality .

 

[AdamRoutley]

Cheers buddy, I've generally had bigger power set ups in the past and was curious if the larger cables would provide a negative impact. Gonna stick with the Vibe 8G from Halfrauds as that has everything in it I need.

Tempted to run it off the block under the steering rack too as opposed to direct from the battery like I did in the past...Any issues?

 

[cupraslayer]

I've always ran mine direct from the battery . Never had any problems . If your happy to run yours that way , and never had any issues , then go for it . The vibe kit will be fine . I'm running quite a big set up in mine ( not that I really use it ). Even that doesn't require oversized cables yet.
Talking huge sound systems like in my mates old celica before any upgrades .

 

[AdamRoutley]

I meant I've normally ran straight from battery (and probably will this time) but fancy trying another way.

 

[Pimped up vario]

Are those power ratings rms values?

 

[AdamRoutley]

yeh, I think so.

 

[Pimped up vario]

That's going to be quite a lot of current draw. If you take your negative from the car's chassis earth assuming the chassis is earthed negatively then that sort run won't experience as much of a voltage drop. The longer the run the greater the volt drop due to the resistance value of the cable. Also the thinner power cable experiences a higher volt drop as it has a higher initial resistance value than thicker calbe. Also it heats up quicker and as it heats up the resistance value increases as well.

With that sort of power it might be worth your while putting a one farad capacitor in parallel with the amp. They are expensive but they keep the sound clean when the bass notes are present.

 

[Pimped up vario]

I couldn't find the cable I had on maplins website but it was as thick as your baby finger and about 80-100 mm squared cross-sectional area.