Power Wire Size For Car Amps

I am always asked what size cable do I need when installing my car amps? Do I need a really thick cable or will a cheaper smaller cable work. The answer to this question depends on 2 factors. Number one, what is the estimated total amperage of your system. To check this simply look at the fuses on your car amps. The second factor in this is how far from the car battery are the car amps going to be. The further away they are from the battery the thicker the power wire is going to be. So with these two factors you can look at the chart below to see how thick the power wire is going to need to be for your install. To estimate how long the power wire is going to need to be you can simply measure the outside of your car from the front where the battery is located to the place in the car where the car amps will be located and add couple of feet for where the wire will be going around car parts. Now the ground wire usually is not as big as the power wire since you usually ground the amp the chassis within a foot of where the car amps will be located. Now when you are running the power wire, make sure to run it on the opposite side of the car as the RCA cables. Otherwise there is a good chance you will get engine noise coming from your speakers.