O/1 Gauge VS 4 gauge for Big 3 Question.

[AlpineNut]

All i ever hear is use 0/1 Gauge for the Big 3 wiring upgrade for the vehicles. But my Question is why, I have a 2005 Silverado and did the Big 3 Upgrade with 4 Gauge and the runs are not more then 3 feet in length, so what is the difference? Below is a picture.

[Watch the bass]

Current can better flow in bigger wire = lower resistance, that´s physik.

[Tribe Called Bass]

It also makes the current flow put less stress on your componets. Helps disperse the power.

[NathanW]

To be honest I don't think you really need 1/0 for all three of the big three. The engine ground doesn't need to be that big and the alternator connection only needs to be large enough to handle the output of the alternator. The main connection you want to worry about is the chassis ground because that connection will go directly to your amps whereas the positive power will come from a cable run (separate of your alternator run) directly from your battery. And of course make the positive power run to your amps the largest you can afford.

[CleanSierra]

It doesn't sound like you had much of a question, or cared for one for that matter. Bigger wire equals less restrictive flow of electricity. Less restriction equals less heat. Less heat equals less power loss through your cable. You aren't upgrading your Big 3 so the vehicle performs better than factory, they already determined what would be needed and used appropriate sized wire. You're upgradng since you have changed the demand on the vehicles charging system and need it to be more efficient for the aftermarket system.

[afrakes]

Just to add, it's correct that not every application requires 1/0 to keep up with what you are running. But why take a risk when there really isn't that big of a price difference? It's not very much wire at all when talking about the big 3, but why add the trouble of upgrading ur big 3 every time u upgrade your system? That's just throwing money away. Yes, 4 AWG will prolly do the trick, but while ur in the nitty gritty of the install, just do it right the first time.

[john253a]

Most wont tell wire is not only rated by amp but length, there is calculation to work out resistance over length at (x) amps

If you wanted to say push the limits both ways

4g cable is rated at 10amp or 250amp but at different length

At 2ft and under 4g cable is suited for 250amp @12v

And at 50ft it is only rated for 10amps @12v

Same as why they use 4x2 to frame a house and not 4x4 or 6x4 because its not always required and money well spent else where

If you not upgrading factory alt 4g is a good choice, easy to run and very cost effective

If you plane to upgrade alt or have done so

Then anything <1/0 is required

[AlpineNut]

No the Factory Alt is stock at 145A which i find suits my needs for the 2 amps i am running.

but one thing does pose a small weird conundrum i noticed.

When i had 2 8 gauge wires running from my Fuse from the battery the lights if at ever barely dimmed and the system sounded as it does now, but ever since i changed to 1 single 4 gauge the lights dim more, this is a confuser, only thing i can think of is the amps were on there own power line and not feeding off of 1, but i also had 2 separate 8 gauge grounds also and now it is still 2 grounds but both are 4 gauge. And yes the paint is scrapped off of both grounding points!

[john253a]

the bigger cable now means that you can supply the power required to the amps, hence now dimming more where as before, as the cable would have been restricting the supply before

but youll need to upgrade your battery and or batt and alt to fix the voltage issue

idd atleast want a 3100 or similar up front

[kirill007]

Why not spend 5 bucks more for double the performance?

You have less voltage drop, the wire will heat up less with the same amperage going through.