i have heard about people adding thicker wire between their battery, alternator, and engine to get more power from the alternator, since in my 00 SE the battery is in the trunk and it looks like it already has 4 gauge i was going to leave it alone, but from the alternator to the fuse center looks like 10 or 12 gauge, what about adding some 4 gauge to that? anybody done it

i'm planning on doing a higher powered system soon so i was looking to get a little more juice from the alternator

How many volts are you getting from the alt? If your getting in the area of 14v your in the right area. If your less then that you will want to clean up all your connections on both ends of all the cables.

im in the 14v area, but i do see a drop when the system hits hard, and its low power right now, im lookin to go for high powered stuff soon

Not an area I'm really up on, but you may have to look at installing a higher output alt.

It wont bring you more voltage than alternator already delivers. If you exceed the stated amperage of an alternator, all the gauge the world wont make a difference. Way to much attention/discussion is made of the supposed "Big3" It only works IF you change the alternator .

If the OEM wire connections are clean, they will deliver the stated amperage of the OEM alternator. So where does that leave us? If your system shows a voltage drop with clean connections, you have exceed the possible amperage output of the alternator and physics kicks in and lowers the voltage. So,..... a new bigger alternator is needed. And if you put in a bigger alternator, Now you must increase the wire gauge because the OEM wire wont handle the higher amperage and the wire resistance will cause you voltage drop again. You have to do Both. Neither one alone will help.

As a matter of fact, increasing the wire size from the OEM altenator to the battery will actually hurt and wear on the alternator through built up heat. (Like splicing a 10 gauge wire in the middle of a 12 gauge extension cord) You dont want to increase the wire size over what is internally soldered to the terminal sticking out of the alternator. It just causes resistance (and added Heat) between it and the battery.

If you go to a bigger alternator, Then change that wire. Usually 4 gauge but every decent aftermarket alternator has it'* recommendation. And you shouldn't exceed that. They know what size the internal wire is.

Most Positive cables to the battery are sufficient for aftermarket. Alot of grounds to the body are not. The negative wire can be smaller than the positive, but manufacturers always seem to fine line the negative to what the OEM system requires, whereas the positive cables are a standard size in the industry for price control. So usually just increasing the negative to the same size as the positive, and increasing the alternator-to-battery wire to the aftermarket makers recommendations works fine. You can save the wear and tear of a large system by adding a 2nd battery if desired. These should be linked positive to positive, still only one alternator wire is still used to the original battery.

ok thanks guys, i'll have to look how the whole charging system is doing after i put in the new system

you might want to look into capacitor. a Capacitors at Crutchfield.com

This is what you NEED, not WANT. This will help you safely blow your head off.

Also guys, do all '00 have Dock n' Lock feature?

i'm gonna go with yes on that viper

Also FIND a way to SHORTEN ALL cables, (power and sound), throughout the Bonnie. (<----I would've said car, but Bonnie'* ain't cars.) Next you will have to lay out your plan on a piece of paper.

OH WTH, I just give you the rundown on what you need, bud.

1) If you have a Dock n Lock car you need this PAC C2R-GM32R (pac-c2rgm32r) Buick Wiring Harnesses In-Dash Receiver Accessories & Installation Car Accessories and Installation Car Audio and Video - Sonic Electronix

2) If you do not like in a Coke infested part of town where your next door neighbor will "smash & grab", get a Double DIN. In-dash stereo 6-15/16" depth Front Door: 6-3/4" Rear Deck: 6x9"

3) Get all other supplies on what you NEED not WANT. Trust me I have caught many of car a fire...don't ask...

4) Keep it short and simple, and do NOT replace the battery to the Bonnie with a "better" one....she will die quickly.

I am going to start my prodject on my Bonnie soon, but in the mean while...

DO ALL BONNIE'* HAVE THE DOCK n LOCK FEATURE?

i have my whole aftermarket system done, im just goin for more powerful subs than the ones i got in there now,

as for the dock n lock, have you taken your radio out?
if it locks into some clips than im assuming its dock n lock