16 gauge

[rockc]

Is 16 gauge wire sufficent to run 6X9 speakers. The wires to the speakers is gonna be about 8' long.

[stich626]

yes and no..
yes it'll work, and if running the 6by9 off the head unit (not from an amp) is fine as the headunits speaker leads are that size or smaller..
if running an amp you'll make the amp work harder..

[rockc]

What gauge would you suggest with running off a amp?

[stich626]

Originally Posted by rockc

What gauge would you suggest with running off a amp?

I used 12 or 10, but I side with overkill

I've run 16 to amps, just not mine..

for some fun reading
http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/WireSizeCalc.html

[BBrendal]

16 ga will work fine for a pair of 6x9s

[john_p]

the primary thing past length that determines wire gauge is current.. if you are using a 20 watt speaker.. then you could pull 1.4 or so amps.. a 16 would work out to just under 40 ft.. if i had the wire i would use it, if i was shopping for wire i would pick up the 12.. as posted overkill is better.. where i work i usually cut the power cable off of a piece of anything 220 on the way to the dump.. they tend to have 8 or 10 stranded..

[76stepsidechevy]

#14 is rated for 15 amps even the #16 is probably overkill. A regular speaker will never see that kind of current. A speaker isn't running at 12 volts either, probably something more like 50-100 so the current draw is actually quite low.

[85gmc2tone]

Originally Posted by stich626

yes and no..
yes it'll work, and if running the 6by9 off the head unit (not from an amp) is fine as the headunits speaker leads are that size or smaller..
if running an amp you'll make the amp work harder..

hes right.

[85gmc2tone]

Originally Posted by rockc

What gauge would you suggest with running off a amp?

6 or 8 gauge

[BBrendal]

Originally Posted by 85gmc2tone

6 or 8 gauge

Thats crazy! You are probably only looking at 40 to 60 watts rms goin to them. If you run 6 or 8 gauge to power 6x9s what would you use for the subs? 4Ga? 2Ga? I dont think so!

[76stepsidechevy]

Originally Posted by BBrendal

Thats crazy! You are probably only looking at 40 to 60 watts rms goin to them. If you run 6 or 8 gauge to power 6x9s what would you use for the subs? 4Ga? 2Ga? I dont think so!

thats what im saying, depending on insulation your average 8 gauge wire is good for 40 amps. That 6x9 would be on fire long before you could ever put anywhere near that kind of power to it.

[stich626]

Originally Posted by 76stepsidechevy

thats what im saying, depending on insulation your average 8 gauge wire is good for 40 amps. That 6x9 would be on fire long before you could ever put anywhere near that kind of power to it.

yes it would.. but 16 guage is tiny.. and forces the amp to work harder.. the harder the amp needs to push the more distortion you have , even when played low volume..
I like 12 guage for most stuff. unless it's gonna be pushed..
my truck the wire to the 6by9 are 14 guage because I needed to get to sets of leads in the door.. and 2 pairs of 12 didn't fit.. and without sounddeadner, any little distortion will not be an issue with the sound coloration that will be going on..
the seperates have 10 guage going to them from the amp.. to the crossover.. overkill, maybe but I didn't buy seperates, to loose the sound from the wire..
it depends on what your needs are.. just tunes.. any wire will do.. 20 guage.. fine, just don't expect any bass control or crisp highs..
it al depends on what you call sounding ok to you.. with 6by9's low end that drops off like a rock (most) limiting them more with thin wire. is silly..
the more sound deadner you add the more you find that the little details make a huge difference..

[BBrendal]

Originally Posted by stich626

yes it would.. but 16 guage is tiny.. and forces the amp to work harder.. the harder the amp needs to push the more distortion you have , even when played low volume..
I like 12 guage for most stuff. unless it's gonna be pushed..
my truck the wire to the 6by9 are 14 guage because I needed to get to sets of leads in the door.. and 2 pairs of 12 didn't fit.. and without sounddeadner, any little distortion will not be an issue with the sound coloration that will be going on..
the seperates have 10 guage going to them from the amp.. to the crossover.. overkill, maybe but I didn't buy seperates, to loose the sound from the wire..
it depends on what your needs are.. just tunes.. any wire will do.. 20 guage.. fine, just don't expect any bass control or crisp highs..
it al depends on what you call sounding ok to you.. with 6by9's low end that drops off like a rock (most) limiting them more with thin wire. is silly..
the more sound deadner you add the more you find that the little details make a huge difference..

I think rockc just wants to put an amp to a pair of 6x9 for some added power from his 13 watt rms head unit to hear it over the exhaust and road noise and call it a day. For that the 16 ga will be fine. I use 16 ga for anything under 75 watts rms in a driver and /or competition systems. Ive had no complaints of any distortion (with top of the line amps and speakers) and had nothing but a clean and crisp sound. I set the gain and crossover points so they are not maxed out like some people like to do for some reason. 2/3 or a scoche more is plenty. Now if you are running a JL audio 5 channel amp with 100 watt rms to all 4 speakers then Id step it up to a 12 ga even though the lows woub be cut at by at least 90db and that 500 watt subwoofer channel Id step up to an 8 ga. I dont think rockc is going for that elaborite of a system.