A video about copper clad aluminum power wire

[ZTwenty8SSR]

I remembered people talking about cca power wire on here when I saw this video today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms-wqCFa ... diophile13

It will make you rethink about your wire if you are using cca in your car.

[ttocs]

first thought - why are you running 80 amps of current through 8 awg? I was always taught it was good for 60A max both in school and while installing. Yes sure the current would go higher then 60 for a brief moment before the fuse popped but I don't see it being that big of a problem.

[ZTwenty8SSR]

first thought - why are you running 80 amps of current through 8 awg? I was always taught it was good for 60A max both in school and while installing. Yes sure the current would go higher then 60 for a brief moment before the fuse popped but I don't see it being that big of a problem.

I have seen people use speaker wire as power wire for their amp but I think they did it more for a test to show the cca will heat up a lot more than ofc if overloaded not that it is ok to put 80 amps through 8 gauge wire.
At least it gives us more reasons why not to use it other that its not good.

[Drock]

Ok this has me thinking. Ouch. Anyway, so if 8awg wire is good for only 60amps. How do you determine what size wire to use for speakers? Vs power? For example I watched the review of the One amp and it says it needs three power inputs for a total of 15v. I'm not sure how you actually get 15-16 v though. So you would use three sets of power wire at 0awg. Now it is said that it will produce up to 100amps at the speaker terminals. So would that mean I need 2awg speaker wire. Also this amp will obviously run several woofers. So say there is 4 subs at say 2000watts per. What size wire would I use.
This stuff is a bit out of my knowledge so hopefully this makes spence to someone.

[ttocs]

ac power(signal) and DC power(battery) are two completely different beasts......

Not sure how we can applaud its low temps when its pushed %30 further then its supposed to go imo. I mean if its a safety thing, the fuse should have popped 20 amps ago so to say its safer I don't really agree. It might last longer but I think we can all agree the chance of any of us knowing which car is running ofc cable in it by sound is pretty much never going to happen either. Considering that most people do not keep the car long enough for the corrosion problem to come into account I can say that this really is just a marketing video put on by an audio company to help sell their stuff. I could see the temps being an issue in improperly set up systems or in huge SPL rigs but one case is an F'up waiting to happen and the other if they are doing spl then yes they should not be cutting corners on power wires.

For the average joe/schmoe and even for alot of the rest of us here, its not going to be an issue.

[Eric D]

I am not going to watch the video, but I will comment on copper vs aluminum. So long as the resistance per foot is the same, the two should have similar capabilities as far as power handling is concerned.

Off hand I would guess one would replace 8ga copper with around 6ga aluminum to get the same performance. I am just guessing on this, so don't quote me.

Aluminum weighs a lot less, so that could be an advantage for some people as well.

[dwnrodeo]

I am not going to watch the video, but I will comment on copper vs aluminum. So long as the resistance per foot is the same, the two should have similar capabilities as far as power handling is concerned.

Aluminum weighs a lot less, so that could be an advantage for some people as well.

Ack, heresy! Everyone knows that CCA is going to fail and set your car on fire! That's why you hardly ever see it being sold/used.

[Mr. Wild]

In the car audio environment the main issue with power wires is voltage drop. When you only have 12-14 volts to begin with every lost volt is a big deal.

If your power wires are heating up noticeably then you are dropping a lot of volts and thats what you should be worried about. The heat won't harm the wires unless they're actually too hot to touch.

80amps through a 20ft 8ga copper wire results in about 1V of voltage drop. About half a volt max is acceptable.

[vladthebad]

CCA is no worse than copper... As long as its sized right. I'd love to see quality 6,4,2,0 gauge options in CCA, never hurts to have more options and as long as you size it right, handle more current per pound and per dollar. Hard to go wrong there if you use it right. Also on my list of stuff I'd love to see: micro fused blocks that plug into the 4 gauge inputs on amps. Let you hook 0 gauge in at 90 degrees from stock terminals, and run vertically from amp to amp. Mini anl/kf/maxi fuse on power. Even 4 gauge doesn't like tight bends, and I'd hate to see power wiggle out due to a tight bend, and short to amp or ground...

[ttocs]

strange they never mentioned the voltage drop in the knu vid..........

For years now we have been saying that while cables help, the chance of anyone noticing the difference is pretty hard too do. CCA is fine unless you are running a really serious spl rig or running you wire 30% over its max rating I guess. Its in my mustang is about all I can say I will let you know if/when it burns down since I WILL be keeping it for the reliability to come into play.

[zztunnell]

CCA is no worse than copper... As long as its sized right. I'd love to see quality 6,4,2,0 gauge options in CCA, never hurts to have more options and as long as you size it right, handle more current per pound and per dollar. Hard to go wrong there if you use it right. Also on my list of stuff I'd love to see: micro fused blocks that plug into the 4 gauge inputs on amps. Let you hook 0 gauge in at 90 degrees from stock terminals, and run vertically from amp to amp. Mini anl/kf/maxi fuse on power. Even 4 gauge doesn't like tight bends, and I'd hate to see power wiggle out due to a tight bend, and short to amp or ground...

So how many of you are tinning the power wire before hooking it to your amp?Just wondering.I always insert it tighten it down loosen it pull it out straighten up the couple stragglers and fully tin it to protect from corrosion.This way its also formed to fit for more contact area.

[LowandLoud]

^^ Good question. Id be willing to bet not many.

I'll be the first to admit i have never tinned a wire in my life. But with the time and money i am investing into my upcoming install, i am certainly pondering it. I am wanting to take every step and precaution within reason to guard against any kind of gremlin or failure. I must give props to this phorum for inspiring me to make my system the best it can be.

I will be going with OFC but that is mostly because i just came across a guy who had a stash of unused OG PG 2g wire. I have not picked it up yet so not quite sure which wire it is. He is not asking much and thats always a good thing.

LL