I need to buy some jumper cables to put in my daughter’s car before she goes off to college next year. She is driving a 4 cylinder Toyota Corolla but I would like to buy her a set that will work on a V8 gas pickup. I am confused looking on eBay and Amazon with the different gauge wires and amp ratings:
0 gauge 3000 amp
1 gauge 1200 amp
2 gauge 600 amp
4 gauge 500 amp
10 gauge 150 amp

Is there a rule of thumb of what size cables to use to jump an X amp dead battery?
Is there a down side to buying the 0 gauge/3000 amp jumper cables?

Get her one of the NOCO Genius portable charger packs then she is not looking for someone to jump off of if needed.

No drawback to the 0 vs 3000 amp, just overkill

Agree with Steve, except I'd add, if you can afford it, do both. Pick any except the 10g.

The 1 gage should work.

Other than cost and the space 0 gauge would take up, no.
The widely available jumper cables are usually 8 gauge, but the nicer ones are six and four

Length is important. Especially knowing that college kids can end up parking in smaller spaces at odd angles.

A quality portable jump starter is a good idea also. Remind her to charge the battery charger (and all her other battery chargers and portable flashlights, etc) once a month.

I don’t want to give her one of those battery jump boxes. All of her friends would call her every time their battery died.
Jumper cables will be sufficient. What guy is going to drive by a college coed with her hood up while holding a set of jumper cables?

Access with jumper cables can be a major problem when you are by yourself. Many of the college parking lots and parking garages have your car so surrounded it is not accessible without moving vehicles. Jumper cables are fine, but a jump box is the answer for a single college girl.

True, but sometimes the need to start the car is early in the morning while everyone else is still passed out.

The top rated one in the video above is/was $80. Makes for a nice Christmas gift
Think you can also charge your phone and other things off of it.

I have a jump starter pack with an air compressor in my truck. A little large but it works great.

Getting a teen to charge one of these units from time-to-time. Good luck with that.

2 or 4 gauge wire will be plenty, the smaller the gauge number, the more amperage it will carry.. ask yourself this before you buy the portable battery jump starters, will she remember to keep it charged? You can always find someone to jump your car off but I highly doubt a college kid will keep portable jumper charged.

Forget the jumper cables. Buy a jumper box with a lithium battery.

Again, I am not buying her a jump box as she will not keep it charged and if she does, she will turn into AAA car service.
I plan to send her off with jumper cables and a small cigarette lighter powered air compressor. If she needs more than that, she can call Uber or a tow truck.

Probably right but not all guys that would stop can be trusted. Just my .02 here from already raised a daughter thru college age

Get her a Noco 70. It’s strong enough for almost any gas motor and very safe. No chances of blowing up batteries, etc. plus, no other car needed.

Also, I have Allstate insurance. Pay them $6.95 a month for road side assistance--jump starts, tire repair, belts etc.... Have used that several times also. The firs tow I needed made it totally worth it.

I have an older truck. Even keeping up with the scheduled maintenance, it can be cantankerous at times.