Which brand for wiring and where to buy?
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=43611
Printed Date: May 14, 2024 at 1:25 AM
Topic: Which brand for wiring and where to buy?
Posted By: quick4321
Subject: Which brand for wiring and where to buy?
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 2:14 AM
I have come up with a rather large list of parts I need to do a competition style wiring job on my car. I currently have a list put together with phoenix gold part numbers. Is that the way to go? Are they way over rated and over priced? Whats a good brand and does any1 know where I can get wiring wholesale? I have a valid tax ID and sales and use license in the state of MD. (Small car repair shop, I install for a few people on occassion).
Replies:
Posted By: thapimpfromchi
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 2:54 AM
PG is way expensive man. In my eyes wire is wire. i've used high quality wire, and crap radio shack wire, and never noticed any difference. the main difference in the wiring is the thread count and the sheilding. What kinda competition wiring do u mean, do u mean... SPL with half painted walls and wires showing or... all fiberglass and lights, and all the shiny sh*t, where no one will see a wire?
-------------
1990 Honda Civic HB:
Clarion DXZ545MP H.U.
2- 6.5" Power Acoustik interiors
Diamond Audio 600.1 amp
Diamond Audio 15" M6MKII
Pyramid PB881X 4 CH. Amp
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 3:03 AM
I guess I should clarify what I meant. Im not going to Compete (I dont have the time anymore) But I do want to wire this car right. (Not getto, no duct taping 0/1 gauge wire together). I want to be able to integrate the dist blocks, cap, battery, wires, etc, into the install to make it look competition quality. I dont care what brand I use, I jsut want to use decent stuff, not some 10 strand 0/1 gauge wire and a really cheap dist block or 50 cent batt terminal that was dipped in gold paint. So whats a good brand to go with, that looks nice and isnt an arm and a leg?
Posted By: 04r1belgium
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 7:19 AM
Stinger ?
Posted By: audiocableguy
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 8:01 AM
Here is a list of venders I use for almost all my projects:
www.knukonceptz.com
www.darvex.com
www.waytekwire.com
www.wranglernw.com
www.canare.com
If your main power wire will be hidden, save your self some money and use welding cable. You get flexible cable with a high temp tough jacket that will last forever.
Also use Heavy Duty Crimp Wire Terminals. So many of the terminals you see are flimsy crap! gold plated or not!
Rca and Speaker try Canare, This is a professional source I use use for broadcast video and recording studios. Decent $$$ and excellant quality!
Good Luck!
Posted By: kgerry
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 11:47 AM
Lightning Audio..... 3 different series ( read price points ) to choose from.......
-------------
Kevin Gerry
Certified Electronics Technician
MECP First Class Installer
Owner/Installer
Classic Car Audio
since 1979
Posted By: Francious70
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 12:08 PM
Just get regular wiring. The less expensive, the better.
Wire is wire. No need for name brand stuff
Paul
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Posted By: dxav
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 1:11 PM
I agree with high wirecount. There is a AWG chart you can find to see current capacity with wire count, if you are interested.
I usually use Tsunami or Raptor wire, high thread count, excellent dealer prices. Talk with Metra Electronics. Albert at Ace Distributing in Ca. can help, too.
Nothin' wrong with a little duct tape!
DXAV
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 10:30 PM
I emailed ace dist. Looks like bottom of the line stuff, but I guess as long as it looks ok Ill be fine. The only parts that Im going to be picky about are the RCA's. Wire is wire as long as they carry what I need. The only parts that Ill be showing are the dist blocks, cap, top of my battery. All the wire will be hidden. I really want this install to look killer.
Posted By: Ravendarat
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 10:41 PM
Doesnt anyone use streetwires anymore? I have used monster, streetwires, stinger, pheniox gold, lightning audio and rockford in the pastand have been happy with all of it except the hyper rca's by stinger. They are bright blue and I think I replaced a total of 4 pairs in just over a year in my car due to them being defective. Other wise its all good. Check out www.mitekfactoryoutlet.com for some streetwire pricing ------------- double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer
Posted By: xaudiopipex
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 10:54 PM
ive always used stinger, its worked well for me. it just depends on how much you are willing/want to spend.
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 11:01 PM
Its not about how much I want to spend. I want good equipment at the best price. If there is reason to pay more for a particular brand Im all for it if there is a good reason. (Besides brand name). Another question I was wondering. If the High output alternator I buy has a 4g output wire, why do I need to run 0/1g all the way to my trunk? Isn't it the water theroy. I can put a 12" pipe at the end of my water hose but its only going to flow as much as the smallest (most resisant) point? (12" pipe on a 1" water hose, sounds like what the kids do around here with their honda exhaust)
Posted By: xaudiopipex
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 11:10 PM
are you running 1 or 2 batteries? if you've got 2 batteries, one in the trunk, then 2ga is fine to run between them. i think there is a chart on this site somewhere to tell you which gauge wire you should use.
Posted By: xaudiopipex
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 11:12 PM
i ment 4ga for ther two battery set-up
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 11:27 PM
No, Im running 1 battery. Im relocating to the trunk becasue I will eventally have to do this when I install my supercharger.
Posted By: xaudiopipex
Date Posted: November 23, 2004 at 11:29 PM
i'd think that a 4ga kit would be fine. i'd still look for that chart on this site about the power wires
Posted By: ravenndude
Date Posted: November 24, 2004 at 1:17 AM
actually ... walmart has a decent 4ga kit gfor like $25. I just got it for the 20 some ft of 4ga red wire, 5 ft 4ga grey wire plus some 8ga power and ground wire. It also has some sh*tty RCAs (never tried them out) and some speaker wire that i for some use out of.
A buddy of mine bout two of them, took the power / ground wires out of both of them, put everything else in one package and returned it. He just said that he got the wrong size and walmart didn't say sh*t.
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: November 24, 2004 at 1:51 AM
lol, good old walmart. I heard the other day that someone bought one of those bargain amp kits (fleabay I think) and the wire was 4gauge, but only becasue the plastic was 1/4" thick. He said the wire itself was maybe 8gauge. (I think I read that here, so I'd be careful what you buy at walmart)
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: November 24, 2004 at 11:05 AM
All the suggestions here are good. Most of the name brand wiring kits and patch cables are great quality. But IMO, for power wire there is no real need to spend extra money for a custom name brand kit unless you want the looks they provide. Standard wire from Radio Shack, Home Depot or any electronics store (in the proper gage) is all I ever use for power and speaker wire. I must admit I use Monster, Knuconcepts, Stinger and Streetwires (depending on available money) for my RCA and other patch cables instead of el-cheapo's but really only because I appreciate the more robust build quality they provide. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: thapimpfromchi
Date Posted: November 24, 2004 at 5:34 PM
hey hey, whats with the honda comments??? And fyi, its the opposite with us, 1 inch of water, 12 inch tip (I have it on my car  ) ------------- 1990 Honda Civic HB:
Clarion DXZ545MP H.U.
2- 6.5" Power Acoustik interiors
Diamond Audio 600.1 amp
Diamond Audio 15" M6MKII
Pyramid PB881X 4 CH. Amp
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: November 24, 2004 at 8:06 PM
Sorry to offend you with the import joke. I have a Convertible Z28 Camaro and a Convertible GT mustang. (Its jsut to easy to pick on you guys). Theres a hugh market for those toys now, I just ordered a body kit for my stang and theres more "import sytle" body kits (black widow, shogun, etc. now than "normal" (saleen, cobra) body kits. Whatever sells man, as long as you love it!!!!
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