Amp Powering Problem?

[Vash00es]

Alright, so i have the Alpine V-Power Amplifier, its 40 Watts X 4 , and i picked up a rockford fosgate complete amp installation wiring kit for it also.

Now heres my problem, The amp install kit says its rated to 500 watts, and uses 8 Guage power wire, but i just now noted that my amps PEAK POWER is 720 watts, is this going to cause a safety problem? or will it still run fine

[Chad]

should be fine, you just wont see over 500 watts ?? lol idk im such a n00b at audio

[Vash00es]

Ive heard that the rating is for total RMS output, not peak power, meaning a sub that puts out 500 watts RMS is safe on my 500 watt rated wires, while my amp only puts out 160 watts total rms and 720 peak

[blue LEDz]

which amp is it? if it is the MRP-F240, the 8 gauge will be fine. you won't see much over 200 watts, depending on what you have hooked to it.

[Vash00es]

Yep, thats the one

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-MEAkSr3...0&I=500MRPF240

[Kevin]

which amp is it? if it is the MRP-F240, the 8 gauge will be fine. you won't see much over 200 watts, depending on what you have hooked to it.

Brian, I have been meaning to ask you, I'm running my Rockford Fosgate 501Bd @ 2 ohms.. 500 RMS. Even given this, my sub amp is running off of 8 gauge. What exactly is the danger in running too much power off of a thinner gauge wire (say as opposed to 4 gauge)? Guess I've never really thought about the size of the wire.
Kevin

[blue LEDz]

Brian, I have been meaning to ask you, I'm running my Rockford Fosgate 501Bd @ 2 ohms.. 500 RMS. Even given this, my sub amp is running off of 8 gauge. What exactly is the danger in running too much power off of a thinner gauge wire (say as opposed to 4 gauge)? Guess I've never really thought about the size of the wire.
Kevin

generally if you don't pull a ton more power through the power wire than what is recomended, the only downside is a less efficient system. the resistance of the smaller wire will drop the voltage more than larger wire. if you pull way too much power through the power wire, so much that it exceeds the thermal capabilities of the jacket, it will melt the jacket and ground out to the chassis, and probably start a fire.

for efficiency sake, i prefer to use the next size larger than what is required for whatever i am running.

[Vash00es]

So having a lower guage wire helps with efficiency? Is there any downside to it? Like say you have some 100 watt peak power amp and you run some 1/0 guage wire thats retardedly big for the watt output, is there a downside or is it just extremely efficient

[jnorion]

Downside is just that you spent a lot of money on something you didn't actually need.

[blue LEDz]

Downside is just that you spent a lot of money on something you didn't actually need.

there's little need for something like that, but overkill or planning for future upgrades are always on my mind.


there is no downside to running larger wire, except for the added price and weight. keep in mind that you won't be spending more on just the wire, you are going to need something to go from say 1/0 to 4 or 8 guage, since unless it is an amp that needs 1/0 cable, it won't have 1/0 inputs on it.

[thegreatelbobo]

8AWG should be fine. The maximum power rating for the install kits it never right. I was running 3200watts peak off of short runs of 4 guage and never had any problems(said it was rated for 1500 peak). If you are thinking of some mondo upgrades just run 2 guage back to another battery then splice off of that. Gives you a easy base of operations to mess with when upgrading.

[blue LEDz]

8AWG should be fine. The maximum power rating for the install kits it never right. I was running 3200watts peak off of short runs of 4 guage and never had any problems(said it was rated for 1500 peak). If you are thinking of some mondo upgrades just run 2 guage back to another battery then splice off of that. Gives you a easy base of operations to mess with when upgrading.

max/peak ratings don't mean crap. they are often referred to as WLS ratings, or When Lightning Strikes. the way to calculate the power wire required is to figure no greater then a 1/2 volt drop over 15 feet. for short runs, you can run smaller wire. 4 guage can support about 130 amps over 15 feet, which is about 1100 watts rms out of a class A/B amp, or about 1400 watts rms out of a class D amp. theoretically you could 400 amps through 5 feet of 4 guage cable with about a .5 volt drop. BUT, it would still not be safe since there is not enough area of wire for that high of amperage. it would probably burn up pretty quickly.