Power Cable and Protection Fuse advice required please

[Azim]

I'll behopefully running 3 Phoenix Gold amps(2 x XS 2500 and XS4600) in my VW B4 Passat estate .

According to the manual they each draw 55A continuos full draw current and 85A peak current draw full power .

So thats 165A continous full draw current for the three amps .

What size cable should i be using over the length of 16ft ?.

At this moment i have some Audison 2AWG but feel that i should be looking at 0AWG with 200A fuse/breaker.

Can someone clarify what the 2AWG and 0AWG will carry over 16ft as ive seen 2AWG rated at 200A ? ...

On 12V .com it says 1400wrs over 16ft , 2awg is suitable and again the same for 20ft .

My rms will be 2 x 500w and 4 x 75at 14.4v ,so that 1600wrms total .

Any advice is greatfully appreciated .. Azim in UK

[ttocs]

2 awg for those amps should be ok or would be in my book. The xs amps are good amps but if I am not mistaken might be a little over rated in their power. You might pop a fuse at high volume but I doubt it.

[stipud]

[Azim]

2 awg for those amps should be ok or would be in my book. The xs amps are good amps but if I am not mistaken might be a little over rated in their power. You might pop a fuse at high volume but I doubt it.

The ratings figures are from the prospective manuals .
Thought Phoenix gold ratings were pretty realistic ones not over rated ...

[ttocs]

the reality of the output ratings that pg released has changed depending on the series of the amps. XS was their entry level at the time and the output ratings were not the same as the ZX series that was also avialable at the same time.

[Eric D]

This is just a guess, but if you were using the XS4600 for components, you probably only need a 25A, or 30A fuse (for that amp). I like to put in smaller than required fuses, as additional protection should something go wrong.

If an amp is rated at 60A for example and you install a 40A fuse, but it never blows, you know you are not being hard on anything. If the 40A blows often, or easily, then consider the 60A. If you blow that often, you are doing something wrong.

I once ran a MS2250 on my test bench (13.8V) with only a 15A fuse while it was powering components. I could play it at VERY loud (almost unbearable) levels, and the fuse never blew.

I run all amps on my test bench with only 15A fuses, and only when they blow while listening do I increase the value at all.

Some Class D amps will blow a 15A fuse on startup. They may take 20-25A to power on and charge their rail capacitance.

[Azim]

so i guess that 2 gauge cable with a 160A main fuse over a length of 16ft should be ok ?.
Eric D you are correct the XS4600 is indeed for my components .
The system is as follows
Head unit Pioneer p88rs running comps actively
Front comps Crystal audio Csc643 but will be using them 2 way off the XS4600.
Subs Crystal Audio CMP10 x 2 ,each running off the XS2500 in a sealed double bassbox with 0.7cuft to each sub .