alternator wires

Hi y'all,

I have a 50 A mini denso alt, i just bought #8 gage wire to run it to the battery. According to powermasters website 50A up to 105A across a 4 foot to 7 foot run requires a #8 gage cable. What i bought was marine grade fine strand OFC copper wire along with the crimp n solder terminals for the alternator end.

I am planning on running this direct to the battery + terminal, with a fusible link. I have made up a 12 gage fusible link approx 9 inches long. I have been told to go 4 sizes smaller on fusible links than the wire you are protecting.

The question now is, how will this smaller wire affect the efficency of the charging circuit? It has to be there to protect the circuit. Powermaster mentions using too small a wire in the charging circuit causes a voltage drop. This 12 gage fusible link chokes the circuit down.

The good thing, is that my 50A alternator is on the low end of the scale for the 8 gage lead, so at least i have room to grow alternator wise if i need to.

Thanks in advance.
Matt