Re: I just selected a dif speaker ohmage and WOW!
Let me see if I can remember this. First of all remember none of this is voodoo it's all math, not all of which I can do though. Everything is done by components and if you are taught what to look for you can even make impedance boxes. The thing I have always been told to remember is that you CAN go from the head to a higher impedance you CANNOT go to lower impedance.
What you are doing by changing the load in this manner is halving the amount of power that gets to the speakers. The way it works is the amplifier expects a higher resistance when plugged into a 16 ohm input so the voltage is higher, but in the lower impedance output it expects less resistance so a lot of power is lost in the form of heat. Cranking might do in your tranny. If it got too hot because it could never supply enough power through that output to run the speakers the way it was designed too. (the inductors and capacitors aren't there to keep the voltage high enough) The 8 ohm out is actually for an extension cab and in most (combo) amps when both inputs are used simultaneously it automatically cuts the ohms effectively increasing output.
Hope that helps
Luke