[VietPho]

I currently have my 4 AWG Knukonceptz wire running through the rubber boot thing for the Steering Wheel, but now I have to do 4 runs of 1/0 Power Wire to the trunk but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to shove them all through that steering wheel area. I was told that the wires might rub onto the steering wheel and get caught up.

Here's a picture of the area that I'm talking about:

Again, I have to do 2x runs of positive 1/0 Wire and 2x Run of negative 1/0 Wire to the trunk, how would I go about doing this safely? Are there any other stock holes I can use for this?
Note: The 1/0 Wire that I am using is pretty much 2/0 Wire if I were to use standard sizing system.
Thanks.

 

[BMR]

I recall someone saying that there's extra room where the engine wiring harness goes thru the firewall to get the ECU, which is on the passenger's side.

 

[VietPho]

I recall someone saying that there's extra room where the engine wiring harness goes thru the firewall to get the ECU, which is on the passenger's side.

Thanks. I will check it out this week.

The battery under the hood is on the right side. Any suggestions for the pathway under the engine bay to get to the passenger firewall? I'm thinking about doing 2x negative runs through the driver boot and 2x negative runs through the passenger firewall.

 

[BamZipPow]

You might want to consider drilling a new big hole with some gaskets to protect the cable. Don't try going cheap and stuffing it by other wires.

 

[VietPho]

What kind of drill would I need exactly?

I have a small 1 speed drill for screws and such but it's from the 90's.

 

[hodgoes2001]

I have run a 4 Gauge Wire in my camry..

there is plently of space to put it next to the Main wiring run though..

that is where i would recommend u run it

 

[Hajoca]

There is a hole in the fire wall for the clutch pedal, and it should be blanked off with fibre board in an automatic.

 

[to_toyo]

There's actually lots of space on the driver side firewall left of and down from the hood hinge.

It's just awkward to drill from the engine bay, but if you start a small hole as a guide first and then drill from the other side up through from the foot well, it'll be a lot easier. The metal there is quite soft and thin too.

I have a run 0/1 gauge power wire running thru that area and not too far from the batt either.

Just remember to use a gommet.

Hope that helps out.

 

[BamZipPow]

Use a step drill bit from Harbor Freight...costs about $12 fer the set of 3 step bits.
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece-titanium-nitride-coated-high-speed-steel-step-drills-91616.html

 

[The Camry]

why would you need 4 runs of 00 gauge wire? 2 gauge is big enough to safely and efficiently carry 200 amps at 12 volts up to 25 feet.

 

[to_toyo]

He's probably gonna be running thousands of watts to compete in a DB drag or something.

It's like fuel lines for the engine, if wire's are not big enough to feed the current, it's not gonna reach it's max potential.

It's amazing the amount of watts they can run these days compared to the 90's.

 

[Stevo_Echohb05]

Can't you just ground somewhere in the trunk?

 

[The Camry]

He's probably gonna be running thousands of watts to compete in a DB drag or something.

It's like fuel lines for the engine, if wire's are not big enough to feed the current, it's not gonna reach it's max potential.

It's amazing the amount of watts they can run these days compared to the 90's.

I understand that as I too am building a Db drag car, I was just suggesting smaller wire could be used as 2 gauge would be more than enough for say, one 5000 watt optidrive monoblock. Also audio equipment is severely overrated on the rated wattage through most companies. For instance, if you were actually running an amp that ran 5000 watts rms and lets say you have a 16 volt alternator, it would have to be able to push 312.5 amps to keep up with an amplifier that large, that's why I just choose wire based on the fuse rating of the amplifier. since most large amps are fused at 120 amps, even if you liked the idea of having larger wire, 2 gauge would give you an overhead of 80 amps. That way you'd be sure to have way more than enough power and you wouldn't have giant lumps run under the carpet

 

[Perkins]

To make sure you get a great connection from your trunk to the engine bay, go buy some Welding Leads. that will ensure a great connection. Subwoofer wiring will work, but i dont recommend it. I would run something like 4/0 2052 strand wire

Why do you want your battery in your trunk anyways?

heres a link, you pay per foot

http://weldingsupply.securesites.com/cgi-bin/einstein.pl?PNUM::1:UNDEF:OR:304-1270

 

[to_toyo]

To "The Camry": using 2 gauge is probably good enough if you take into consideration of amplifiers being overrated and you don't run the system for an extend time cranked.

Even if amplifiers were doing rated power, the current peak would be for very short durations playing music, but if you were to run a low hertz tones in a DB drag race for an extended period, the power wire will get warm or hot and will increase resistance and further reducing power flow.

Never mind that your power supply(battery) will sag, which will cause the amplifier to draw more current to compensate sagging voltage, further taxing the power wire.

If voltage drops, current goes up and vise versa. The voltage is ever changing in a a vehicle and is never a constant so you can't go by a set rating.

If you're gonna do it, do it once so you don't have to upgrade later and you DON'T wanna ever have to deal with a wire fire

I'd suggest going 1/0 gauge to be safe and remember to use fuses, fuses, fuses

To OP, what Mr.Perkins recommended using 4/0 gauge is sound which is better than running multiple runs of 2/0 power wire.

One 4/0 gauge has higher power handling than 2 for sure and maybe 3 or more runs of 2/0 gauge, sorry been a long time since I did that calculation.

 

[The Camry]

To "The Camry": using 2 gauge is probably good enough if you take into consideration of amplifiers being overrated and you don't run the system for an extend time cranked.

Even if amplifiers were doing rated power, the current peak would be for very short durations playing music, but if you were to run a low hertz tones in a DB drag race for an extended period, the power wire will get warm or hot and will increase resistance and further reducing power flow.

Never mind that your power supply(battery) will sag, which will cause the amplifier to draw more current to compensate sagging voltage, further taxing the power wire.

If voltage drops, current goes up and vise versa. The voltage is ever changing in a a vehicle and is never a constant so you can't go by a set rating.

If you're gonna do it, do it once so you don't have to upgrade later and you DON'T wanna ever have to deal with a wire fire

I'd suggest going 1/0 gauge to be safe and remember to use fuses, fuses, fuses

To OP, what Mr.Perkins recommended using 4/0 gauge is sound which is better than running multiple runs of 2/0 power wire.

One 4/0 gauge has higher power handling than 2 for sure and maybe 3 or more runs of 2/0 gauge, sorry been a long time since I did that calculation.

I understand that voltage fluctuates, and that when voltage drops due to a heavy bass hit the required amperage goes up. I was just suggesting he use the combined fused amperage of the amplifiers per line and then add around 20% and use a wire suitable for that amperage application. If he is using a run of the mill monoblock they are usually fused at 120 amps, so if it ever reached that level of draw the fuses would blow. Based on that fact if he was running one amp per line I'd just suggest using 2 gauge as it is rated to efficiently carry 200 amps even up to a 25 foot length, that's a whooole lot of power! However you are right in the way that if he is using a something from the fifth dimension in his trunk (i.e. one of those insane, awsome, hardwired fuseless competition amps soundstream makes) or if he was wanting to run multiple amplifiers per wire, then go into the zeros. I'd just look up the amperage ratings on 12 volt wires at different length and diameter first, that way you could save some money. and yes fuses all the way, electrical fire is a do not want Also zero or above with a fuse would be good if you were in fact relocating a battery as well, or putting in extra batteries if you intended to use the full current draw of the battery for something.

 

[The Camry]

If you're gonna do it, do it once so you don't have to upgrade later and you DON'T wanna ever have to deal with a wire fire

ahhhhhh wait a minute you suggest room for upgrading and I suggested being a cheap ass:lol:

 

[to_toyo]

ahhhhhh wait a minute you suggest room for upgrading and I suggested being a cheap ass:lol:

Haha, we all like to save $$$, after all that's why we're in a Gen 3-4 Camry for it's reliability, good gas mileage, etc

Sometimes we focus on one thing and end up spending more $$$ and time in the long run.

From experience, I would eventually upgrade to better/higher power amps and/or components as more disposable income becomes available.

With power wire done with this aspect in mind, you're safe from power wire constraints also.

Then all I had to concentrate on was wiring in the new hardware.

I agree, if you were to be coming off of a power distribution block to each individual amp, the 2 gauge wire would suffice as shorter lengths will have a somewhat higher rating than the longer lengths.

Keep in mind though, the fuse ratings on the amps will actually pass more current than rated, just not sustained. It's there for shorts and other faults for protection.

I'm sure you know, but needs mentioning so others know to put a fuse as close to the battery for the main power wire to protect the power wire itself against shorts from unforeseen collisions and other mishaps.

 

[The Camry]

Haha, we all like to save $$$, after all that's why we're in a Gen 3-4 Camry for it's reliability, good gas mileage, etc

Sometimes we focus on one thing and end up spending more $$$ and time in the long run.

From experience, I would eventually upgrade to better/higher power amps and/or components as more disposable income becomes available.

With power wire done with this aspect in mind, you're safe from power wire constraints also.

Then all I had to concentrate on was wiring in the new hardware.

I agree, if you were to be coming off of a power distribution block to each individual amp, the 2 gauge wire would suffice as shorter lengths will have a somewhat higher rating than the longer lengths.

Keep in mind though, the fuse ratings on the amps will actually pass more current than rated, just not sustained. It's there for shorts and other faults for protection.

I'm sure you know, but needs mentioning so others know to put a fuse as close to the battery for the main power wire to protect the power wire itself against shorts from unforeseen collisions and other mishaps.

Exactly, if you put the fuse much farther, and you have a short on the battery side of the fuse, all hell could break loose in your engine bay.