What guage speaker wire are you guys recommending?

14-16 for speakers, 10-12 for subs?

 

I like this wire too..

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=100-945

 

For your speakers, 16 should be fine for doors and 14 should be fine for your sub. What's more important is the insulation and shielding. That's what'll cut out interference and noise.

As far as wiring up the amp, see:
http://www.the12volt.com/wiring/recwirsz.asp

 

That Alpine is 45ish watts a channel, correct? You can use 16 gauge on that easy enough, for the Zapco I would use 12 or 14.

 

Would there be a performance difference using 18 on subs??

 

Usually 18 AWG will have less insulation, so you could pick up some noise.
The risk with using 18 AWG is overpowering it. If you're constantly driving your sub at high volumes, you could melt the insulation. It depends on the current level.

 

Since when did speaker wire insulation protect from noise ???

 

Any insulation will protect from noise... of course, shielding is much more effective, but insulation does help.

 

Can I use a shielded speaker cable? Where do I ground? At the amp?

 

When you say melt do you literally mean come off(plastic)? RMS on both subs are 250, if it matters my boost is flat an gain is barely adjusted.....

 

I've never used them because I've never had a noise issue, but I would suspect that would be the place. In most industrial applications, we ground shields at the destination.

Yes, it could, but it is highly unlikely unless you're doing some serious work with your sub. (You'd know if you fall into this category) so you should be fine with 14, probably even 16.

 

Well I have 18 on now. If I up graded would I notice a difference??

 

If you're running 18 without problems, then 18 is fine for you.

 

It don't, only sheilded or twisted pair protect from noise. Noise won't enter the system at the speaker wire anyways. Even if it did it would have to overcome that 100w signal coming down the line.

Noise enters the amplified system normally at a weak grounding point (headunit/amp/crossovers) or cheap RCA cables. Sometimes bad sparkplug wires will toss in a bunch of wizzes and whistles.

 

I have not noticed any problems but it gets warm around an hour but pretty sure thats normal. But does it mean it will play clearer are any other advantages if upgraded??