Thread: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge?

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  1. #1 How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    I have all my speakers (5 1/4's , 6x9's, and my 4"s)
    and im replacing my bose speakers. plus i got a new headunit. how much speaker wire should i buy (how many ft) so i can run wire through the whole car. (each speaker etc).
    and what gauge of speaker wire wont put a whole in my wallet but is still "good" and will get the job done.

    I wanted to ask this cause im sure this has been done many times with grand prix owners.
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  2. #2 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    nobody??
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  3. #3 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    go to home depot and buy a 250 FT spool of 16 gauge.

    you wont have to buy any for a while.
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  4. #4 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
    GTX Level Member kjohnson's Avatar
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    Really is "upgrading" the wire in our cars going to do anything unless your going to push a stupid amount of power into the speakers?
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  5. #5 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    no.

    if you're running amps then its worth it.

    if not, then theres no point unless its failing.
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  6. #6 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    my buddy who does all the installs at bestbuy and stuff told me to just run new wire to not run into any problems with the factory amp because i will be running atleast 1 amp (for subs). he said otherwise he knows how to bypass everything but were doing our own install so.

    so 16 gauge is fine? or whats a good gauge for speaker wire.. im not even sure lol.
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  7. #7 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    I run 16 gauge for my mids and tweets.

    But the mids are crossed over at 500 Hz.

    Anything lower gets 14 gauge.
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  8. #8 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    i got all speakers. fronts and backs.
    14 gauge will be fine for all? im gonna use the same wiring lol so.
    safe with 14?
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  9. #9 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    Quote Originally Posted by GrandPrixGTP1 View Post
    i got all speakers. fronts and backs.
    14 gauge will be fine for all? im gonna use the same wiring lol so.
    safe with 14?
    If you're trying to pinch pennies then all you really need AT MOST is 16awg for subs. All the mids and tweets can handle 18 or even 22awg. Anything bigger for subs and you must be into SPL or something? Anyways...check out links in the sig. You'll get a bunch of other links for education.

    Here's the first one you need If you browse through it'll help calculate power requirements and how much power is lost vs. length of the wire run. FYI, I have a 6x150 class D amp that's guesstimated at 38amps pulled total when running balls out. That is from the designer of the amp too. A couple of places have found an average of ~180 watts per channel. I don't have issues with lights dimming either. Musically I'm in the 110-120's decibel wise.

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  10. #10 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
    GrandPrix Junkie machinegunsquid's Avatar
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    Yeah, 14 or 16 is fine. But seriously just get a huge spool, dont waste the money getting little spool after little spool.

    Make sure its done right with connectors/solder, and heat shrink so you never have to **** with it again.

    Make sure that you run your amp power on the opposite side as your signal wires, so theres no chance for interference.

    "**** bills. You can live in your car but you can't race your house" -dsmuts
    Want her to stop when she's not looking karate chop her in her crotch that should quiet her for a bit or at the very least put a smile on your face -REDCOMPG
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  11. #11 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    how many ft.. approximately?
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  12. #12 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
    GrandPrix Junkie machinegunsquid's Avatar
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    w/e you can get your huge ass spools in.
    I managed to get a 250ft spool of 16ga, that someone had cut 1ft off of, so they marked it down to 20bucks...I was happy.

    umm. to totally rewire the speakers, and run a remote to the amp(assuming it'll be in the trunk) would take around...75-100 feet...

    Im kinda guessing, but it will take a decent chunk.

    "**** bills. You can live in your car but you can't race your house" -dsmuts
    Want her to stop when she's not looking karate chop her in her crotch that should quiet her for a bit or at the very least put a smile on your face -REDCOMPG
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  13. #13 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    i bought 100 feet.

    ran out, bought a 250 foot roll.....

    still have plenty left.

    But i ran wire for six channels in the front
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  14. #14 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
    ROLLS ARE FOR BAKERS... whiney's Avatar
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    same with me, I also have enough wire in the front for 6 channels. I'd figure about 12-14' per run.
    so 12x2=24+6' feet to do your rears so 30' at the minimum
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  15. #15 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    yeah i bought a 100 feet. so we'll see how i do. but my bro wont be installin them with me till it gets a wee bit warmer. still freezing in the garage lol.
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  16. #16 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    -5* C isn't bad if you wear a jacket and use gloves
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  17. #17 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    ROFL...yeah I yanked my motor out and it was around 20 degrees F...

    not in a garage either...

    Just get a garage heater, it'll make it way more comfortable

    "**** bills. You can live in your car but you can't race your house" -dsmuts
    Want her to stop when she's not looking karate chop her in her crotch that should quiet her for a bit or at the very least put a smile on your face -REDCOMPG
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  18. #18 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    Since you have not started check the local home improvement stores for wire. I have seen it at times that I can get a large amount of lamp wire for the same price as a single wire of same length. That way the wire will be in pairs and there is a ribbing or stripe on the side to make it easier to know what side is what.
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  19. #19 Re: How much Speaker Wire and What gauge? 
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    im not runnin subs yet. need to buy some. still havent installed the speakers:P. i need my bros help as hes the expert for audio stuff. its still freezing here. like it was -10 to -15 in the last few days... brr..

    i cant wait till the summer.......
    Last edited by GrandPrixGTP1; 02-10-2011 at 10:40 PM.
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