EZ Wire VS. American Autowire

[SteveMcqueenRules]

My car is a 1964 Oldsmobile Cutlass I need a new chassis wiring harness.

I have seen a EZ 21 Circuit Universla wire kit advertised for $185
and I go to the American Autowire website and the harness is like $569 for their 1964-67 Chevy Chevelle Classic update Harness
and the Painless 18 Circuit Universal Muscle Car kit is about $706.

I assume the EZ Wire and Painless kits are more of Universal kits since they don't have specific kits.

Does anyone who has experience with wiring know what the differences are?

[XcYZ]

I'm not all that up on the other kits, but I used the American Autowire Classic Update kit in my car and was extremely impressed with it in regards to how complete it was, the documentation, schematics, systematic design approach to the install, etc. I'd buy that kit again without a doubt.

[Rhino]

One of the main components to the higher AAW kit price is the fact that it also comes with all connectors and light buckets. That can't be said for a lot of aftermarket manufacturers.

[Musclerodz]

EZ Wire and AAW are not even the same class of kit. There is so much more that comes with the AAW kit, it is not even funny. Painless is as much or more than AAW and not even vehicle specific.

[asifnyc]

I'm in the process of re-wiring my '73 AMC Javelin with the EZ wire kit. I looked at the prices of the painless and AAW kits and cheaped out :)

my car is completely non-stock; aftermarket gauges, no hvac, power door locks/trunk popper, moved the dimmer switch to the turn signal stalk, etc, etc...

as Rhino stated above, the AAW direct fit kits will come with all the factory style connectors so you can just mount it and start plugging things in. the EZ kit requires you cut and terminate the ends as needed. again, that was fine for my situation but might not be what you want.

the EZ wire kit comes with the following, pre-terminated, connectors: gm style ignition switch, floor dimmer switch and the steering column connector (for the steering column you have to actually plug the wires into the correct connector for your car but they just pop right in). that's it. every other wire will need to be terminated by you.

for my purposes the ez wire kit does the job. the only thing I'm not happy about is that it's not a "bulkhead" connection setup. What I realize now is that I would have preferred to pay for a fuse block/engine harness that connects through the firewall and "sandwiches" together (like a stock setup). the ez wire kit engine harness is just fed through a hole you drill in the firewall). I believe some painless kits have a fuseblock/engine harness connector that sandwiches together like a stock unit and I assume the AAW kit's as just like stock...

there are some pics/posts on my install of the ez kit (still not done) on my blog (see my sig). good luck.

oh, one other comment about AAW that has nothing to do with their product quality... I HATE their website... makes my eyeballs melt. drives me crazy when people try to get "creative" with websites. just make a site that's easy to read and navigate... just my .02 cents.

[gearheadgarage]

The AAW harness is worth the extra $$$. Unless you're unemployed, your time is worth money. You save many hours running with AAW or Painless- and AAW is only more expensive because their kits are more comprehensive.

Furthermore, installs are way cleaner to boot. Good luck!

[SteveMcqueenRules]

I think I should go with the AAW kit. I agree their website sucks. It looks like it was designed by someone who doesn't know design.

[COYBILT]

The AAW harness is worth the extra $$$. Unless you're unemployed, your time is worth money. You save many hours running with AAW or Painless- and AAW is only more expensive because their kits are more comprehensive.

Furthermore, installs are way cleaner to boot. Good luck!

Agreed, don't buy some piece of junk harness its not worth it

[Theresa]

I think I should go with the AAW kit. I agree their website sucks. It looks like it was designed by someone who doesn't know design.

:lol:

[BonzoHansen]

:lol:

:rofl:

[MarkM66]

EZ wire kits are not junk.

For better fit and routing, I personally wouldn't want terminals pre fit on the wires.

[NRV2L8]

There are Pro's and Con's with both set-ups.
EZ Wire, is cheaper, takes a bit longer to install and you have to terminate.
On the PLUS side, it also allows enough cable to route the wires as desired.
As for AAW, they are pre-terminated and the finished product is nicer. But your restricted to the lenghts provided. A factory wire run, no extra to hide or re-route.

[70rs]

I can see the benefits of both kits. I am not sure which one I will be using but because of the good info in this thread I am leaning to the AAW kit.
Thanks!
Eric

[av8or32]

Who has the best deal on the AAW kit?

[Musclerodz]

Who has the best deal on the AAW kit?What car? We have Camaro and Chevelle kits for roughly $525 shipped

[av8or32]

It's a 69 Firebird