How big you wanna go? Ive never seen anyone solve that particular problem.. but hey, I guess you can be the first. Before we decide what gauge to go with, maybe you could help me with the clues needed to make that decision scientifically.
First, how long did you run the starter before the insulation on the wire got soft?

If I was gonna' beef up,.. I think I'd beef up the ground strap...
That's a dinky little turd... ...

If I was to make my own I would most likely use 8awg wire.  This will handle the load of the starter easily and have a very minimum of voltage drop in that short distance that it will be run.  You can get 8awg power wire at pretty much any place that does car stereo's by the foot. You can order it online by the foot from the same type of stores.  

R.F.

Serowbot wrote on 09/10/12 at 18:30:23:

Nope wasn't saying to buy speaker wire.  Was saying 8awg power wire.  Car audio shops are a great place to buy power wire by the foot in all sorts of sizes.

If ya think 8awg looks to small then 6awg would work as well, it's just harder to find by the foot. Although I'm sure you could get a 6awg wire from the auto parts store via the cheap battery cables and just the ends off and put your own connectors on that was needed for the savage.

Crutchfield.com has 8awg power cable for $1.99 per foot and 4awg for $2.99 per foot, but I think 4awg is kinda overkill and might pose a few issues in the tight confines around the battery on the savage.

http://www.crutchfield.com/g_718/Power-Ground-Cable.html?tp=578

I would say the original is about AWG 6. A stronger one might be desireable, but I think it is not required.

What you should bear in mind is a multiple insulation at the cable! Don't ever use a simple PVC-insulated cable. Choose one with at least heavy silicone insulation and maybe additionally a cotton cloth insulation.

Temperature of the engine would melt down PVC easily. AFAIK the stock wire is triple insulated with PVC, cotton and an ugly rippled hose (did I say that correct?).

And if you go with the wire to the starter, you did ony the half job done. The other part is the ground wire and the "hot" wire fom battery + to the starter relay.

As mentioned otherwhere here, the initial current is about 200 Ampere, the average current with compression strokes is about 50-60 Ampere, depending on how much the battery voltage drops.
Therefore: The lower the losses in the high current wiring, the more the battery may drop in voltage. We got a critical point at about 9.5 Volts, then the plug would not fire anymore.
So the limits in current through thinner stock harness may have still an advantage. If you only think it's ugly, right.
But remember, you then might need at last a heavy duty battery.
Some aftermarket batteries have only borderline values...
Especially if you try to start her in winter. Oil gets thicker, voltage drops more by higher consumption and restricted battery chemistry.

Cavi Mike wrote on 09/11/12 at 03:11:53:


You'd think this would be obvious,.. but old wives' tales just won't go away.

Welding cable works pretty well too.