Ok, i know i have posts in other threads about my situation, but i wanted this to be strictly on gauges. Since my Eclipse HU will output 13 watts x 4 channels, the Boston Acoustic speakers need a minimum of 12 watts, i would need another amp to "get me by". So, if i get a 50 watt x 4 channel amp, to power the 4 speakers, what gauge would work. Would an 8 gauge be plenty. I am steming this off a comment i made a few days ago, because i had an estimate installation done on what i told the professionals who would install this stuff, and they said I would need a 4 gauge Pro Power Distribution Kit, which costs 112 bucks. Now, i am not sure, but i don't even know if i necessarly need something like that. I would love some input on this situation.

thanks

bryan

p.s. They also mentioned that for my Eclipse Unit, i will need a "METRA". I guess its a think that holds the cd player? not sure

 

8 gauge is fine

 

By metra the probably were refering to the harness used to connect the head unit wiring to the stock wiring.....and four guage would be overboard for you

 

do you think i necessarily need a power distributor kit, or just a simple 8 gauge amp kit?

See, i am a golfer, and i am thinking of all of this as an anology for golf. Since i am around scratch in handicap, i am very familiar with the game and so i am going to want the best equipment and play the best stuff. Some of you guys might not play golf, so if you were to go out and play, getting all the best stuff wouldn't necessarily appeal to you because you are just learning. So a set of used clubs and some Top Flight golf ***** would suit you just fine. I think this place that is going to install this stuff thinks of me as ABOVE amateur when it comes to car audio and what i want in my car, when in fact all i want is to get started with what i have. I hope that made sense

thanks

bryan

 

You said 50 watts by four channels. That's a problem because a 35 by four MTX can draw 75 amps current, and a 50 by four RF will only 30-40 amps current. So wattage as advertised by the amp maker is deceiving. What is the current rating of the fuse that the amp uses? For 40 amps, which would be about average for 200 watts RMS, you will need 4 gauge for the 13-16 ft cable run from the battery to the trunk.

 

Aren't you going to be running both amps off of this set up? What are the specs of your sub amp? Check out this link

http://www.the12volt.com/info/recwirsz.asp

 

well, that was going to be my next question. Do i need only 1 amp kit, or 2 since i will have 2 amps.

Here is the amp I WANT TO GET off ebay, for the 4 speakers
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1340128253

since the info is jibberish to me, you can make better sense out of it. Its near the bottom.

Here is the amp i currently have, just for my subwoofer
http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/ALPMRV100M?ref=posn

scroll down for more info on that page.

As for gauge wiring, i do not know what is best for my situation. Now sweetsound and I have talked, and he saw that bazooka amp and in his opinion said it would work for my situation. Now, i am not sure whether he fully looked at the details or not.

 

You will be in good shape with high quality 4 gauge up to at least 65 amps. That's for a 13-16 ft length of cable from battery to amp. But you will probably want to cut the cable a little shorter between the battery and distribution block because there will be more resistance - voltage drop - in the connectors and wiring from the distribution block to the amps. Notice how close the fuse size on the bazooka amp, 40 amps, is to what I guestimated? I couldn't find the fuse rating for the Alpine, but knowing that their stuff is typically high quality it is probably 20 or 25 amps. So your total amperage is 60 or 65 amps.

 

Ok I don't have any experience with bazooka amps but that one looks alright, and 50x4 will definitely give you the juice you need for your highs. I know people have been telling you 8 gage is fine but I don't think they understand you are going to have two amps. And yes you only want to run 1 power wire. Thats why you need the larger power wire, its going to actually be powering two amps. And you will need what we call a distribution block for this set up to work. It sounds like it might come in your kit because it is a " distribution kit" but your set up should go like this. Four gage from the battery with a fuse in line running to your trunk where you will have your distribtion block. It should accept four gage in and have at least two eight gage outs. Then you have the power wires to run both of your amps from the one wiring kit. Only problem you have is if you want to run two sets of RCAs or not. You have two options, you can run the one set and use Y-splitters to connect to both amps. Or you can have them run 2 sets of RCAs. Like people were telling you on your post about wiring kits the main difference is going to be in the quality of RCAs. So if you get the cheaper four gage kit you could then get a nicer set of RCAs to accompany the ones that come in the kit. In my opinion the clean signal is going to be more important for your highs. So if you wen't with the two sets I would then use the nicer one to run to the bazooka amp. Actually when I look at the bazooka amp it says it has preamp outs...so you could probably just run a set of RCAs from that amp to the alpine amp...but you probably want to double check on that. I will try to find a clearer explanation of that amp somewhere.... sorry this is so long....

 

Hey, longer = better detail.

better detail = me happy

thanks, I will check on that. I might email the guy who may be installing this and get his opinion.

Thanks

bryan

 

Yeah man, that bazooka does have RCA outs, so you could buy three feet of extra RCAs instead of fifteen..

 

but does the alpine have rca inputs/outputs that could connect the 2?

 

I haven't checked but I would be suprised if it didn't have RCA ins at least. I will check on that right quick...

 

Yeah it has RCA inputs, so you can run a shorter set of RCAs from the bazooka to it, want to be careful on the quality of RCAs you get in your wiring kit though...