hey i recently got 2 12" audiobahn subs 800 watt each. And a pioneer 800watt amp. From the back of the subs to the positive and negative hookups on the inside of the enclosure are 18 awg speaker wire that i put in. And im connecting the amp outout to the sub box also with 18awg wire. After reading up on this i found maybe i should have gone with a thicker wire? or will i be ok with this setup?
-thanks

 

Im no pro, but I would use at LEAST 10gage wire for 400 watts each. if you're gonna bridge down to one channel, I would go even bigger.

 

What is the RMS power rating on the amp? If you dont know that give me the model number of the amp.

 

nevermind, i hooked everything up for Sh#$ts and giggles and they hit hard to where i cant see the reflection in my mirror and feel it in the chest. lol. those 15's must be retarded loud

 

They are. And I'm building a bigger box. Then they will be double retarded. And they are crap no-name subs. I've got another system in the works. At least 4 times the power. haha.

Your wires may be fine now but if you dont have the right wire it could be a problem down the road. Heck I could probably run 16ga on my subs for a bit but they would eventually catch on fire. And would be alot louder with bigger wire. I usually run the biggest wire (reasonably) possible to run. Remember, its impossible to go too big. Going too small would be like trying to run a high power pressure washer with a gardening hose... or a straw... lol

 

im running 12ga wire for my subs 18 is way to small

 

I just realized you said you are running 18ga. I would definetly get rid of that. I Try not to run anything smaller than 16ga on just my plain door speakers. I would recommend 10 or 8ga for the subs.

 

18 might be a bit thin, but the worst that'll happen is it won't be as loud as it could be.

 

Actually the worst that could happen would be the wires melting. A 5' length of 18AWG wire shouldn't be made to carry more than 24 amps at 12 volts. Personally I'd run 14 or 12 gauge wire if you are running the subs full out. If you don't crank it to the max then you might get away with it.

 

Well, he was asking about the wiring between the amp and the subs themselves.

 

Yea, and we were answering about the wiring between the amp and the subs themselves.

 

Understood, but the 12V rating system sorta goes out the window.

 

??? I dont understand what you are trying to say. If an amp is rated for so much power its gonna try and push it. Eventually the wires are gonna melt.

 

Yeah, for the most part you are correct.

My point was...

"A 5' length of 18AWG wire shouldn't be made to carry more than 24 amps at 12 volts." is largely irrelevant for terms of speaker-wire usage, since amp output is not 12v DC.

that is all.

otherwise, yeah, I agree that 18-gauge is a bit thin for a 12" bumping sub (and I mentioned this earlier).

The OP didn't specify enough details, either. The amp ratings and speaker ratings only give us the max before things blow up in a specific configuration, his setup could very well be in the mild-mannered 150w layout (non-bridged, 2 subs @4ohm).

edit: 666th post! hell yeah!

 

To make it relevant, as the voltage goes down the amperage required goes up and vis-versa, but the wire can still only handle so much amperage before it will melt. That is why fuses are rated in amps.

 

and the speaker side of the amp doesn't have fuses.

overly-thin wires increase the overall impedance, which drives down the amount of power the amp is pushing out (amps are merely voltage generators). In a small sense, undersized speaker wire are self-safety.