kicker cvr 15's

Here is a topic about wiring a 4ohm and a 2ohm sub.

https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=82541&KW=2++4ohm

and here is another

https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=74664&KW=2++4ohm

You have limited options.

And I can't find any info on a ZX550.1 so I am not sure what ohms that amp is stable down to,  are you sure it is not the ZX500.1 or ZX550.2 or ZX550.3 ?

8 gauge should be plenty fine for speaker wire! (correct me if I am wrong), what gauge is your power and ground wire?

My guess would be you have your sub wired incorrectly and are putting stress on the amp.

If you bought this amp authorized, it should have come with a birthcertificate. What is the wattage on the birthcertificate? Your amp might be underrated and overheating too quickly. How long does it take before it starts overheating? The thermal protection circuit on the amp should kick in at about 20 to 30 mintues of playing at moderate levels.

...kinda figuring out what you got as we go on here, eh?

1.  Next post, describe exactly what is happening to the amplifier to cause you to believe it is overheating.

2.  Before that, go over every detail of your install.  Make sure you have all wiring correct, fuses installed, proper grounds, and "a day's worth of attention" to setting the gain.

3.  Please quit theorizing that the speaker wires are too small.  You hear a lot of different things from people on the street but this thread doesn't need to reference all of them.  Fourteen gauge wire for AC current from amp to subs is plenty of wire and anything larger gauge offers no improvement.

4.  If a sub is dual voice coils and each coil is 2 ohms, then refer to it as "a DVC 2 ohm" sub.  Not as "a 2 ohm sub".  Because if using both coils it's really not a 2 ohm sub, is it?  This is to keep you aware of what you are really working with and to keep everybody, responding here, on the same page.