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Originally Posted by Brian Carlton
I'm with Greg on this.
The size of the wire is not the limiting factor in transferring current. The clamps are the problem. The points on the clamps provide very little area for the charge to pass through. If a better system could be utilized at the cable ends, the difficulty in jumping a diesel would be eliminated.
Making giant cables out of 0 gauge wire is not going to overcome the limit of the clamps.
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For DC current, resistance is a function of wire length as well as surface area. So even though the clamps don't have a lot of surface area, the pathlength is very short compared to the length of cable. Of course getting the best clamps with the most contact area is still important, but wire size is also of importance.
Mine are 0 gauge welding wire with the highest surface area clamps I could find and 12 foot long. Weren't cheap to build (~90 bucks all together) but I doubt I will have to build another pair for a long time.