[Moley]

Hey all. I just wanted to post this for other peoples reference in case they decide to do the BIG 3 upgrade to their Coupes. The following pics show the most convenient places to fasten the wires. 1/0 gauge wire should used. 4 gauge minimum to add to or replace the stock 8 gauge charging wires. It's much less work to just add to the existing wires and it keeps the stock wires in place in case you want to remove the added wires later. Not to mention the more wire the better. This will make your alternator more efficient for those big stereo installs. Once I did mine I noticed a substantial improvement. Less headlight dimming to be exact.

BIG 3 wire #1 - Battery negative terminal to Chassis


BIG 3 wire #2 - Engine Block to Chassis.



BIG 3 wire #3 - Alternator positive terminal to Battery Positive terminal. Route this wire through the existing fuse in the fuse box. Fuse terminal on the right in the pic/closest to front of car goes to the Alternator positve terminal. Fuse terminal on the left in the pic/closest to the back of the car goes to the Battery positive terminal.

 

[raybuck]

Get rid of that nasty Hifonics bs and replace it with a digital amp and you will make your setup even more efficient. Those **** boxes draw like a mother ****er. but +1 for doing the big 3

 

[Tufast]

Excellent DIY for those audiophiles.

 

[Tweak]

Recommendation:

Forget multistrand 0awg speaker cable when doing short ground runs.

Go to a weld supply place and pick up the, almost solid, 4/5 stand 0 or 00awg. It's hard to bend, but it has excellent conductive properties. It does not come in blue though, black only.

Just a thought, solid upgrade though.

 

[Badcompany235]

So what will this do?

 

[TVONE2]

improves electron flow

 

[Badcompany235]

improves electron flow

that's gotta be the most general answer that could have been given. why is this modification significant. what benefit is there to improving electron flow. outside of keeping your headlights on any other reason to do this.

 

[Roachman]

i think its for those who like to put massive sound systems in their car

 

[Moley]

Get rid of that nasty Hifonics bs and replace it with a digital amp and you will make your setup even more efficient. Those **** boxes draw like a mother ****er. but +1 for doing the big 3

LOL! :rofl: Digital amps are not more effecient. What gave you that idea? Class D and Class T (digital amps) are no different in efficiency. Class T amps can be smaller and will put out better harmonics at a higher frequency. Nothing more. Class T is the way to go when running music speakers but when it comes to subs nothing can compare to a big Class D. BTW Hifonics might not be the best amp around but for the money it can't be beat. I have had many amps in my time and the amp I have now destroys them all. BTW what do you mean by "those **** boxes"?

Recommendation:

Forget multistrand 0awg speaker cable when doing short ground runs.

Go to a weld supply place and pick up the, almost solid, 4/5 stand 0 or 00awg. It's hard to bend, but it has excellent conductive properties. It does not come in blue though, black only.

Just a thought, solid upgrade though.

Yup. Wire is Wire. You are right though. I only used this wire cause it's blue.

that's gotta be the most general answer that could have been given. why is this modification significant. what benefit is there to improving electron flow. outside of keeping your headlights on any other reason to do this.

There is no reason to do this upgrade unless you have and amp that is trying to pull more amps than what the alternator can provide. The rest of the current that the amp needs comes from the battery reserve. Upgrading the charging system wires will "improve electron flow" which in turn results in more current to your battery and amp. Basically making the alternator more effecient and not losing current through heat loss and/or resistance from the small 8 gauge factory wires. It also prevents big voltage drops (due to lack of current) when that big bass not hits.
Is that better?

 

[raybuck]

Rofl. May I make a guess that you don't work in the industry?

You sound like the kids who walk into an audio shop thinking they know it all since they read audio forums....

 

[Moley]

Rofl. May I make a guess that you don't work in the industry?

You sound like the kids who walk into an audio shop thinking they know it all since they read audio forums....

I used to work in the industry building boxes and installing back in the day. I also know quite a few audiophiles who are in the industry. I know what you mean by kids thinking they know all that and sorry if that's what I sounded like. I am far from a kid myself but that doesn't mean I know everything. What I do know is alot though. Anyways what's wrong with Hifonics? (besides the fact that it's made in china) I mean I could have got an Audioque or something but I really liked the look of this amp in my car and it pushes my Orion HCCA's pretty good. Are you in the industry? and do you have a system in your coupe?

 

[raybuck]

Worked at a high end custom fabrication and audio shop under one of the top 100 installers in the US. Old hifonics is good, new is junk IMO. (I'm into sound quality so our preferences in sound may differ)

Digital amps are more efficient (over 60% more efficient) as they run much cooler. (Just one reason)

I only have components and coaxial speakers in my coupe at the moment to replace the pos factory speakers. I went through 4 different set ups in my last car. If I do anything else (stereo wise) in my coupe I will be going for a dd SQ set up.

 

[Moley]

Worked at a high end custom fabrication and audio shop under one of the top 100 installers in the US. Old hifonics is good, new is junk IMO. (I'm into sound quality so our preferences in sound may differ)

Digital amps are more efficient (over 60% more efficient) as they run much cooler. (Just one reason)

I only have components and coaxial speakers in my coupe at the moment to replace the pos factory speakers. I went through 4 different set ups in my last car. If I do anything else (stereo wise) in my coupe I will be going for a dd SQ set up.

Nice! You must have done some nice installs. I know Hifonics is not very good but like I said for the money it can't be beat imo. It is one of the best budget brands out there. Just be thankful I didn't post anything boasting pyramid or pyle. I wish I could have better but money does the talking. I like sq when it comes to music but when it comes to bass it has to shake me. I replaced my stock speakers with Alpine Type S.(again best bang for the buck) DD is the way to go man. They sound superb. Only heard them once and it was a good experience. Have you heard of massive audio? Great stuff! Oh and digital vs class D = whatever.

 

[raybuck]

Nice! You must have done some nice installs. I know Hifonics is not very good but like I said for the money it can't be beat imo. It is one of the best budget brands out there. Just be thankful I didn't post anything boasting pyramid or pyle. I wish I could have better but money does the talking. I like sq when it comes to music but when it comes to bass it has to shake me. I replaced my stock speakers with Alpine Type S.(again best bang for the buck) DD is the way to go man. They sound superb. Only heard them once and it was a good experience. Have you heard of massive audio? Great stuff! Oh and digital vs class D = whatever.

I can completely respect the budget idea.

Sorry for the thread jack. Thanks for posting the DIY for the community!

 

[Moley]

I can completely respect the budget idea.

Sorry for the thread jack. Thanks for posting the DIY for the community!

No worries and your welcome. I hope someone finds it useful.

 

[pwned88]

Recommendation:

Forget multistrand 0awg speaker cable when doing short ground runs.

Go to a weld supply place and pick up the, almost solid, 4/5 stand 0 or 00awg. It's hard to bend, but it has excellent conductive properties. It does not come in blue though, black only.

Just a thought, solid upgrade though.

wrong. Electricity flows on the outside of the wire, not through it. multi-strand = more overall surface area. When you're only running 12v instead of 120, 240, or 600 stranded is ALWAYS the better choice. always.

 

[Moley]

Recommendation:

Forget multistrand 0awg speaker cable when doing short ground runs.

Go to a weld supply place and pick up the, almost solid, 4/5 stand 0 or 00awg. It's hard to bend, but it has excellent conductive properties. It does not come in blue though, black only.

Just a thought, solid upgrade though.

Wire is wire.

wrong. Electricity flows on the outside of the wire, not through it. multi-strand = more overall surface area. When you're only running 12v instead of 120, 240, or 600 stranded is ALWAYS the better choice. always.

Wrong. Only AC current flows on the outer surface. DC current flows through the wire. Multi strand is only better for flexibility and not current flow. Things like "Multi strand" and "99.9 % oxygen free" are marketing gimmicks. The difference in current flow from solid to multi strand wire and pure copper and not so pure copper wire is negligable. Not to mention your ears will not notice a difference either. Food for thought.

 

[pwned88]

Then why the hell do all household applications (AC) use solid copper and all automotive applications (DC) use stranded? And I wasn't talking speaker wire, I was talking power wire.

That said, the only advantage oxygen-free brings is that it will be consistent since the copper will never oxidize, but by the time that's ever an issue you'll have long thrown the wire out.

 

[Moley]

Then why the hell do all household applications (AC) use solid copper and all automotive applications (DC) use stranded? And I wasn't talking speaker wire, I was talking power wire.

That said, the only advantage oxygen-free brings is that it will be consistent since the copper will never oxidize, but by the time that's ever an issue you'll have long thrown the wire out.

Houshold AC wire has less strands because it is cheaper to make and because it's not a thick as car audio power wire it will still be flexible enough with a lower strand count. Car audio power wire on the other hand can be extremely thick and with that comes less flexibility and that's why it has a higher strand count. Sure you could make a car audio power wire with a low strand count. It would be cheaper and work just fine but good luck bending 1/0 gauge for an install. Welding cable is just fine for conductive purposes in a car audio application but it's hard to bend. And you are exactly right about the oxygen free wire. It would have to be in your car for a really long time before it started to corrode to the point where it would have more resistance. 99.9 % oxygen free is a marketing gimmick and high strand wire is only for flexibility.

 

[pwned88]

Houshold AC wire has less strands because it is cheaper to make and because it's not a thick as car audio power wire it will still be flexible enough with lower a lower strand count. Car audio power wire on the other hand can be extremely thick and with that comes less flexibility and that's why it has a higher strand count. Sure you could make a car audio power wire with a low strand count. It would be cheaper and work just fine but good luck bending 1/0 gauge for an install. Welding cable is just fine for conductive purposes in a car audio application but it's hard to bend. And you are exactly right about the oxygen free wire. It would have to be in your car for a really long time before it started to corrode to the point where it would have more resistance. 99.9 % oxygen free is a marketing gimmick and high strand wire is only for flexibility.

Remember that the high strand count can also take vibration, whereas the solid core is more likely to develop cracks over time. For us that drive in the winter that has the potential to spell disaster over time.

And after a good night's sleep I remembered that the conductivity is moot. Solid is used to keep costs down since stranded is more expensive. In the end the same size wire of both types will work equally well in an application.

And 1/0 ain't that bad to work with, you just gotta route creatively. What the hell you would need that gauge in our cars for I'll never know. 2ga. is all you'll ever need. If you're drawing more wattage than what that cable can take you should have a bank of batts in the trunk instead since you're gonna fry the lil' batteries our cars come with.