well i am half done dynamatting my car, (am waiting for days off till i take off parts that are essiential for operating the car ex: drivers seat, dash and door panels) but i figure i want to get a sub in so that i can enjoy all my music and not get frusterated over not hearing half of the frequencies. my question for you guys is where you think i should get my amp wiring from, dealers in town carry stinger rockford and alpine amp wiring kits, they're fairly pricy and I was wondering if anyone knows where i can find high quality wiring for a reasonable price. i don't need absolute top of the line but i don't want the wal-mart stuff, that is bound to give me greif.
or do you think i would be better off to just buy stranded 8 gauge wire from an electrical supplier and buy a in line fuse seperate. then i could get 14 or 16 gauge stranded single conductor for my remote wire. then all i would need to buy is RCA cables right? or do amps need some special power wire?
thanks for any input.
VW
Replies (4)
ttocs on 08/1/2006 20:32:48
I have always found that it is just easier to get the kit. They have all the small misc stuff that you will need like ring terminals and such. I do not have one particular place that I go to for this, there are always deals on these kits on ebay. The markup on the wires and such is pretty high so you can find someone that doesn't mark it up as much.
swez on 08/2/2006 07:15:46
I have been recommending and using Knukonceptz for almost a year now and love the quality, service, performance and prices they offer. The hardware they supply is also very good and shipping costs are very reasonable as well.
If you want a basic kit, do it right the first time. Plan for now and future amping needs. (Sub and full range amps) Most guys can do well with the basic #4 gage kit. (80 -120 amperes of current draw) Then, just figure out how many RCA's you will need and buy them too.
www.knukonceptz.com
This one is plenty for the initial install and you can add a full range amp as well. Many of the newer amps (sub or Multi-channel) offer preamp outs to feed additional amplifiers. That's what makes this kit so nice. You only do the hard work once, then just add short patch cable RCA's as needed.
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KOL-AK44
Don't be fooled by the low prices. These products are of very good quality, thick insulation on all wiring and very good hardware too.
FYI: This kit offers (2 pair) of 5 meter (16.4 ft) RCA's. That means you'll have to manage more RCA wire than needed in this kit. Figure you'll have to hide a coil of extra wire, 4-6 feet longer than is probably needed. If that is not your cup of tea, go with separate wire parts as needed and pay a few extra bucks that way.
If you do buy this kit, can add a side order of 2 x 100A Mini-ANL fuses for the fuse holder:
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=MANL-100A
Swez
vwdriver on 08/29/2006 20:19:56
yeesh i've been way too busy i posted this ages ago looked into it a little then got totally side tracked. the knuconceptz wiring looks excellent, i will definately follow you're recomendations. my question is that they have a cheaper kit than the one you showed me, it looks like its a different brand though still on the knuconceptz site. its an eKo wiring kit and it costs about half as much and the only thing that i wouldn't be getting is a second rca which i wouldn't really need at the moment because i only have one amp i need to power for now. i have decided to go with the 4 gauge i think, likely i won't need more than 8 for a long while but being an electrician i've learned its always better to have more than you need just in case you decide to upgrade.
my question is whether i should go with the eKo kit or the original kit that looks like it has mostly kolossus wiring. they both have everything included that i would need but would there be a big quality difference?
thanks for the input and sorry about how long it took me to reply.
vwdriver
swez on 08/30/2006 10:31:01
The eKo line is a budget priced wire line kit. It's good and will serve you will too.
As for the gage wire to use, we are working with low voltage, but more current as compared to 120, 240 or higher AC voltages. So, a larger gage line has less voltage loss from point A to point B due to less resistance in the cable per linear foot. If you even think a 2nd amp will be used later, use #4 gage as it is fine up to 80A's of current draw in lengths under 16 feet long.
If your amp can only take #10 or #8 wire, use a Distribution block that accepts #4 as input and a few #8's as output. (2 x #8 outs min.)
This former mentioned Kit, has 20' of #4 power wire. You may only need 8-10 feet initiall, but the remaining wire can be used to upgrade wires under the hood to maximize power flow between ALT, BAT and grounds. This is especially important with larger amplifiers that may be used later. This way, you pre-wire only once and it's upgrade ready later. (Made that mistake once... it won't happen again)
If you amp is fused already, use thie D-block:
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=BC-1448 OR
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=BC-1428
if you want a fused block.
Note: The RCA line that comes with the eKo Kit, is 5 meters long. (16' 4") You'll have a lot of extra wire here to hide. It's fine to coil up the extra wiring and hide it as best you can. If you ever change to a larger vehicle, you'll have extra wire available here.
Swez
or do you think i would be better off to just buy stranded 8 gauge wire from an electrical supplier and buy a in line fuse seperate. then i could get 14 or 16 gauge stranded single conductor for my remote wire. then all i would need to buy is RCA cables right? or do amps need some special power wire?
thanks for any input.
VW
Replies (4)
ttocs on 08/1/2006 20:32:48
I have always found that it is just easier to get the kit. They have all the small misc stuff that you will need like ring terminals and such. I do not have one particular place that I go to for this, there are always deals on these kits on ebay. The markup on the wires and such is pretty high so you can find someone that doesn't mark it up as much.
swez on 08/2/2006 07:15:46
I have been recommending and using Knukonceptz for almost a year now and love the quality, service, performance and prices they offer. The hardware they supply is also very good and shipping costs are very reasonable as well.
If you want a basic kit, do it right the first time. Plan for now and future amping needs. (Sub and full range amps) Most guys can do well with the basic #4 gage kit. (80 -120 amperes of current draw) Then, just figure out how many RCA's you will need and buy them too.
www.knukonceptz.com
This one is plenty for the initial install and you can add a full range amp as well. Many of the newer amps (sub or Multi-channel) offer preamp outs to feed additional amplifiers. That's what makes this kit so nice. You only do the hard work once, then just add short patch cable RCA's as needed.
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KOL-AK44
Don't be fooled by the low prices. These products are of very good quality, thick insulation on all wiring and very good hardware too.
FYI: This kit offers (2 pair) of 5 meter (16.4 ft) RCA's. That means you'll have to manage more RCA wire than needed in this kit. Figure you'll have to hide a coil of extra wire, 4-6 feet longer than is probably needed. If that is not your cup of tea, go with separate wire parts as needed and pay a few extra bucks that way.
If you do buy this kit, can add a side order of 2 x 100A Mini-ANL fuses for the fuse holder:
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=MANL-100A
Swez
vwdriver on 08/29/2006 20:19:56
yeesh i've been way too busy i posted this ages ago looked into it a little then got totally side tracked. the knuconceptz wiring looks excellent, i will definately follow you're recomendations. my question is that they have a cheaper kit than the one you showed me, it looks like its a different brand though still on the knuconceptz site. its an eKo wiring kit and it costs about half as much and the only thing that i wouldn't be getting is a second rca which i wouldn't really need at the moment because i only have one amp i need to power for now. i have decided to go with the 4 gauge i think, likely i won't need more than 8 for a long while but being an electrician i've learned its always better to have more than you need just in case you decide to upgrade.
my question is whether i should go with the eKo kit or the original kit that looks like it has mostly kolossus wiring. they both have everything included that i would need but would there be a big quality difference?
thanks for the input and sorry about how long it took me to reply.
vwdriver
swez on 08/30/2006 10:31:01
The eKo line is a budget priced wire line kit. It's good and will serve you will too.
As for the gage wire to use, we are working with low voltage, but more current as compared to 120, 240 or higher AC voltages. So, a larger gage line has less voltage loss from point A to point B due to less resistance in the cable per linear foot. If you even think a 2nd amp will be used later, use #4 gage as it is fine up to 80A's of current draw in lengths under 16 feet long.
If your amp can only take #10 or #8 wire, use a Distribution block that accepts #4 as input and a few #8's as output. (2 x #8 outs min.)
This former mentioned Kit, has 20' of #4 power wire. You may only need 8-10 feet initiall, but the remaining wire can be used to upgrade wires under the hood to maximize power flow between ALT, BAT and grounds. This is especially important with larger amplifiers that may be used later. This way, you pre-wire only once and it's upgrade ready later. (Made that mistake once... it won't happen again)
If you amp is fused already, use thie D-block:
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=BC-1448 OR
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=BC-1428
if you want a fused block.
Note: The RCA line that comes with the eKo Kit, is 5 meters long. (16' 4") You'll have a lot of extra wire here to hide. It's fine to coil up the extra wiring and hide it as best you can. If you ever change to a larger vehicle, you'll have extra wire available here.
Swez
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