grounding kit

[saikou27]

one of my mates is getting a grounding kit for his impreza. he reckons they 'dramatically' improve slugishness in 1st gear and helps smooth out flat spots. would this be the same if i got one for my ek civic?

[bennjamin]

properly grounded....it would only help if your car is lacking in current grounding or suffers from poor/broken grounds

[trism]

they really do


the stock grounds are shit, in everycar

a mate did one in his ae92 corolla, helped fuel economy, performance, heaps


from battery to throttle body, injector rail, alternator, a few spots on teh chassis around then engine bay

theres pics floating around on here somewhere

[trism]

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100512&highlight=trism


go have a read of that thread, its posted in there

[twing]

I used to run cable to few spots in engine (eg. alternator, intake manifold, etc).
But after I read couple of article on the net, I decided to just replace existing grounding cable due to the fact that:
* there is no point for adding more grounding cables if there is already one. Electricity will use the path with less resistance.
* longer cable introduce more resistance. That equals to bad grounding.

Have a read on this article:
http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/grounding.htm

The fact that people getting good result, usually implies that the existing grounding is bad (deterioted cable, rusty terminal, etc). Just like what Ben said.
So, buy a meter of 4AG cable with some ring terminal and dielectric grease.
From that 1 meter, cut it into 3 and replace the following cable:
1 from battery -ve terminal to the chassis.
1 from engine to the chassis.
1 from gearbox to the chassis.

That's about grounding. There is another long discussion about voltage stabiliser product, eg. raizin. I have one installed, but I can't judge the effect without dynoing it.

[trism]

* there is no point for adding more grounding cables if there is already one. Electricity will use the path with less resistance.

well thats true, but a good analogy to use for electricity is water.

ive got two pipes. both the same size. both leading to the same place. they both flow 40cfm of water. only one is blocked off.


im getting 40cfm water flow.

if i unblock the 2nd, i am now getting 80cfm of flow

doesnt matter if one pipe is 100m long and the other is 100km long, they are both getting the same flow

now, the whole car is grounded. the more paths you have from teh electricity to return to the batteries




* longer cable introduce more resistance. That equals to bad grounding.


ill try to find the webpage, but testing 4ga cable. there was no measureable difference in resistance between a 30cm long cable and 6m long cable

[VTECMACHINE]

I LOVE my grounding kit! I stress to so many people that DC2's are poorly grounded. I have a Tako kit, but if you're not a brand whore like me make your own. It's make a bunch of difference to response, smoothness to rev range, brightness and stability of lights, and a large difference if you've got a sound system.

[Fhrx]

We frequently create and install earthing kits here and have found they work very well. However; at the same time it's important to point out that they only assist where the cars factory earthing system is inadequate (which is 95% of the time).

Here are a couple of photos of the more common sized ones we make for Hondas however you can make them whatever size you wish.

http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.com/temp/fhrxstudios/images/interest_120.jpg

http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.com/temp/fhrxstudios/images/interest_172.jpg

More images of earthing kits can be found here (http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.com/temp/fhrxstudios/photogallery_int.asp#interest8_4).

[twing]

Pwoa... O_o so dazzling... so bling...


ill try to find the webpage, but testing 4ga cable. there was no measureable difference in resistance between a 30cm long cable and 6m long cable
Try this calculator:
http://www.stealth316.com/2-wire-resistance.htm
on 4ga cable, 30 cm resistance 0.0002, 6m resistance 0.0050 which 25 times more resistance.
Of course we are not going to use 6m 4GA to ground the car :)

The other issue with multiple grounding point is that, it may create a ground loop. It causes noise in your car stereo. I don't know what it will do to all engine sensors, but I would rather avoid it.

[trism]

rightio then

tell that too all the people who have experienced FIRST HAND the difference they make

easier starting, brighter headlights/no dimming, better fuel economy


its not just bling, it works!!

[bennjamin]

rightio then

tell that too all the people who have experienced FIRST HAND the difference they make

easier starting, brighter headlights/no dimming, better fuel economy


its not just bling, it works!!


Read my first post - only do anything if the current setup is insufficient ie old / worn / broken - or if you have aftermarket parts or accessories that would demand more battery time (aftermarket sound system etc)

[55EXX]

so many times i've read this same topic. i would not trust the 16 year old grounding that my eg has i put in extra grounds and starting was easier and fuel economy improved. as for response??? as if i could really tell. placebo. who knows? i know it made better fuel consumption? resetting the ecu while the batt was disconnected? re learning fuel maps? less heavy foot? who knows?

starting better. fact!

this is a time when the electrical system relies on battery for power and it had more power to kick it over faster. as for changes during any other time. inconclusive.

[saikou27]

well guys those arguements aside i can see where you are all coming. ill clean up my crap corroded, frayed 10year old stock lines and add a couple more but i wont go overboard. my understanding is that a direct connection to the battery -ve terminal is better than any part of the chassis. i have a very in depth knowledge of physics having just completed it in year 12( yay no more school ) so i reckon it would help but as i stated above. there is a limit and point where there is just too much. thanks guys

[twing]

ill clean up my crap corroded, frayed 10year old stock lines and add a couple more but i wont go overboard. my understanding is that a direct connection to the battery -ve terminal is better than any part of the chassis. i have a very in depth knowledge of physics having just completed it in year 12( yay no more school ) so i reckon it would help but as i stated above. there is a limit and point where there is just too much. thanks guys

Direct connection, which means longer cable run from -ve to engine ground, right? And physics says longer cable is more resistance, right? :)

Feel free to experiment. That's the fun of working on your own car. You won't blow up your car, by more grounding... just be careful not to short circuit +ve and -ve. :D

[saikou27]

Direct connection, which means longer cable run from -ve to engine ground, right? And physics says longer cable is more resistance, right? :)

Feel free to experiment. That's the fun of working on your own car. You won't blow up your car, by more grounding... just be careful not to short circuit +ve and -ve. :D

so u reckon that the chassis has less resistance that a 2m 8gauge cable. lol:p

[trism]

it does

think about it. the chassis is a massive amount of metal. electricity can jsut flow through it

an 8guage cable can only flow so much

[bennjamin]

wow. Claymore summed up in 3000 words what i stated in 50.

[twing]

great writing, Claymore. Maybe this should be linked in the FAQ section or make it sticky.

[saikou27]

whoah guys settle down. i didnt relise the chassis was a dead short. i thought it wouldnt be because the parts the leads are connected to are painted. does that not matter because its such a large area?

[twing]

before connect the new cable, scrap off the metal paint. Once it's connected, cover the area with a bit of dielectric grease to prevent oxidation and rust. :thumbsup:

[saikou27]

so how many stock cables are there?. ive seen 2, one at the engine and one at the gearbox. both are frayed and corroded. are there any others i should know about?

[55EXX]

claymore what is your stance on upgrading the alt + to battery?

i say smack in 0 gauge but i'm from a purely car audio orientated back ground where peope run 4+ runs of 00 gauge to there amps in the boot. the people that do it too swear by it to drop current drop.

i've always when targeting the car electrics in reguard to stereo performance and controlling voltage drops said upgrade the alt to batt but how would this affect engine/electrics performance if any?

[twing]

so how many stock cables are there?. ive seen 2, one at the engine and one at the gearbox. both are frayed and corroded. are there any others i should know about?

You right. You have found 2. The last one is from the negative terminal to the chassis. The old terminal and the cable is a one piece, so you will need a new terminal.

[55EXX]

i love your explanation. so detailed. i'm not a dumbass and i know more about car audio than that is healthy, like you with cars. interesting to hear your point of view.

its funny with stereos cos some say rca cables make no difference but others say they do etc. some say its a waste some swear by it. studies in journals say one thing people experience others. its one of those things with people on both sides of the fence that are sure they are right. i say let them do what they want. so what if say old mate buys the pivot raizen voltage stabiliser and says it works tho by science it really won't do anything. thats like me i spent 200 on 2 rca cables instead of less than 30 for good basic ones. i don't even know if i can hear the difference. but i spent it and glad i did. i wouldn't want anything less.

i agree with the bigger alt for audio competitors. not average joe. deep cycle batteries ftw.

anyway some pics of a old mates oz record spl car. make your blood boil. waste of cable. tell him that. 6 runs of 0ga. kept it real tho. in a honda civic.
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/163/20060618image00593pp.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/8466/20060618image00533me.jpg
http://www.mobileelectronics.com.au/forums/uploads/post-7337-1161430556.jpg