CCA vs OFC is there really a big difference?

[shizzzon 461]

No problem.. I figured you misread that because i was about to go into beast mode with examples, lol.

 

I make them for myself only.  I offer no cosmetics like what toolmaker or projectdb can do.

[mlcantin 32]

No problem.. I figured you misread that because i was about to go into beast mode with examples, lol.

 

I make them for myself only.  I offer no cosmetics like what toolmaker or projectdb can do.

Damn i was about to say I would pay you to make me some

[95Honda 486]

 

"2x 1/0 CCA has the capability of being just as strong if not stronger than 4/0-300MCM Copper."

 

God dammit Shizzon, check you math before posting things like this....  THIS IS NOT REMOTELY CORRECT!!!

 

[95Honda 486]

2X 1/0 = 107 mm^2

 

1X 4/0 = 107 mm^2

 

If you compare the 2 runs of CCA to the single run of Copper (the same cross sectional area) the Copper will absolutely destroy the CCA by a HUGE margin....

[ssh 924]

2X 1/0 = 107 mm^2

 

1X 4/0 = 107 mm^2

 

If you compare the 2 runs of CCA to the single run of Copper (the same cross sectional area) the Copper will absolutely destroy the CCA by a HUGE margin....

Find the nearest wall, and bang your head against it.

[shizzzon 461]

 

"2x 1/0 CCA has the capability of being just as strong if not stronger than 4/0-300MCM Copper."

 

God dammit Shizzon, check you math before posting things like this....  THIS IS NOT REMOTELY CORRECT!!!

 

 

God dammit again.. 

 

This chart i had.. i have been mis-interpreting it..  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

 

After doing some research.. YES!  CCA's conductivity % to pure copper is almost the same % as pure aluminum which Gauge for Gauge is pathetic unless you are getting it for EXTREMELY EXTREMELY CHEAP.

 

Well.. looks like i won't be using any of this left over CCA then, hehe.

 

I need 200ft of 4/0.. looks like copper it is.. Dual 4/0 runs everywhere.

[mlcantin 32]

 

"2x 1/0 CCA has the capability of being just as strong if not stronger than 4/0-300MCM Copper."

 

God dammit Shizzon, check you math before posting things like this....  THIS IS NOT REMOTELY CORRECT!!!

 

 

God dammit again.. 

 

This chart i had.. i have been mis-interpreting it..  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

 

After doing some research.. YES!  CCA's conductivity % to pure copper is almost the same % as pure aluminum which Gauge for Gauge is pathetic unless you are getting it for EXTREMELY EXTREMELY CHEAP.

 

Well.. looks like i won't be using any of this left over CCA then, hehe.

 

I need 200ft of 4/0.. looks like copper it is.. Dual 4/0 runs everywhere.

I have had plenty of success with knukonceptz wire but I know there are cheaper options than that but still they give you a bargain for how thick their wire is.

[shizzzon 461]

 

 

"2x 1/0 CCA has the capability of being just as strong if not stronger than 4/0-300MCM Copper."

 

God dammit Shizzon, check you math before posting things like this....  THIS IS NOT REMOTELY CORRECT!!!

 

 

God dammit again.. 

 

This chart i had.. i have been mis-interpreting it..  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

 

After doing some research.. YES!  CCA's conductivity % to pure copper is almost the same % as pure aluminum which Gauge for Gauge is pathetic unless you are getting it for EXTREMELY EXTREMELY CHEAP.

 

Well.. looks like i won't be using any of this left over CCA then, hehe.

 

I need 200ft of 4/0.. looks like copper it is.. Dual 4/0 runs everywhere.

I have had plenty of success with knukonceptz wire but I know there are cheaper options than that but still they give you a bargain for how thick their wire is.

 

 

 

"2x 1/0 CCA has the capability of being just as strong if not stronger than 4/0-300MCM Copper."

 

God dammit Shizzon, check you math before posting things like this....  THIS IS NOT REMOTELY CORRECT!!!

 

 

God dammit again.. 

 

This chart i had.. i have been mis-interpreting it..  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

 

After doing some research.. YES!  CCA's conductivity % to pure copper is almost the same % as pure aluminum which Gauge for Gauge is pathetic unless you are getting it for EXTREMELY EXTREMELY CHEAP.

 

Well.. looks like i won't be using any of this left over CCA then, hehe.

 

I need 200ft of 4/0.. looks like copper it is.. Dual 4/0 runs everywhere.

I have had plenty of success with knukonceptz wire but I know there are cheaper options than that but still they give you a bargain for how thick their wire is.

 

Yes, i didn't want to say that but yes, Knu's CCA is oversized and says so on their website to alert you not to use their rating specifications to compare to other CCA.

[mlcantin 32]

 

 

"2x 1/0 CCA has the capability of being just as strong if not stronger than 4/0-300MCM Copper."

 

God dammit Shizzon, check you math before posting things like this....  THIS IS NOT REMOTELY CORRECT!!!

 

 

God dammit again.. 

 

This chart i had.. i have been mis-interpreting it..  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

 

After doing some research.. YES!  CCA's conductivity % to pure copper is almost the same % as pure aluminum which Gauge for Gauge is pathetic unless you are getting it for EXTREMELY EXTREMELY CHEAP.

 

Well.. looks like i won't be using any of this left over CCA then, hehe.

 

I need 200ft of 4/0.. looks like copper it is.. Dual 4/0 runs everywhere.

I have had plenty of success with knukonceptz wire but I know there are cheaper options than that but still they give you a bargain for how thick their wire is.

 

 

 

"2x 1/0 CCA has the capability of being just as strong if not stronger than 4/0-300MCM Copper."

 

God dammit Shizzon, check you math before posting things like this....  THIS IS NOT REMOTELY CORRECT!!!

 

 

God dammit again.. 

 

This chart i had.. i have been mis-interpreting it..  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

 

After doing some research.. YES!  CCA's conductivity % to pure copper is almost the same % as pure aluminum which Gauge for Gauge is pathetic unless you are getting it for EXTREMELY EXTREMELY CHEAP.

 

Well.. looks like i won't be using any of this left over CCA then, hehe.

 

I need 200ft of 4/0.. looks like copper it is.. Dual 4/0 runs everywhere.

I have had plenty of success with knukonceptz wire but I know there are cheaper options than that but still they give you a bargain for how thick their wire is.

 

Yes, i didn't want to say that but yes, Knu's CCA is oversized and says so on their website to alert you not to use their rating specifications to compare to other CCA.

So in your opinion knu wire is a terrible product?

[shizzzon 461]

No, i mean they oversized their CCA to be "safe" to use without researching their wire.. 

 

When someone sees 1/0.. they expect 1/0 performance.. That's what i mean.

If i see 1/0 with the ability of only supporting a portion of what i was expecting, i wouldn't probably buy it for a single run because of the voltage drop potential.

[mlcantin 32]

No, i mean they oversized their CCA to be "safe" to use without researching their wire.. 

 

When someone sees 1/0.. they expect 1/0 performance.. That's what i mean.

If i see 1/0 with the ability of only supporting a portion of what i was expecting, i wouldn't probably buy it for a single run because of the voltage drop potential.

I have their 1 gauge ofc cable and it is some if the thickest wire you can get

[bhsdriller 24]

Knu's ofc is some of the best....their cca is alright.  I liked Shok cca way better.  Bigger and more flexible

[mlcantin 32]

Knu's ofc is some of the best....their cca is alright.  I liked Shok cca way better.  Bigger and more flexible

I agree on the ofc wire but do not know anything about the CCA because I have never used it

[Nextiii 9]

do I need to upgrade im runnin 2 18's bc5500 at .5ohm 3 xs d3100's. in challenger the stock wire is 0 gauge copper and i have two runs of knu CCA. this thread had me thinking

Edited June 5, 2013 by Nextiii

[mlcantin 32]

do I need to upgrade im runnin 2 18's bc5500 3 xs d3100's. in challenger the stock wire is 0 gauge copper and i have two runs of knu CCA. this thread had me thinking

What size alternator (s) do you have?

[Nextiii 9]

stock 140

[mlcantin 32]

stock 140

what in gods name is with you people and stock alternators. Get an upgraded alt or two man. That's where all of your power is generated from. Edited June 5, 2013 by mlcantin

[95Honda 486]

uggghhh...

 

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OVERSIZED AWG(!)...

 

They are either, #1 lying and miss-labeling the cable, or,  #2 Just plain lying...

 

Again, for the 20th time, AWG is cross-sectional area...

[95Honda 486]

No, i mean they oversized their CCA to be "safe" to use without researching their wire.. 

 

When someone sees 1/0.. they expect 1/0 performance.. That's what i mean.

If i see 1/0 with the ability of only supporting a portion of what i was expecting, i wouldn't probably buy it for a single run because of the voltage drop potential.

I have their 1 gauge ofc cable and it is some if the thickest wire you can get

Again, this is what you guys are completely missing in this thread.  The "thickness" of stranded power wire has nothing to do with the overall AWG.  The "thickness" is determined primarily from physical construction and strand count.  And when you are talking DC current, these do NOT affect performance...  At all...  Saying one wire is thicker than another makes about as much sense as comparing the jacket color...

[mlcantin 32]

No, i mean they oversized their CCA to be "safe" to use without researching their wire.. 

 

When someone sees 1/0.. they expect 1/0 performance.. That's what i mean.

If i see 1/0 with the ability of only supporting a portion of what i was expecting, i wouldn't probably buy it for a single run because of the voltage drop potential.

I have their 1 gauge ofc cable and it is some if the thickest wire you can get

Again, this is what you guys are completely missing in this thread.  The "thickness" of stranded power wire has nothing to do with the overall AWG.  The "thickness" is determined primarily from physical construction and strand count.  And when you are talking DC current, these do NOT affect performance...  At all...  Saying one wire is thicker than another makes about as much sense as comparing the jacket color...

I did not say it had more capabilities because it is thicker. I just stated it is a large wire. Nothing more nothing less

[95Honda 486]

Again, it doesn't matter what the physical size is, this is the whole point.  You guys are missing this.

 

And it may actually be smaller, less cross-sectional area, it just has a larger O.D. due to construction...

 

When you say "some of the thickest wire you can get"  all you do is perpetuate this myth...

[mlcantin 32]

Again, it doesn't matter what the physical size is, this is the whole point.  You guys are missing this.

 

And it may actually be smaller, less cross-sectional area, it just has a larger O.D. due to construction...

 

When you say "some of the thickest wire you can get"  all you do is perpetuate this myth...

I'm sorry. I will quit talking now

[djjdnap 78]

This sites info never gets old

http://www.bcae1.com/

 

Calculating Wire Diameter and Area:

Here in the US, we use the AWG (American Wire Gauge), circular mils and
square mils. In most other parts of the world, they use mm². I'll try to touch on each of these.
 

Solid Wire Diameter:

This section will address the diameter of solid wire. Stranded wire has
air spaces between conductors and different combinations of different
gauge strands will result in different overall diameters. Keep in mind
that, in the following description, we are talking about the area of the
wire in a circular shape. This means that the total cross sectional
area is doubled when the diameter is increased by a factor of 1.414.
 

OK... For a reference that's relatively easy to remember, lets use 10g
wire again. It's ~0.1" in diameter. If we go up in wire size 6 sizes
again (to 4g), the diameter is going to be double the 10g wire. The
multiplier is ~1.123 per gauge.
 

Diameter = .1*1.123^(difference between 4g and 10g)
Diameter = .1*1.123^6
Diameter = .1*2.005
Diameter = approximately 0.2" in diameter


 

 

 

    
        
        
    

            
        
This image shows the relative difference between 10g and 4g wires (not
actual size). You can easily see that doubling the diameter quadruples
the cross sectional area.
        

Until now we've only discussed the diameter of the wire. The cross
sectional area of round wire is the one-half of the diameter (the
radius) squared then multiplied by Pi (r²*3.14).
For some conductors like buss bars and circuit boards, you won't have a
wire gauge or diameter to use to see how much current a conductor can
handle. Circular mils, square mils and mm²
allow us to express the cross sectional area and therefore calculate
the resistance for the conductor. It has another advantage over simply
stating the diameter of a conductor in that it doesn't matter if the
wire is stranded or solid. If a cross sectional area is given in in
circular mils, square mils and mm², spaces between conductors are no longer a factor.
 

Circular Mils:

One 'mil' is one thousandth of an inch. A wire with a cross sectional
area of 1 circular mil has a diameter of .001". If we need to calculate
the circular mils for a 10g wire, we simply square the diameter in mils.
Since the 10g wire has an approximate diameter of .1" or 100 mils, we
square 100 and get 10,000 circular mils. 10g wire actually has a cross
sectional area of 10,384 circular mils but for car audio appliciations,
10,000 circular mils will be close enough and easy to remember.
 

Note:

Various wire tables list slightly different values for circular mils and
the diameter of the different wire sizes. The values here are a rough
average of the various tables I've found.

 

Circular Mil Foot:

A circular mil foot is a piece of wire with a cross sectional area of 1
circular mil and a length of 1 foot. To calculate the resistance for a
length of wire, there are a couple of things you need to know. The
first, cross sectional area in circular mils, has been discussed. The
second, the length, is known (15 feet in this example). And the Third is
the Specific Resistivity for the conductor. The Specific Resistivity is
the value of resistance for a circular mil foot of wire. For copper,
the SR is 10.37. To determine the resistance for a 15 foot long piece of
10g wire we can use the following formula:
 

Resistance = SR*(length of wire/cross sectional area in circular mils)

Resistance = 10.37*(15 feet/10384 circular mils)

Resistance = 0.015 ohms for a 15 foot length

 

For 4g wire:

Resistance = SR*(length of wire/cross sectional area in circular mils)

Resistance = 10.37*(15 feet/41534 circular mils)   (4g wire has 41534 circular mils)

Resistance = 0.00375 ohms for a 15 foot length

 

As you can see, we got the same resistance for the 15 foot long piece of
10g wire as before (with an entirely different method). If you were
using a different type of wire like silver, gold or aluminum, the
specific resistance would be different. You should also know that the SR
used here is for copper at or near room temperature (~70F).
 

Square Mils:

Square Mils are similar to circular mils in that their outer dimensions
are again 1 mil but this time we're talking about the area of a square
instead of a circle. This makes a square mil slightly larger than a
circular mil. The conversion factor to convert from one to the other is:

1 circular mil = .7854 square mils

[95Honda 486]

I'm sorry. I will quit talking now

No, don't quit talking, ever.  Just don't help perpetuate this myth.  Car audio is full of this crap.  This site is supposed to help people.  When certain things are said (in error) all they do is keep the dumb people dumber.  I have no doubt you understand this thread, just be careful with what you say as you will confuse the crap out of others.

[nigel 148]

No, don't quit talking, ever.

this is why I started this thread. I find in car audio especially, there are a ton of myths and misrepresentations, and a lot of dishonesty. When people stop talking and learning, these myths/misrepresentations start getting passed around as truths, and people spend money on things that they shouldn't.

I've lost count of the systems I've seen where a guys is running a 1200 watt mono block in a subcompact with a 90 amp alt, and thinks that the capacitor the guy at (insert box store/sleazy salesman name here) sold him has solved all of his issues...

When I started buying car audio 13 years ago, I didn't see any CCA wire, everywhere had just copper or 99% pure OFC (what they advertised). Now I'm seeing CCA kits, rated to carry the same amperage as OFC for 2/3 the price with salesguys saying the standard "electrical current is carried on the outside of the wire, therefore the copper cladding is all you need, this wire is just as good for less of a cost...." Have I mentioned I don't like most sales guys I meet...

I guess I'm just at a point where I like to see intelligent conversation started based on factual information so that those who may not necessarily have the technical know how can easily see the reasons behind the why and how of this hobby/profession/obsession.

On that note, I personally am not currently in the market for wire, was just looking for some info to feed my addiction. And a big thanks to those that have answered, I love a good discussion.

And a big thanks to 95Honda, have always found your posts to be very informative and helpful, I remember reading your posts on soundillusions.net when I first got into this.

And another big thanks to djjdnap for the info from bcae1.com, have loved that site for years.

Edited June 6, 2013 by nigel