ill be connecting a xtant a6001 amp this week, waiting for it to arrive via fedex. My question is right now i only have 8 gauge power and ground but this amp is rated 600rms at 2ohms at 10volts input.

I think this calls for 4 gauge but i'm not sure if i can get away with 8 gauge. most likely ill be leavin the gain turned down on this amp because it will only be feeding one 10type r that can handle 500w rms.

any help would be appreciated.

 

I think the rule of thumb is that if the amp is 400w RMS and above, you should use at least 4 gauge. You can probably get away with the 8 gauge you have, but the amp will run more efficiently with the 4 gauge.

Here's an spreadsheet that may help you make your decision between 4 and 8 gauge:

http://www.the12volt.com/info/recwirsz.asp

 

If that's all the you're running, as above said
4ga will leave you room for future upgrades

 

thanks guys, i think i was just tryin to avoid rerunnin power and ground, really didnt wanna do that.

if its a safety concern though ill do it.

 

Your amp would shut down quite often if you used 8 gauge. Not to mention your power wire would get damn hot with that much of a load on the business end.

It would be like using a 1" intake tube on a 500hp engine. It would idle just fine but would start choking and shut down the harder you pushed it.

If you were to upgrade at a later date I would suggest running a new power wire for the new amp. Or run 2 gauge back and split to dual 4. That XTANT is not going to want to share it's current draw from that single 4 gauge pipe.

 

so if i keep this amp i should upgrade my wiring. hmmmmm.

dont really want the headache, i think i may get rid of this amp and get 400-500 watt rms amp then.

 

Current Demand 4 Ft 7 Ft 10 Ft 13 Ft 16 Ft 19 Ft 22 Ft 28 Ft
0 - 20 amps 14 12 12 10 10 8 8 8
20 - 35 amps 12 10 8 8 6 6 6 4
35 - 50 amps 10 8 8 6 6 4 4 4
50 - 60 amps 8 8 6 4 4 4 4 2
65 - 85 amps 6 6 4 4 2 2 2 0
85 - 105 amps 6 6 4 2 2 2 2 0
105 - 125 amps 4 4 4 2 2 0 0 0
125 - 150 amps 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0

Use the chart ( Well I couldn't figure out how to keep the format, but you get the numbers ) above and calculate your current demand to see what size wire will get the best (and safest) performance from your amp. BTW the current calculation is amps = Watts / Volts. So if you plug in your nominal values, A = 600W rms / 13 Volts, you come up with about 46 amps. Your #8AWG will work as long as it's not longer than 10ft. Also note that this is using the RMS value not Peak. You should use the Peak value to calculate the wire size.

 

I always use no larger than 4 gauge for amp installs. And 0 for the big monoblock boys.

8 will work for modest applications, but it's always better to stick with 4 or smaller.