I think most of you picked up what I was putting down, but for those who didn’t. The whole video I’m showing you why OFC is actually better whilst messing around and insinuating that CCA is better.
Okay okay smh I was about to comment and say that I might have to unfollow if you truly believed that cca was better and were putting out bad info like that lol you may have lost a few subs from this one bud maybe you should have let on a bit earlier that you were just joking as im sure some never even got to thee end and just clicked away as soon as they saw your results 😅
If you're purchasing CCA from a reputable company then it's a good deal, so OFC might be overrated! But, if you're buying good equipment why would you cheap out on the wires, that makes no sense. It's like wearing, Armani suite with nike runners!!!
Ya 2 runs of CCA is cheaper. Will handle more current and if you don't mind running more wire then I'd say it's better in everyway when comparing to the price of copper in 2022! IMO if you compare the cost to efficiency ratio. Copper simply isn't worth it 🤷#LetsGoBrandon!
Idk man personally as a firefighter I’ve seen multiple car fires where cca burnt through the jacket arched and caught the carpet and insulation on fire I think cca is ok for short runs but for long runs I just can’t trust the cca due to the heat it creates .
yep, i been witness as well...i seen that cheappy redd wire burn through the jacket. i been using OFC andd had no problems at all, i even use it on my oem electrical on my vehicles for starter, alt ect..
From my experiences as an airplane mechanic as well as life long audio enthusiast it comes down to how the wire is going to be used. Will it be firmly secured so that it never moves throughout it's life or will it be subjected to regular flexing, even if it's just minor flexing? Aluminum is a wonderful metal with great strength to weight ratio as well as excellent conductivity and thermal transfer functions. It's biggest weakness for our discussion is that it is easily one of the metals most prone to "work hardening." I was using the cheap welding leads that came with a welder I had just purchased to get what little life I could out of them and their cheap rod holder until I switched over to my "real" cables and rod and ground clamps. Also I was just curious to see how well they did or didn't work. The gauge was sufficient for the current I was using and I didn't have a problem with the cable even as the cheap rod holder went to shite in a hurry. Then one day as I was laying bead after bead of hard surfacing rod to the face of my anvil the electrode cable caught fire about 1 inch from the holder and burned a few seconds before severing and dropping to the ground. It seemed odd to me that this fire occurred in the middle of a section of cable, not at a crimp joint at the terminal. After examining the roasted wire I immediately noticed it was CCA. I hadn't really thought about it and it was not disclosed by the Mfg. anywhere in their documentation. My opinion is that there is constant flexing of the cable at the point where it enters the rod holder during normal use. This flexing caused work hardening in the aluminum core of each strand and they began to break. Each strand that broke placed more current stress on the remaining strands. The whole failure probably increased exponentially as the strands continued to break until the heat being induced into what small amount of conductor material remaining caught fire. Eventually I hope this knowledge becomes well known enough that CCA will not get approved for use in welding cable. But in my car setup where I have an 0 gauge CCA cable running from the battery at the front of the car to the amplifiers mounted in the rear this isn't a problem. Sure it may be slightly less efficient than oxygen free pure copper but the weight savings is substantial. Not that the weight influenced my purchase. I bought it because it was cheaper, way cheaper. But in massive wiring harnesses the weight savings can be very substantial. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that it all depends on the application. And never use CCA in your welding cables.
It's the heat cycles that harden the aluminum making it more an more brittle. I nearly had a car fire due to CCA main power wire. CCA is dangerous and it WILL eventually fail. It's not a question of if it will fail because it will, there's no way around that. All the best.
This might sound crazy but I was using O GUAGE CCA . I decided just to try OFC 4 GUAGE I could tell a big difference in the sound much louder. Just seem like it was putting out way more power with the 100 % OFC . Ever since then I decided to go with 100% OFC . So after buying the 4 GUAGE I ended up buying 0 GUAGE OFC wow what a increase in sound so much louder. But like I said if I couldn’t afford it no way would I buy OFC it’s very pricey. Everybody is different but I have to go with OFC all the way just works better 4 me. If I was using say a 500-1000 watt amp I would probably just go with a 0 GUAGE run of CCA but I’m using a 2500 watt amp SUN DOWN . So I have to use OFC it takes a huge current pull to run that amp. Just my opinion everybody has a different opinion. Have a wonderful day. But yes you are correct it is expensive to go with OFC. If I couldn’t afford it I would go with CCA just for the price savings. So I wouldn’t blame anybody for going with CCA just because the money savings . If it works for you why not save that money if you can get by with the application.
I have a bmw with cca audio wire for 22 years now same wires I updated amps and subs over the years and i can see a little bit a green on it but not bad my audio still shakes the car specially with my new lithium battery now
Ofc for the last 25 years. Just discovered tinned ofc about 6 months ago when I got back into car audio. I live in southwest Missouri and the humidity here is terrible most of the year. Anxious to see how the tinned wire holds up.
Quality OFC welding wire + additional braided jacket is about the same price as brand name CCA wire of the same gauge without the braided jacket, and less than brand name OFC without the jacket. As long as you use the appropriate gauge for the application and do a quality install, I don't think it matters too much what you go with...except in extreme situations like contests.
Where? I can get 25 feet of 0/1 CCA for about a buck a foot. Best I can find generic OFC welding wire in generic casing is $3.50/ft. 10 years ago, yea, OFC was pretty cheap, but copper is no longer as inexpensive as it use to be.
@@faaaaq Copper prices fluctuate constantly and right now it is not cheap. CCA may be just fine for what you plan to do, but only you can know for sure.
@@HifiVega if that's the first time you've ever used it, then that's a blessing lol. It deff works. But I just miss the days when wire was just wire. Was so simple.
If your cca is big enough for the job you wouldn't see that result. I run 0 gauge cca for my 1200 watt rms amp and it only has .03 voltage drop and doesn't heat up even 1 degree.
After melting distribution blocks and the terminals on my amp i could only conclude it was from the cca wire i was using. From my experience as long as you use the next wire gauge size up that your amp or distribution blocks can accept and use reducer's on them then i had no more issues. But that can be a pain if your running 1/0 gauge wire and step up to 2/0 gauge wire. So i only run tinned ofc wire anymore and that is only to help with corrosion. I have tinned ofc in my wife s car for almost 6yrs now and still no corrosion what so ever. Besides Steve Meade did a video on the difference as well and shows the power and heat difference,and when using higher power amplifiers u can lose several hundred watts.
The Pioneer amp in here using 4 gauge is a safe choice by pioneer. A lot of amps rated 1500w+ still have 4 gauge and CCA could be a real issue. With CCA you should always retighten your connections periodically. Aluminum expands and contracts a bit more than copper does.
Was the jacket of the wire melting? Think the material make up of your wire is not the issue but having way way too thin of wire or a arc somewhere. unless you are playing sine waves constantly you shouldnt see that amount of amp draw for the amount of time for it to heat up enough to melt plastic. Glad it's sorted though.
@@commonsenseisdeadin2024 yes and no,the metal inputs on the amp that is covered with plastic got hot enough to start melting the plastic around the metal. I have seen this happen many times when using cca wire. No sine waves just bass heavy music no clipping.
I've seen it from arcing, I can't say I've seen it otherwise. That's crazy. My 1/0 shca CCA on 3000 Watts (rms power) didn't even get hot on bass boosted music. I now have 1 run of CCA and 1 run of OFC to the trunk. Think I'm good. I do have 90 feet of 1/0 welding cable though if it's not enough lol
Steve Meade ran a similar test. Matching gauge in cca and ofc. Over like a 20 ft. Run, they lost 300 watts due to less efficient power flow. Now, I believe that was on something like a 3 to 5000 watt setup, so in a real world application for most people, as long as you install in a good quality manner, it should not matter.
Steve Meade said I was stupid for using 2 runs of 0ga CCA vs one run of 0g OFC. Even though I told him the two runs of CCA was $34 and one run of OFC was $70. I already had the CCA so it's what I used, of course I would rather have OFC... who wouldn't.
My experience with cca isn't that great. It got the job done, but it was a cheap Orion 4 gauge kit ($20). After about a year, the kit is showing its quality. The wire by the battery terminal is corroding and had to cut out about 4 inches to get usable wire. I plan to install Sky High Audio ofc.
Im 3years late, but i use most of the time CCA... and why do i?, I want to show people that a budget can be good aswell. Now im running stock volvo v60 with sunroof, cable is 25mm2 ( first 30cm bc i cut fail on 35mm2 cable so the ecu was in the way for the fuse ) 35mm2 CCA back from the fuse, 74ah bosch battery no agm, 1500w monoblock in back, own designed box 15" sub , with box tuned to 34hz to play good on most music, I play 144.55db @43hz. 141-143 at 35-42hz. Im gonna find out how much power the sub get, waiting on the clamp, but i have set gain with oscilloscope so this is without clipping! This is my first ever box design i done myself so iguess it could be even better :) But i will say, on my other build that gonna be SPL and litihum and make power, i think im gonna go OFC :) But if your on a budget, better go oversize CCA. Love to see this type of videos.
It would be better to have ofc, but if all you have is a short run of CCA and it’s sized properly for the current you’ll be ok. Just make sure you crimp it well and heatshrink it
When you consider how much you are spending in total for a car stereo upgrade these dsays (and yes it is not cheap especially so much of it being made in China) that to spend the extra money on OFC Power wires is worth it. OFC however can work well as speaker wire, and is how I use the two wires, while still saving a few bucks but still getting a "proper" install and good sound quality.
Very cool test👍Every inch of wire in the prius is skyhighcaraudio OFC blue on black just bought another 25' of 8guage and 50' of 12guage for the new box now in the house I used their cca for all my surround stuff.
What if say you’re only pushing a 4-500 watt amp for mids and high using 4 gauge caa, will swapping over to 4 gauge ofc make a difference or even worth it the trouble?
I have 1/0 streetwires that has been used in multiple vehicles of mine for 30 years. 2 of the vehicles have been under water due to hurricanes and the wire still looks like new. The cca i used in my work truck didn't last 8 years before it crumbled
8ga OFC cable can run the same amp as 4ga ACC cable .. the advantage of ACC is being able to run a small amp through the cooper coating on the ACC cable.
I think the results speak for themselves. Lots of us have also seen Steve's video testing CCA vs OFC. To each their own. Lots of us are on a budget, myself included. But the extra few dollars I can scrounge up for the OFC wiring I use in the end gives me piece of mind that less power is wasted, and more of that wattage makes it to my mids/highs and subs.
CCA is a budget option, not the best way to get the full potential of your system but if you plan on running a small amplifier you could get away with using cca. Me personally, would rather use welding instead of cca. Thanks for the video man
@hifivega Need help/advice with my set up. Got salt 4k with 2 x12’s. H/o alt and extra battery in the back. Zero gauge and big 3 done. I charge good at 14.7 but still flash low on the volt meter when playing. What I just learned is that I have cca and not ofc. Would that be the problem?
You basically need double the amount of cca to match the performance of OFC. That being said you you may actually want to run a single 2/0 run of OFC depending on your amperage draw. You could add another run of cca, but I don’t know if that’s going to give you the desired results.
Check out Steve Meade's video on exactly that using cca your losing several hundred watts and generating lots of heat. Ofc copper or tinned ofc copper is the best way to go.
Ofc forsure, before I knew anything about car audio I used to buy cca and it would always corrode, and there u have me buying another wiring kit when I could of just used ofc from the start
Very simple rule, if you buy a $1000 car and a $500, 500 watt system you buy a $30 power cable. If you have a decent ride and a system that's equally of good quality you don't hesitate to buy a quality cable hook up. Spending less than $200 on your 2000 watt system is moronic and will bite you in the ass in the future... unless of course you never turn it up more than 25% which in that case you've wasted your money. I had a friend that bought the best of everything back in the day and spent $5000+ and never turned it up past 90db listening volume. Sounded nice at 90 but when the one time he let me borrow his car it sounded better at 125db to me.
@Popwarhomie ... I love welding cable. Can't use it all the time; but if I have it available & don't need it for anything else (construction etc.) I'll grab that welding cable & use it on car audio hobby projects.
Now could you test a larger gauge CCA vs a smaller OFC. Such as 4-gauge OFC vs 2-gauge CCA. This is how I truly use CCA. I go oversized CCA because it is still cheaper and does the job. It still is subject to more corrosion but that can be dealt with by using dielectric grease on the exposed ends.
Always run ofc...most of us have used cca at one point or another...but it's not worth the cost saving vs peace of mind..ill take the added cost of ofc any day..
I've installed different brands of CCA wire 0 gauge usually and customers Vehicles they come back months later because they has such high resistance in The Wire itself and would keep blowing the inline fuse. I would then replace the cca wire with any ofc wire and they would be good for years.
Using some math, you can have fairly on-par performance out of CCA by using 2awg larger than the OFC equivalent. e.g. use 4awg CCA in place of 6awg OFC and you get a cable that's lower cost and less weight, but have to deal with larger size and the need to further corrosion-proof your ends (noalox).
6awg copper = 4awg aluminium 🤔, the smaller the gauge the fatter the wire. CCA doesn't last for shit if you live in a wet area. Shame everyone local is only selling CCA these days, gonna have to import OFC from overseas, back 10 years ago even the flea market stuff was decent copper. Guess it doesn't help that the cost of copper sky rocketed recently. Gonna have to source copper welding wire instead of Chinese aluminium.
OFC because I'm a perfectionist. +1 for the KnuKonceptz mention too. That company is the dope sauce and I go to them first both for product quality and fast shipping. Honestly though, as long as you do the math for current draw and distance requirements for each type, both will do the job. That, coupled with proper fusing and common sense protective measures to prevent oxidation on the wire go ahead and save those dollar bills on the CCA.
I have had CCA running as speaker cable for past 1.5 years. Recently, one of the speakers stopped operating and on inspecting, found it to be oxidised completely at the terminal end and wire had white powdered stuff running into the transparent insulation as well. Hence, at least for speakers wire applications, CCA fails to do the job and copper/ OFC should be preferred.
I have I think CCA at some home cheap speakers since 2005 and they are still pretty fine, but they have the tips soldered so they never break apart or oxidize much 😎
I mean, for under 1k watts it doesn't really matter what you use as long as it's the true gauge, I bought some 4 gauge kit for 20 bucks, I never ended up using it, it was such a joke, the wire inside was like 10 gauge and the insulation ran thick, I didn't bother to check when I bought it, now I know to check everything
I am an OFC guy myself but what this test does indicate is that there is space for CCA too in the real world for one's daily boom. Music is dynamic and the stress on the wire will potentially be lower. Another point to note probably could be that one may consider CCA for speaker wires without a fuss..so Amazon basics wire may just work as good as a stinger speaker wire. I am not sure if am ready to make the shift but a very interesting video. Thanks.
Aluminum: ~60% the conductivity of copper Lower melting point than copper More prone to fatigue than copper Until recently, the aerospace industry avoided it I'm allergic to it Copper: Heavy Tastes funny I'm not allergic to it! To me, CCA wire in car audio is like getting a diet soda with a super-sized triple cheeseburger meal. Thousands of dollars in equipment, hundreds of pounds of subs, amps and hardware, only to save a couple bucks and a couple pounds while losing 40% of current-handling and risking longevity just doesn't seem worth it. But really though, so long as I can get in my car, turn the key, crank up the volume, and find myself grinning ear to ear, then whatever's working is working, and I ain't bitching! :D
It also very very much by where you live. If I'm not mistaken you live in a lower humidity state Rob. If you live like where I do in South Florida CCA is your worst nightmare.
I believe cca if fine if done right. You cant mix copper lugs on cca wire or aluminum lugs on copper wire but people do this alot. If copper touches cca wire anywhere it causes electrolysis and degrades it. If you use the correct gage and the correct lugs cca is just as good. Cca is used by electricians for all types of applications. It got a bad rap in car audio because people dont understand how to use it.
First, I'm OFC 4 life! I think CCA is fine if your not building a really high powered system. 1.5k or less, you're probably ok and won't notice any loss. I think you will notice and the wire becomes more compromised once you get into the high powered stuff. Kudos to your last show with Dean. A few of your points hit home with the copper vs aluminium fuse/distribution blocks. I ended up going aluminium SMD.
You will notice a loss on any level of system, assuming youre using the recommended AWG for that system. If youre using 0AWG on a 500-1000w system, yea, CCA is fine, but you could be using like 4AWG or even 8AWG on shorter runs for that same system if you were using OFC. Use 8 or 4AWG CCA and try pushing a real 1000w, youre either going to see pretty big voltage drops, or run into issues like Rude Jude mentioned, where the cable reaches a thermal limit and starts to cause problems. CCA is "fine" for a 100k watt system as well...assuming you are using twice the cable as you would if you were using OFC. I currently have 0AWG CCA for the wiring on my 3600W RMS-capable system, BUT....my alt cant push enough amperage to power my system anyways, so CCA is well within spec for the amperage draw for the 1200-1500w im actually pushing. I am upgrading to pure OFC this weekend in preparation for a new 370amp alt, though.
@@faaaaq I currently have a 370 amp alternator and a 2/0 run of OFC Skyhigh wire powering 1 RF T2500 back & a T600-4 for mids & highs. I also have 2 XS power agm batteries under the hood to negate voltage drop. I have had zero issues.with my electrical system. You will absolutely love that alternator!
You'll need to crimp and shrink any CCA in your engine bay. Avoid open strands and set screw terminals at all costs. You'll also need to tighten your terminals periodically since CCA tends to loosen up causing high resistance. Also need to use larger CCA than OFC to carry the same amount of current, and bigger wire is harder to run sometimes. For the cost between CCA and welding cable, I don't see a real benefit.
@@elitepknuable Yeah, but a lot of amplifiers have smaller input terminals than their amps need (I'm looking at you HiFonics) and if you're running 20 feet of 4 gauge CCA to an amp trying to put out 2kwrms with the gains set "by ear" or "half way", some people are gonna have a real bad time.
I will suggest buying the best you can afford however every test I've seen or done shows that OFC has less resistance and allows your amp to produce more power. Though if you're building a budget build then CCA is better. I personally am running all Knukonceptz Kolossus OFC oversized 1/0 and 4awg wiring but quality is what I wanted.
I have cca in my grad prix hooked up to a 2400 watt rms amp and it works perfectly fine but in my grand cherokee i have ofc hooked up to a 4000 watt rms amp ( cherokee system not finished ) but id say cca is fine for low power amps but wouldnt run in in a monster set up like my cherokee !! I paid 50 bucks for 1/0 cca amp kit and 120 bucks for ofc amp kit so price may be some peoples reason for buying cca
Man this is a tough one i'm putting 2 amps in my 2011 chevy tahoe and i don't no who to believe to use CCA OR OFC i also seen Steve meade video where he test these wires he is saying OFC is the best.
Thank You so much for informing and entertaining us! P.S. I wonder if the resistance or "rise" would change in "hot conditions" CCA/OFC hooked up to a woofer? simulating real life.. most of us run our Amps, wire and subs in the trunk 100+ temp at start up.
That’s a great question! Maybe I should try testing that at some point. Also thanks for actually watching the video I get a feeling some didn’t pick up what I was trying to lay down lol.
OFC FTW!!! I had one of my three vehicles with CCA wire for over a year then it started to corrode around the terminal that's connected to my second battery in the trunk
@@superchile9640 yeah I do also under the hood but not in The TRUNK! Also the other wires where ofc hooked to the exact same terminal had no problems!!!!
@@superchile9640 now I'm not bashing CCA if that's all you can afford do your thing bro but for me ofc all the way!!! That's almost like building a race car and then putting cheap tires on it😞!!!
The major difference between cca and ofc is thermal runaway. Cca will catastrophically fail when it reaches it max heat where the ofc will maintain and cool itself at a higher temp.
Hears the deal boys n gyrls- if you measure by size, schedule, diameter of wire OFC will flow more current. If you compare the two by MASS or wieght the CCA will be much larger than the OFC and carry the same or more or less current. Try doing a test based on Mass, it might take 1/0 CCA to equal 4g OFC. We wont know till ya test it!
I ask myself which IS BETTER CCA OR OFC . AND I SEE MANY VIDEOS AND CCA is good less expensive BUT OFC IS BETTER EXPENSIVE BUT WORKS PERFECT 👌 SO I CHANGE ALL MY WIRES FOR OFC ....
this has been tried and true over and over on sine waves, i have yet to see it on music. i'm personally running both 1 run 1/0 cca and 1 run of 1/0 ofc, both sky high. i have a 370 amp alt and running them all the way to the trunk to 2 agms. from the agms i will be running cca because if 4 2 foot runs cant give me the 3000 watts im asking of it of the 5000+ it certified on the dyno at, i quit
You're a naughty boy Vega...messin with people like that. 😝 Seriously, how many times do you buy wire? Get the right gauge and don't cut corners. Do it right and you'll never have to worry about it again. OFC is the only way to go!
I haven't seen a whole lot of your videos yet but if you plan on continuing test and comparison videos where you need temp data I hope you can invest in a decent flir thermal camera (harbor freight) instead of these non-contact infra red. I have multiple different thermometers of this type (including the exact one you're using here) and I'm sure you know they are NOT pinpoint accurate at all and have a quickly diverging cone of effective area. Good for big areas like the heat sink of an amp but def not for such a small surface area as wire HAVING SAID THAT I doubt there are that many other needs that a thermal imager is a must in the realm of car audio
@@HifiVega man I hope you can. I can't afford to be a Patreon member but I wish I could. Maybe things will change enough for me to do a one time thing. But if you do get one it would be awesome if you could show it off in detail for us. And thanks for the videos you produce. You cover some areas that not many do. I especially like your lists. Everybody else reviews one amp or one sub. Your lists and shootouts disseminate SO MUCH more useful data. More tubers need to follow your lead Did you hear that big D ???
So it weights less, is that why you are a CCA fan @HifiVega? ... This my first time using OFC for my whole system down to the tweeters so I am about to find out. I use both KnuKonceptz & SHCA. I like KnuKonceptz because their wire is tinned that is all I can speak on so far. Oh yeah it is heavy too. I bought a couple spools. You can tell the difference.
CCA does not have the same current rating as OFC. What you should do is if you are using 8GA OFC then you should use 6GA CCA. Even you step one up, CCA would still way cheaper
what is interesting is most people running CCA vs OFC cannot pull the power through their system, they would need to make a difference spend the money of the AMP and speakers not the wire
Ofc all the way. More watts I'm also an electrician. Aluminum you have to upsize it to equal copper wire. Aluminum cca wire expands with heat. I used 0 guage cca with reducers to 4 guage toy amp cause it was cheaper and better then running 4 guage ofc wire and l get more current due to the size and it's a short Run.
I think you got more power with the ofc with less amps pulled. So in a competitive scenario the extra watts could yield greater numbers. Im ofc welding wire for life. Almost looks like your vehicle your testing the cca on stays inside a garage. Lol i know the cca I used had corroded over within 6 months, it swoll up right at the ends too on the connections under the hood. It was also corroded inside the cab but not swollen like it was under the hood. But my vehicles are outside all the time never covered.
I think you have done it very different from actual setup. We usually run 0 awg from the battery, distribution blocks to 4 awg. So actually the 4 awg only runs few feet to amp and grounds...etc Running 4 awg from source to destination will not be ideal for this amp. CCA or OFC will suffer no matter what Don't think that these results are conclusive
The size doesn’t matter you will have loses and more heat either way. I compared 4ga to 4ga you can see Meade do 1/0 to 1/0 here ua-cam.com/video/cWI-_6PRyFs/v-deo.html
Going to have to knock you a few points for not having the timer in the video the whole time. Also for not having the video showing the scales. Watch a few of Project Farm vids, he's got this comparison thing down pat!
Somebody watches too much Scotty Killmore. In all seriousness I can appreciate the satire and I enjoyed the video, but CCA isn't something I or anyone I know has ever considered. I mean, I could take a dump in my bathtub, but that's not what it was made for.
I think the difference between CCA and ofc is minimal especially in car audio. I think your test is good. I just want you to know that if you look at the mayor car audio brands CT sounds, SKAR, Alphard deaf bonce etc. all these brands use ccaw on all there 2500 3000 watt sub woofers voice coils but on the 500 to 1000 watt subs use pure copper or ofc. I guess you can run more power through CCA .
I say it’s mostly balls down to how much you’re willing to spend and how you use what you’re using then what you use, I feel that applies to every part of your install. If I made any bit of sense lol 😂
If you want to use applications for high wattage, audio receivers or high powered amps you should be using OFC. Unless you prefer to burn down your house or car down to the ground
Not to mention the weight factor. Even running 2 runs of CCA put you at 2.8 lbs (going off the 1.4lbs X 2) that is still less that the 3.4lbs of copper run. That only leave the durability/corrosion factor. You can get tinned CCA to combat that. I'm sorry but the more comparison videos I watch the more I lean towards CCA for LIFE. let's talk PROS of CCA for a sec 1. Lighter 2. Cheaper 3. More Flexible 4. Readily available 5. Multiple runs STILL CHEAPER than 1 run of Cheapest "Welding" wire run 6. Usually "oversized" and has higher strand count. Electricity flow on top of wire, not through it! The wire is copper coated therefore it's very conductive!
Daily driver CCA without a 2nd thought. OFC if your doing an SPL vehicle where every watt counts. I'll use whichever is cheeper, my last build has OFC because KnuKonceptz.com had a great sale when I was shopping and the CCA was more.
![The best 1/0 OFC power wire tested and compared (1/0 shootout part 2) [4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QNnOd2ffxFI/mqdefault.jpg)
I think most of you picked up what I was putting down, but for those who didn’t. The whole video I’m showing you why OFC is actually better whilst messing around and insinuating that CCA is better.
I give you props on the title, more people will watch. Keep up the great content!
I was about to say this isn’t true, Glad to see u was joking 🙃🤦🏾♂️
Okay okay smh I was about to comment and say that I might have to unfollow if you truly believed that cca was better and were putting out bad info like that lol you may have lost a few subs from this one bud maybe you should have let on a bit earlier that you were just joking as im sure some never even got to thee end and just clicked away as soon as they saw your results 😅
If you're purchasing CCA from a reputable company then it's a good deal, so OFC might be overrated!
But, if you're buying good equipment why would you cheap out on the wires, that makes no sense. It's like wearing, Armani suite with nike runners!!!
Ya 2 runs of CCA is cheaper. Will handle more current and if you don't mind running more wire then I'd say it's better in everyway when comparing to the price of copper in 2022! IMO if you compare the cost to efficiency ratio. Copper simply isn't worth it 🤷#LetsGoBrandon!
I’m a tinned OFC guy. I live on the gulf coast and everything rusts and corrodes. Marine grade is almost needed
trucker 9000 I certainly wouldn’t mind getting something installed from you then. Down in MS, even things inside your house will rust
Idk man personally as a firefighter I’ve seen multiple car fires where cca burnt through the jacket arched and caught the carpet and insulation on fire I think cca is ok for short runs but for long runs I just can’t trust the cca due to the heat it creates .
yep, i been witness as well...i seen that cheappy redd wire burn through the jacket. i been using OFC andd had no problems at all, i even use it on my oem electrical on my vehicles for starter, alt ect..
not fused properly. iv seen fools put a 300amp use on 8awg ofc wire. it still went up in smoke.
Yeah CCA is not good, there are so many tests showing lower power outputs etc. Nobody with a conscience should promote this garbage.
From my experiences as an airplane mechanic as well as life long audio enthusiast it comes down to how the wire is going to be used. Will it be firmly secured so that it never moves throughout it's life or will it be subjected to regular flexing, even if it's just minor flexing? Aluminum is a wonderful metal with great strength to weight ratio as well as excellent conductivity and thermal transfer functions. It's biggest weakness for our discussion is that it is easily one of the metals most prone to "work hardening." I was using the cheap welding leads that came with a welder I had just purchased to get what little life I could out of them and their cheap rod holder until I switched over to my "real" cables and rod and ground clamps. Also I was just curious to see how well they did or didn't work. The gauge was sufficient for the current I was using and I didn't have a problem with the cable even as the cheap rod holder went to shite in a hurry. Then one day as I was laying bead after bead of hard surfacing rod to the face of my anvil the electrode cable caught fire about 1 inch from the holder and burned a few seconds before severing and dropping to the ground. It seemed odd to me that this fire occurred in the middle of a section of cable, not at a crimp joint at the terminal. After examining the roasted wire I immediately noticed it was CCA. I hadn't really thought about it and it was not disclosed by the Mfg. anywhere in their documentation. My opinion is that there is constant flexing of the cable at the point where it enters the rod holder during normal use. This flexing caused work hardening in the aluminum core of each strand and they began to break. Each strand that broke placed more current stress on the remaining strands. The whole failure probably increased exponentially as the strands continued to break until the heat being induced into what small amount of conductor material remaining caught fire. Eventually I hope this knowledge becomes well known enough that CCA will not get approved for use in welding cable. But in my car setup where I have an 0 gauge CCA cable running from the battery at the front of the car to the amplifiers mounted in the rear this isn't a problem. Sure it may be slightly less efficient than oxygen free pure copper but the weight savings is substantial. Not that the weight influenced my purchase. I bought it because it was cheaper, way cheaper. But in massive wiring harnesses the weight savings can be very substantial. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that it all depends on the application. And never use CCA in your welding cables.
It's the heat cycles that harden the aluminum making it more an more brittle. I nearly had a car fire due to CCA main power wire. CCA is dangerous and it WILL eventually fail. It's not a question of if it will fail because it will, there's no way around that. All the best.
This might sound crazy but I was using O GUAGE CCA .
I decided just to try OFC 4 GUAGE I could tell a big difference in the sound much louder.
Just seem like it was putting out way more power with the 100 % OFC .
Ever since then I decided to go with 100% OFC .
So after buying the 4 GUAGE I ended up buying 0 GUAGE OFC wow what a increase in sound so much louder.
But like I said if I couldn’t afford it no way would I buy OFC it’s very pricey.
Everybody is different but I have to go with OFC all the way just works better 4 me.
If I was using say a 500-1000 watt amp I would probably just go with a 0 GUAGE run of CCA but I’m using a 2500 watt amp SUN DOWN .
So I have to use OFC it takes a huge current pull to run that amp.
Just my opinion everybody has a different opinion.
Have a wonderful day.
But yes you are correct it is expensive to go with OFC.
If I couldn’t afford it I would go with CCA just for the price savings.
So I wouldn’t blame anybody for going with CCA just because the money savings .
If it works for you why not save that money if you can get by with the application.
I have a bmw with cca audio wire for 22 years now same wires I updated amps and subs over the years and i can see a little bit a green on it but not bad my audio still shakes the car specially with my new lithium battery now
Try soldering the two and see what happens.
Ofc for the last 25 years. Just discovered tinned ofc about 6 months ago when I got back into car audio. I live in southwest Missouri and the humidity here is terrible most of the year. Anxious to see how the tinned wire holds up.
Quality OFC welding wire + additional braided jacket is about the same price as brand name CCA wire of the same gauge without the braided jacket, and less than brand name OFC without the jacket. As long as you use the appropriate gauge for the application and do a quality install, I don't think it matters too much what you go with...except in extreme situations like contests.
Where? I can get 25 feet of 0/1 CCA for about a buck a foot. Best I can find generic OFC welding wire in generic casing is $3.50/ft. 10 years ago, yea, OFC was pretty cheap, but copper is no longer as inexpensive as it use to be.
@@faaaaq Copper prices fluctuate constantly and right now it is not cheap. CCA may be just fine for what you plan to do, but only you can know for sure.
I'm a cheap ass. Used cca for a while. But just upgraded to welding cable. Got 30ft for $75. I can tell a difference.
I’m an OFC guy for sure, but I needed to test CCA for myself so I could have a more informed opinion on it.
@@HifiVega if that's the first time you've ever used it, then that's a blessing lol. It deff works. But I just miss the days when wire was just wire. Was so simple.
@BASSNSANE idk how to post the ebay link, but it's from acdc wire. I copied and pasted the title. Just copy it and search in the ebay app...
@BASSNSANE 30' 2/0 WELDING BATTERY CABLE 15' GREEN 15' BLUE 600V USA EPDM HEAVY DUTY COPPER
If your cca is big enough for the job you wouldn't see that result.
I run 0 gauge cca for my 1200 watt rms amp and it only has .03 voltage drop and doesn't heat up even 1 degree.
As long as whatever wire I use pills the current I need I’ll use it, however my amp manual stated not to use CCA
Pono Sunrider what brand amp?
Def use OFC if you can
Super Chile Cerwin Vega S9100.1D
I use both, totally application depedant.
I reccomend using whatever fits the budget and goals of the system.
I’m an OFC guy, but I wanted to run some CCA myself so that I have actual experience with it before I speak on it.
After melting distribution blocks and the terminals on my amp i could only conclude it was from the cca wire i was using. From my experience as long as you use the next wire gauge size up that your amp or distribution blocks can accept and use reducer's on them then i had no more issues. But that can be a pain if your running 1/0 gauge wire and step up to 2/0 gauge wire. So i only run tinned ofc wire anymore and that is only to help with corrosion. I have tinned ofc in my wife s car for almost 6yrs now and still no corrosion what so ever. Besides Steve Meade did a video on the difference as well and shows the power and heat difference,and when using higher power amplifiers u can lose several hundred watts.
The Pioneer amp in here using 4 gauge is a safe choice by pioneer. A lot of amps rated 1500w+ still have 4 gauge and CCA could be a real issue. With CCA you should always retighten your connections periodically. Aluminum expands and contracts a bit more than copper does.
Even 15’ pulling 100ish amps showed a noticeable loss, but yes Steve used a big amp and you could really see the difference.
Was the jacket of the wire melting? Think the material make up of your wire is not the issue but having way way too thin of wire or a arc somewhere. unless you are playing sine waves constantly you shouldnt see that amount of amp draw for the amount of time for it to heat up enough to melt plastic. Glad it's sorted though.
@@commonsenseisdeadin2024 yes and no,the metal inputs on the amp that is covered with plastic got hot enough to start melting the plastic around the metal. I have seen this happen many times when using cca wire. No sine waves just bass heavy music no clipping.
I've seen it from arcing, I can't say I've seen it otherwise. That's crazy. My 1/0 shca CCA on 3000 Watts (rms power) didn't even get hot on bass boosted music. I now have 1 run of CCA and 1 run of OFC to the trunk. Think I'm good. I do have 90 feet of 1/0 welding cable though if it's not enough lol
I use both of them OFC to get the power in and CCA to the amplifiers and they work great.
But you’ll replace the cca before you replace the ofc!!!
Me too. But I double up on the few CCA that I use
I have used CCA for years, long as you realize it takes a bigger size and more runs to carry the amperage you will be fine .
I’m an OFC guy for sure, but I needed to test CCA for myself so I could have a more informed opinion on it.
@@HifiVega it's all good , enjoyed the video as always bro
1/0 KnuKonceptz Kolossus OFC back to 4ga splits of the same. Never used CCA and I've been a DIY'er for 30 years!
Steve Meade ran a similar test. Matching gauge in cca and ofc. Over like a 20 ft. Run, they lost 300 watts due to less efficient power flow. Now, I believe that was on something like a 3 to 5000 watt setup, so in a real world application for most people, as long as you install in a good quality manner, it should not matter.
The more amperage you put through cca the more power you will lose no doubt!
Yep especially is you Double up on CCA runs.Steve and these guys are Using one CCA wire your exceeding the wire specs creating resistence.
Steve Meade said I was stupid for using 2 runs of 0ga CCA vs one run of 0g OFC.
Even though I told him the two runs of CCA was $34 and one run of OFC was $70.
I already had the CCA so it's what I used, of course I would rather have OFC... who wouldn't.
So for a basic battery relocation on a drag car..no sound system.
6awg ofc vs 1/0g cca.. which one?
OMG ! No ferule ? Split loom instead of techflex ? Dean needs to have word with you. 😁😂🤣🤣
Same. But I don't have ferrule for 1ga.
We need to be able to see the exposed wire next time he checks on it. I hope that's why there's no ferrule..
I thought the same thing. Lol
Sky high 1/0, Rockford1/0, Knukoncepts kolossus 1/0..best wire to use in my opinion..knukoncepts being my first choice
My experience with cca isn't that great. It got the job done, but it was a cheap Orion 4 gauge kit ($20). After about a year, the kit is showing its quality. The wire by the battery terminal is corroding and had to cut out about 4 inches to get usable wire. I plan to install Sky High Audio ofc.
Im 3years late, but i use most of the time CCA... and why do i?, I want to show people that a budget can be good aswell.
Now im running stock volvo v60 with sunroof, cable is 25mm2 ( first 30cm bc i cut fail on 35mm2 cable so the ecu was in the way for the fuse )
35mm2 CCA back from the fuse, 74ah bosch battery no agm, 1500w monoblock in back, own designed box 15" sub , with box tuned to 34hz to play good on most music, I play 144.55db @43hz. 141-143 at 35-42hz.
Im gonna find out how much power the sub get, waiting on the clamp, but i have set gain with oscilloscope so this is without clipping!
This is my first ever box design i done myself so iguess it could be even better :) But i will say, on my other build that gonna be SPL and litihum and make power, i think im gonna go OFC :)
But if your on a budget, better go oversize CCA.
Love to see this type of videos.
Is CCA ok for the ground?
It would be better to have ofc, but if all you have is a short run of CCA and it’s sized properly for the current you’ll be ok. Just make sure you crimp it well and heatshrink it
@@HifiVega 1/0 CCA for ground and 1/0 OFC power
Is ok?
@@HifiVega I’m only running a 2500 watt amp
@@73MCLOVIN73 if it’s a true 2500 watt amp I’d consider a dual run of 1/0 if you’re using cca
@@HifiVega rms is only like 1600
When you consider how much you are spending in total for a car stereo upgrade these dsays (and yes it is not cheap especially so much of it being made in China) that to spend the extra money on OFC Power wires is worth it. OFC however can work well as speaker wire, and is how I use the two wires, while still saving a few bucks but still getting a "proper" install and good sound quality.
Very cool test👍Every inch of wire in the prius is skyhighcaraudio OFC blue on black just bought another 25' of 8guage and 50' of 12guage for the new box now in the house I used their cca for all my surround stuff.
OFC ftw!
What if say you’re only pushing a 4-500 watt amp for mids and high using 4 gauge caa, will swapping over to 4 gauge ofc make a difference or even worth it the trouble?
I don’t think it would make a big performance different, but you wouldn’t have to worry about the corrosion factor/longevity
I have 1/0 streetwires that has been used in multiple vehicles of mine for 30 years. 2 of the vehicles have been under water due to hurricanes and the wire still looks like new. The cca i used in my work truck didn't last 8 years before it crumbled
That’s exactly why I’m testing it! As soon as I notice degradation I’m gonna make a video and replace it.
I’m using some water well wire lmao. It’s ofc for sure though
Yeah boi!
8ga OFC cable can run the same amp as 4ga ACC cable .. the advantage of ACC is being able to run a small amp through the cooper coating on the ACC cable.
I think the results speak for themselves. Lots of us have also seen Steve's video testing CCA vs OFC. To each their own. Lots of us are on a budget, myself included. But the extra few dollars I can scrounge up for the OFC wiring I use in the end gives me piece of mind that less power is wasted, and more of that wattage makes it to my mids/highs and subs.
ismael garcia totally agree!
CCA is a budget option, not the best way to get the full potential of your system but if you plan on running a small amplifier you could get away with using cca. Me personally, would rather use welding instead of cca. Thanks for the video man
For sure OFC FTW!
Ofc OFC FTW!
I did welding wire on my truck and new ev I did ofc
@hifivega Need help/advice with my set up. Got salt 4k with 2 x12’s. H/o alt and extra battery in the back. Zero gauge and big 3 done. I charge good at 14.7 but still flash low on the volt meter when playing. What I just learned is that I have cca and not ofc. Would that be the problem?
You basically need double the amount of cca to match the performance of OFC. That being said you you may actually want to run a single 2/0 run of OFC depending on your amperage draw. You could add another run of cca, but I don’t know if that’s going to give you the desired results.
@@HifiVega I bought 50 ft of 2/0 ofc, better lugs and another additional battery.
@@MikeDeeKickz518 that should help!
@@HifiVega thank you bro. Appreciate the reply.
I have a question so in a high-powered system what would you recommend let's say a system running at 30000 Watts RMS would you recommend CCA or ofc
theman71177 theman71177 always OFC even on low power
Check out Steve Meade's video on exactly that using cca your losing several hundred watts and generating lots of heat. Ofc copper or tinned ofc copper is the best way to go.
If you have to ask that and you have 30,000 wrms ??? JK
Ofc forsure, before I knew anything about car audio I used to buy cca and it would always corrode, and there u have me buying another wiring kit when I could of just used ofc from the start
Very simple rule, if you buy a $1000 car and a $500, 500 watt system you buy a $30 power cable. If you have a decent ride and a system that's equally of good quality you don't hesitate to buy a quality cable hook up. Spending less than $200 on your 2000 watt system is moronic and will bite you in the ass in the future... unless of course you never turn it up more than 25% which in that case you've wasted your money. I had a friend that bought the best of everything back in the day and spent $5000+ and never turned it up past 90db listening volume. Sounded nice at 90 but when the one time he let me borrow his car it sounded better at 125db to me.
CCA is perfectly fine. I use welding cable though.
Welding cable is hifi approved!
@Popwarhomie ... I love welding cable.
Can't use it all the time; but if I have it available & don't need it for anything else (construction etc.) I'll grab that welding cable & use it on car audio hobby projects.
What is the cca
@@edgaralvarez4579 cca= Copper Clad Aluminum
(kinda like a Copper Plated Aluminum, is the best way that I can easily explain it)
While CCA will get the job done ofc is a much better cable and you get less resistance which in turn provides more power on the amp output
Why and how is it better?
Now could you test a larger gauge CCA vs a smaller OFC. Such as 4-gauge OFC vs 2-gauge CCA. This is how I truly use CCA. I go oversized CCA because it is still cheaper and does the job. It still is subject to more corrosion but that can be dealt with by using dielectric grease on the exposed ends.
Always run ofc...most of us have used cca at one point or another...but it's not worth the cost saving vs peace of mind..ill take the added cost of ofc any day..
Well said!
Good video. 👍🏻 What OFC 4 gauge amp kit do you recommend? Gonna be installing a mono kicker 800x1 and a 4 channel 4x400 taramp. Thanks
Knukonceptz
I've installed different brands of CCA wire 0 gauge usually and customers Vehicles they come back months later because they has such high resistance in The Wire itself and would keep blowing the inline fuse. I would then replace the cca wire with any ofc wire and they would be good for years.
Using some math, you can have fairly on-par performance out of CCA by using 2awg larger than the OFC equivalent. e.g. use 4awg CCA in place of 6awg OFC and you get a cable that's lower cost and less weight, but have to deal with larger size and the need to further corrosion-proof your ends (noalox).
Def always worth saving for the OFC.
6awg copper = 4awg aluminium 🤔, the smaller the gauge the fatter the wire. CCA doesn't last for shit if you live in a wet area. Shame everyone local is only selling CCA these days, gonna have to import OFC from overseas, back 10 years ago even the flea market stuff was decent copper. Guess it doesn't help that the cost of copper sky rocketed recently. Gonna have to source copper welding wire instead of Chinese aluminium.
@@fl5537 Thanks for the correction, got dyslexic on my gauges.
OFC because I'm a perfectionist. +1 for the KnuKonceptz mention too. That company is the dope sauce and I go to them first both for product quality and fast shipping. Honestly though, as long as you do the math for current draw and distance requirements for each type, both will do the job. That, coupled with proper fusing and common sense protective measures to prevent oxidation on the wire go ahead and save those dollar bills on the CCA.
I have had CCA running as speaker cable for past 1.5 years. Recently, one of the speakers stopped operating and on inspecting, found it to be oxidised completely at the terminal end and wire had white powdered stuff running into the transparent insulation as well. Hence, at least for speakers wire applications, CCA fails to do the job and copper/ OFC should be preferred.
Ofc for the win!
I have I think CCA at some home cheap speakers since 2005 and they are still pretty fine, but they have the tips soldered so they never break apart or oxidize much 😎
@@guily6669 mine were installed on a car that weathered extreme heat and monsoons of India, maybe that led to faster rate of degradation
I mean, for under 1k watts it doesn't really matter what you use as long as it's the true gauge, I bought some 4 gauge kit for 20 bucks, I never ended up using it, it was such a joke, the wire inside was like 10 gauge and the insulation ran thick, I didn't bother to check when I bought it, now I know to check everything
Ran CCA this summer, Due 2 budget constraints. It was legit CCA or lamps n da house were gonna lose some cords.
😂
I am an OFC guy myself but what this test does indicate is that there is space for CCA too in the real world for one's daily boom. Music is dynamic and the stress on the wire will potentially be lower. Another point to note probably could be that one may consider CCA for speaker wires without a fuss..so Amazon basics wire may just work as good as a stinger speaker wire.
I am not sure if am ready to make the shift but a very interesting video. Thanks.
I’m an OFC guy for sure, but I needed to test CCA for myself so I could have a more informed opinion on it.
That was brilliant using Kicker ofc to eliminate na saying on wire
Good video, it's showing what everyone needs to know
Aluminum:
~60% the conductivity of copper
Lower melting point than copper
More prone to fatigue than copper
Until recently, the aerospace industry avoided it
I'm allergic to it
Copper:
Heavy
Tastes funny
I'm not allergic to it!
To me, CCA wire in car audio is like getting a diet soda with a super-sized triple cheeseburger meal. Thousands of dollars in equipment, hundreds of pounds of subs, amps and hardware, only to save a couple bucks and a couple pounds while losing 40% of current-handling and risking longevity just doesn't seem worth it.
But really though, so long as I can get in my car, turn the key, crank up the volume, and find myself grinning ear to ear, then whatever's working is working, and I ain't bitching! :D
Amen to that. There's a reason car manufacturers and utility companies use copper.
Got me. I was completely confused.
If you know what you're gonna do pulling for amperage just add extra CCA, been running it for years
It also very very much by where you live. If I'm not mistaken you live in a lower humidity state Rob. If you live like where I do in South Florida CCA is your worst nightmare.
If oxidation is a real concern, buy tinned wire, ccaw or ofc
I’m in Arkansas definitely a lot of humidity here and that’s why I’m running this test with CCA
@@HifiVega aww hell I'm in Texas rob we're neighbors. Are you going to OSS in scurry TX next month?
Wayne Slain dunno if I’m gonna make it this year
CCA is fine if you go up one gauge or two vs OFC. Same gauge OFC will win, same as pure sliver would win vs copper.
I believe cca if fine if done right. You cant mix copper lugs on cca wire or aluminum lugs on copper wire but people do this alot. If copper touches cca wire anywhere it causes electrolysis and degrades it. If you use the correct gage and the correct lugs cca is just as good. Cca is used by electricians for all types of applications. It got a bad rap in car audio because people dont understand how to use it.
Current. It's all about current and how much your amps pull. That's more or less the deciding factor along with the length
First, I'm OFC 4 life! I think CCA is fine if your not building a really high powered system. 1.5k or less, you're probably ok and won't notice any loss. I think you will notice and the wire becomes more compromised once you get into the high powered stuff. Kudos to your last show with Dean. A few of your points hit home with the copper vs aluminium fuse/distribution blocks. I ended up going aluminium SMD.
You will notice a loss on any level of system, assuming youre using the recommended AWG for that system. If youre using 0AWG on a 500-1000w system, yea, CCA is fine, but you could be using like 4AWG or even 8AWG on shorter runs for that same system if you were using OFC. Use 8 or 4AWG CCA and try pushing a real 1000w, youre either going to see pretty big voltage drops, or run into issues like Rude Jude mentioned, where the cable reaches a thermal limit and starts to cause problems. CCA is "fine" for a 100k watt system as well...assuming you are using twice the cable as you would if you were using OFC.
I currently have 0AWG CCA for the wiring on my 3600W RMS-capable system, BUT....my alt cant push enough amperage to power my system anyways, so CCA is well within spec for the amperage draw for the 1200-1500w im actually pushing. I am upgrading to pure OFC this weekend in preparation for a new 370amp alt, though.
@@faaaaq I currently have a 370 amp alternator and a 2/0 run of OFC Skyhigh wire powering 1 RF T2500 back & a T600-4 for mids & highs. I also have 2 XS power agm batteries under the hood to negate voltage drop. I have had zero issues.with my electrical system. You will absolutely love that alternator!
You'll need to crimp and shrink any CCA in your engine bay. Avoid open strands and set screw terminals at all costs. You'll also need to tighten your terminals periodically since CCA tends to loosen up causing high resistance. Also need to use larger CCA than OFC to carry the same amount of current, and bigger wire is harder to run sometimes. For the cost between CCA and welding cable, I don't see a real benefit.
People are using what fits in the amp he was wise to use the same size cable
@@elitepknuable Yeah, but a lot of amplifiers have smaller input terminals than their amps need (I'm looking at you HiFonics) and if you're running 20 feet of 4 gauge CCA to an amp trying to put out 2kwrms with the gains set "by ear" or "half way", some people are gonna have a real bad time.
@@srp365 Agree, I love Taramps, I run one but the inputs could be bigger or more, like B2 or Sundown..
Well said!
I will suggest buying the best you can afford however every test I've seen or done shows that OFC has less resistance and allows your amp to produce more power.
Though if you're building a budget build then CCA is better.
I personally am running all Knukonceptz Kolossus OFC oversized 1/0 and 4awg wiring but quality is what I wanted.
OFC ftw!
I have cca in my grad prix hooked up to a 2400 watt rms amp and it works perfectly fine but in my grand cherokee i have ofc hooked up to a 4000 watt rms amp ( cherokee system not finished ) but id say cca is fine for low power amps but wouldnt run in in a monster set up like my cherokee !! I paid 50 bucks for 1/0 cca amp kit and 120 bucks for ofc amp kit so price may be some peoples reason for buying cca
Always go with the OFC when you can
I hate when I try to buy wire and it says that it's 4guage and when I compare, it winds up being more like 6 or 8...I've had it happen many times.
Scott Miller yeah that’s the worst
Thank you Robert 👍👍
Once again great video, audio, visual, tutorial, clarity & concise to
the point legitimate testing !!!
Always keeping real...
Man this is a tough one i'm putting 2 amps in my 2011 chevy tahoe and i don't no who to believe to use CCA OR OFC i also seen Steve meade video where he test these wires he is saying OFC is the best.
OFC all the way man. If you watch the test results you see OFC wins at every turn
Thank You so much for informing and entertaining us! P.S. I wonder if the resistance or "rise" would change in "hot conditions" CCA/OFC hooked up to a woofer? simulating real life.. most of us run our Amps, wire and subs in the trunk 100+ temp at start up.
That’s a great question! Maybe I should try testing that at some point. Also thanks for actually watching the video I get a feeling some didn’t pick up what I was trying to lay down lol.
Vega you da man!! Thanks for the video! Love the sarcasm!!
OFC FTW!!! I had one of my three vehicles with CCA wire for over a year then it started to corrode around the terminal that's connected to my second battery in the trunk
Never had any moisture or anything stayed dry the entire install
74 Midwestbass I used cca in my work truck and I sprayed the terminals with poly. No issues in 2.5 years. I always spray ends and terminals.
Also unless the off is tinned, same thing can happen. Spray the unions and terminals and no problems.
@@superchile9640 yeah I do also under the hood but not in The TRUNK! Also the other wires where ofc hooked to the exact same terminal had no problems!!!!
@@superchile9640 now I'm not bashing CCA if that's all you can afford do your thing bro but for me ofc all the way!!! That's almost like building a race car and then putting cheap tires on it😞!!!
The major difference between cca and ofc is thermal runaway. Cca will catastrophically fail when it reaches it max heat where the ofc will maintain and cool itself at a higher temp.
For sure
Over 3500 watts I'm OFC all the way, but under there is not enough of a loss I see to warrant the expense. They make really good CCA.
I always use OFC unless I’m trying to test something
@@HifiVega awsome. But gets expensive...
Amp kit affiliate links
Kicker 4ga OFC amp kit
www.amazon.com/dp/B07NS9DTWW/?tag=robertvega-20
Knu Konceptz 4ga OFC kit
www.amazon.com/dp/B005CIJBKK/?tag=robertvega-20
I saw what you were putting down. Great video. Read between the lines😉
I been waiting for this video! Veddy excite!
I also think people tend to push wire to the limits constantly . I personally run a 1/0 ofc for every 1500 watts
cca for power is ok for me, but absolutely ofc for speakers
Hears the deal boys n gyrls- if you measure by size, schedule, diameter of wire OFC will flow more current. If you compare the two by MASS or wieght the CCA will be much larger than the OFC and carry the same or more or less current. Try doing a test based on Mass, it might take 1/0 CCA to equal 4g OFC. We wont know till ya test it!
I ask myself which IS BETTER CCA OR OFC . AND I SEE MANY VIDEOS AND CCA is good less expensive BUT OFC IS BETTER EXPENSIVE BUT WORKS PERFECT 👌 SO I CHANGE ALL MY WIRES FOR OFC ....
Not an installer but I like your videos are very informative. I look forward to seeing the trooper build.🚗
Appreciate ya watching man!
this has been tried and true over and over on sine waves, i have yet to see it on music. i'm personally running both 1 run 1/0 cca and 1 run of 1/0 ofc, both sky high. i have a 370 amp alt and running them all the way to the trunk to 2 agms. from the agms i will be running cca because if 4 2 foot runs cant give me the 3000 watts im asking of it of the 5000+ it certified on the dyno at, i quit
You're a naughty boy Vega...messin with people like that. 😝
Seriously, how many times do you buy wire? Get the right gauge and don't cut corners. Do it right and you'll never have to worry about it again.
OFC is the only way to go!
I haven't seen a whole lot of your videos yet but if you plan on continuing test and comparison videos where you need temp data I hope you can invest in a decent flir thermal camera (harbor freight) instead of these non-contact infra red. I have multiple different thermometers of this type (including the exact one you're using here) and I'm sure you know they are NOT pinpoint accurate at all and have a quickly diverging cone of effective area.
Good for big areas like the heat sink of an amp but def not for such a small surface area as wire
HAVING SAID THAT I doubt there are that many other needs that a thermal imager is a must in the realm of car audio
I’ve been considering getting the flir phone add on piece for the reasons you already listed
@@HifiVega man I hope you can. I can't afford to be a Patreon member but I wish I could. Maybe things will change enough for me to do a one time thing. But if you do get one it would be awesome if you could show it off in detail for us. And thanks for the videos you produce. You cover some areas that not many do.
I especially like your lists. Everybody else reviews one amp or one sub. Your lists and shootouts disseminate SO MUCH more useful data. More tubers need to follow your lead
Did you hear that big D ???
So it weights less, is that why you are a CCA fan @HifiVega? ... This my first time using OFC for my whole system down to the tweeters so I am about to find out. I use both KnuKonceptz & SHCA. I like KnuKonceptz because their wire is tinned that is all I can speak on so far. Oh yeah it is heavy too. I bought a couple spools. You can tell the difference.
Juan Romero Jr. I’m an OFC guy I was just fooling around since I am testing this
HifiVega I got the joke late.
CCA does not have the same current rating as OFC. What you should do is if you are using 8GA OFC then you should use 6GA CCA. Even you step one up, CCA would still way cheaper
You need wire ferrules
I’m running a test on this wire and I wanna use it like most people would
Why don’t you use wire ferrell’s
I do on somethings, but in the Hyundai I’m trying to do a real world CCA test and most people don’t use them.
what is interesting is most people running CCA vs OFC cannot pull the power through their system, they would need to make a difference spend the money of the AMP and speakers not the wire
Ofc all the way. More watts
I'm also an electrician. Aluminum you have to upsize it to equal copper wire. Aluminum cca wire expands with heat. I used 0 guage cca with reducers to 4 guage toy amp cause it was cheaper and better then running 4 guage ofc wire and l get more current due to the size and it's a short Run.
My whole car is cca. No issues here with it.
I haven’t had any issues yet either, but I’m certainly losing some power.
What about copper wires
Copper wire is the best
3:37😂😂😂😂 alot of C'ing😂😂
I think you got more power with the ofc with less amps pulled. So in a competitive scenario the extra watts could yield greater numbers. Im ofc welding wire for life.
Almost looks like your vehicle your testing the cca on stays inside a garage. Lol i know the cca I used had corroded over within 6 months, it swoll up right at the ends too on the connections under the hood. It was also corroded inside the cab but not swollen like it was under the hood. But my vehicles are outside all the time never covered.
This car stays in the driveway, but I’m definitely gonna check on it every 6mo or so and kinda give y’all an update and for my own piece of mind lol.
CCA has higher resistance than OFC. To pull the same power, you have to pull more current to make up for the voltage drop. OFC wins again.
I think you have done it very different from actual setup. We usually run 0 awg from the battery, distribution blocks to 4 awg. So actually the 4 awg only runs few feet to amp and grounds...etc
Running 4 awg from source to destination will not be ideal for this amp. CCA or OFC will suffer no matter what
Don't think that these results are conclusive
The size doesn’t matter you will have loses and more heat either way. I compared 4ga to 4ga you can see Meade do 1/0 to 1/0 here
ua-cam.com/video/cWI-_6PRyFs/v-deo.html
Maybe pound per pound comparison from ofc to cca or a price for price comparison basically 4 gauge ofc vs 1/0 cca 👍🏻
Skar audio 1/0 ofc amplifier kit 🎯🎯🎯
The price is good on them, but in my testing I’ve found that wire a bit undersized.
Going to have to knock you a few points for not having the timer in the video the whole time. Also for not having the video showing the scales. Watch a few of Project Farm vids, he's got this comparison thing down pat!
I watch all project farms videos. On the two things you mentioned the space is so limited on my test area that it just wasn’t feasible unfortunately
Somebody watches too much Scotty Killmore. In all seriousness I can appreciate the satire and I enjoyed the video, but CCA isn't something I or anyone I know has ever considered. I mean, I could take a dump in my bathtub, but that's not what it was made for.
You got the exact vibe I was going for! 😂
@@HifiVega Right on man.
I think the difference between CCA and ofc is minimal especially in car audio.
I think your test is good.
I just want you to know that if you look at the mayor car audio brands CT sounds, SKAR, Alphard deaf bonce etc. all these brands use ccaw on all there 2500 3000 watt sub woofers voice coils but on the 500 to 1000 watt subs use pure copper or ofc.
I guess you can run more power through CCA .
I say it’s mostly balls down to how much you’re willing to spend and how you use what you’re using then what you use, I feel that applies to every part of your install. If I made any bit of sense lol 😂
If you want to use applications for high wattage, audio receivers or high powered amps you should be using OFC. Unless you prefer to burn down your house or car down to the ground
I screwed that up. OFC for Power, CCA for speaker.
I prefer OFC everything, but if you use cca within its limits you can be ok.
Not to mention the weight factor. Even running 2 runs of CCA put you at 2.8 lbs (going off the 1.4lbs X 2) that is still less that the 3.4lbs of copper run. That only leave the durability/corrosion factor. You can get tinned CCA to combat that. I'm sorry but the more comparison videos I watch the more I lean towards CCA for LIFE. let's talk PROS of CCA for a sec
1. Lighter
2. Cheaper
3. More Flexible
4. Readily available
5. Multiple runs STILL CHEAPER than 1 run of Cheapest "Welding" wire run
6. Usually "oversized" and has higher strand count. Electricity flow on top of wire, not through it! The wire is copper coated therefore it's very conductive!
Daily driver CCA without a 2nd thought. OFC if your doing an SPL vehicle where every watt counts. I'll use whichever is cheeper, my last build has OFC because KnuKonceptz.com had a great sale when I was shopping and the CCA was more.
I always go ofc, but wanted to use CCA so I have some actual experience with it when I speak about it.