Battery cable

[65 drop top]

I'm looking to get some 1/0 battery/welding cable. What is a good brand of cable and a good vendor to buy from? Thanks.

[Schwartz Performance]

I like BWD from oreillys with a vinyl jacket. DelCity is a good source for supplies too.

-Dale

[Blevinator]

I used Accele 1\0 gauge wiring
Lightweight
Summit Racing
Ebay etc

[Nativefx]

I was looking for 0 gauge wire to relocate my battery to the trunk and came across www.ceautoelectricsupply.com that offered a kit, which I ultimately went with. Tony is great and answered all my questions. Just make sure you get OFC copper wire and not CCA (copper clad aluminum) wire. It's very difficult trying to determine what people are selling as they almost always advertise it as "copper" wire.

[scottymonte]

Quickcar battery cable is great stuff, DSE and others sell it for a good price. Very fine stranded copper.

[latamud]

I just went to the local welding supply store a bought the length I wated of the 0 gauge. I don't know what brand it was.

[juggernaut]

I used 1/0 DLO (Diesel Locomotive) cable from a local electrical supply company.

[1969Crossram]

S & W Race Cars has a great kit.

http://www.swracecars.com/store/BATTERY-CABLE-KIT---SINGLE-OSCARItem_11=85-260.aspx[/URL]

[Bluecab]

I really like this vendor http://www.genuinedealz.com
They deal primarily in marine wire which is better quality, finer strands and tinned copper to avoid corrosion.
I have no dog in this hunt, I'm a marine electrician and use their wire and cable to set up some Big battery banks

[tonyvol]

I bought 1/0 AWG Radaflex welding cable. It is very flexible and has very fine copper strands. I was very pleased with the quality of the cable.

http://www.cableyard.com/RADAFLEX-Welding-Cable_c_1.html

[OldTimer]

Old thread but relevant so I'm gonna use it bc most of the links are still valid. I'm thinking about building some new battery cables for the 69 BBC Camaro. Battery is in stock location and it's a top connector type.

Couple of questions; first, I think the Positive (+) side is about 48" and the Negative (-) is about 30" am I correct? And the wire gauge is 4/0 but some folks switch to 2/0 which I'm considering. So 2/0 is thicker, stiffer, and will have less current drop than the 4/0, but are there more flexible 2/0 gauge wires out there? I only need one end crimped (Solenoid end a& Engine block Gnd) as I have a set of battery terminals with two Allen head crush slots per terminal. Is Marine cable not as stiff, or is Welding cable more pliable? The wire I'm looking at is tinned copper, would you fuse it with solder before inserting it into a terminal clamp?

I visited one of the links above (GenuineDealz) and they have two grades of 2/0 wire, the less expensive is just under $3 bucks a foot, the better quality is $6 bucks a foot. The difference is in the amperage rating, the cheaper one is rated 210 amps outside of engine spaces and 178 amps inside the engine space. The better quality isis 330 amps outside of engine spaces and 280 amps inside the engine space. I have a PowerMaster alternator that has a peak rating of 153 Amps at highway speeds, 100 amps at low speeds. I don't have a radio, no plans for a mega boom system either. Vintage Air and dual 12" fans. I'm going to use terminals with crush screw in two "ports" so only need one end to have a solenoid and ground eyelet. Suggestions?

Mike

[79 Camaro]

I suspect the difference price wise is the number of strands inside the cable. The smaller more strands in the cable is better.

[anguilla1980]

I only use TEMCo: https://temcoindustrial.com/shop/wire-cable-accessories/welding-cable

Unless I'm missing something (like you are comparing car audio to welding cable) 4/0 is larger than 2/0 every day of the week. There is even 8/0 out there for car audio.

[Tsaints1115]

I suspect the difference price wise is the number of strands inside the cable. The smaller more strands in the cable is better.

My guess would possibly be the cheaper one is CCA ( copper clad aluminum) which can't carry the same amperage as the same size full copper cable.

[anguilla1980]

My guess would possibly be the cheaper one is CCA ( copper clad aluminum) which can't carry the same amperage as the same size full copper cable.

That's a good point, it didn't even occur to me someone might buy something other than OFC when I read that.

[Gmachine1911]

Anguilla is correct, but there’s a difference between 4 AWG and 4/0 AWG cable...meaning that 2 AWG is larger in diameter then 4 AWG, however, 4/0 AWG is larger then 2/0 AWG (in terms of full copper stranded wire).


I used 4/0 in my Camaro that was very fine strand and extremely flexible and it was huge to deal with, perhaps overkill, but better safe then sorry. Mainly, it was challenging to route in a concealable manner due to the fact that it doesn’t like tight bends. For the engine connections, I stepped down to DSE’s 2 AWG cable and was very happy with it. Very flexible and high quality. I plan on using it on my Nova build. Whichever size you go with, invest in a proper crimping tool. It won’t matter how big your cable is if the terminals aren’t crimped/soldered properly.

[Tsaints1115]

One thing to toss out there. I know many have used welding cable with success for years but just keep this in consideration. Welding cable's sleeve material is not made for exposure to automotive fluids and will balloon or break down entirely leaving the cable exposed.

I prefer Marine cable myself. It'll handle the fluids and the fact the wire is tinned during assembly it resists corrosion much better.

[Motobrewmaster]

I agree with Tsaints. I did my car with marine grade wire. Here is a where I sourced the wire and most of the other stuff to do my car.
https://www.bestboatwire.com/collections/marine-battery-cable

There is also a convenient voltage drop calculator to help you decide the correct size cable or wire you need.

https://www.bestboatwire.com/pages/voltage-drop-calculator