The difference between a 16 foot section of 2ga and 2/0 wire is 3 pounds.

I'll take the weight penalty for a better voltage/amp path on that run every time.

I just installed a Power Master starter on my 496, my old starter was cranking the engine to slow and half the time would not fire my MSD. This starter spins the engine twice as fast! It draws 301 Amps at 10.41 volts. My battery is in the trunk and I use 00 gauge battery cable. Make sure your kill switch can handle the starter draw current if wired this way!

Battery cables, both on the hot and ground side is NOT the place you want to save weight. Put BIG cables on it, whether you think it needs them or not. Hot start problems 99% of the time are not dragging starters or weak batteries........it's the cables.

Right idea, wrong formula. What you're talking about is power, measured in watts. volts X amps = watts (power) So for the same power, if volts goes up, amps goes down.

Power lost in the cables goes by the formula

watts = amps squared / ohms.

So you can see that by raising system voltage, you cut the losses in the power lines (cables). This is the same reason that long distance electric power transmission is done at very high voltages, like 500,000 volts.

Another factor is the resistance of the battery cables that increases as the wire temperature increases. And where do those wasted watts show up? Heat in the cables. Vicious circle.

What hasn't been mentioned yet is inrush current. When the starter is first powered up it may draw around twice the full load amps. This would be enough to pop a fast acting fuse or breaker that was sized for full load amps.

In conclusion, don't save money or weight on battery cables.

R.

Another plus of higher voltage is if you are running a conventional ignition system, points or Mopar breakerless, the coil works better with a higher voltage. With a CD ignition I think it doesn't matter.