My grounding kit, let me show you...plus some questions
03-22-2008, 09:26 PM
#1
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My grounding kit, let me show you...plus some questions
I did a search but couldn't find any pictures, pretty much every link in the threads that popped up had dead links in them. The site I have my pictures hosted on isn't going anywhere soon so they will be around for future reference.
Anyway, I got a grounding kit from a fellow .org member, PandaXpress. He sent me a total of seven wires using nicely crimped terminals and 8 gauge wire. I ended up using 5 of them. I used the suggested mounting points in another grounding kit thread in the 5th gen classifieds, but I couldn't figure out how to attach a wire from the throttle body to the firewall without drilling a hole in the firewall-anyone have a picture of both connection points and is it recommended with the drive by wire TB? Battery to chassis, block to chassis, intake manifold to chassis, timing chain cover to chassis, alternator ground to chassis. Took about an hour, poking around, trying to find good places to run the wires.
First impressions. Smoother. Everything seems smoother. Lights are a touch brighter (but not OMG brighter), shifts are noticably smoother, downshifts seem quicker too. Biggest change I noticed is from a 50 mph roll, the car starts pulling hard the instant it downshifts. No lag at all. More actual power? No idea, my butt dyno isn't *that* sensitive. Quicker response and more overall smoothness is good enough.
The mounting points that aren't visible are noted with red arrows. If anyone has any better suggestions, I am all ears. I am thinking about attaching one to the transmission and chassis. I saw in some of the other threads something about a "daisy chain" method but really didn't see a clean way to do that.
There is a small bracket on the intake manifold under the engine cover I attached the wire to.
Engine block bracket attachment here:
Attached to the battery tray mounting bolt that looks like it goes into the chassis:
The wire going up under the engine cover from the front of the engine is bolted to the timing chain cover:
Arrow points to what appeared to me to be where the alternator is grounded. You can see on the chassis where 4 of the wires are connected to 3 points. Only the middle bolt is actually there on my car, but I had some 10mm bolts that fit into the already threaded holes above and below the already existing bolt.
Anyway, I got a grounding kit from a fellow .org member, PandaXpress. He sent me a total of seven wires using nicely crimped terminals and 8 gauge wire. I ended up using 5 of them. I used the suggested mounting points in another grounding kit thread in the 5th gen classifieds, but I couldn't figure out how to attach a wire from the throttle body to the firewall without drilling a hole in the firewall-anyone have a picture of both connection points and is it recommended with the drive by wire TB? Battery to chassis, block to chassis, intake manifold to chassis, timing chain cover to chassis, alternator ground to chassis. Took about an hour, poking around, trying to find good places to run the wires.
First impressions. Smoother. Everything seems smoother. Lights are a touch brighter (but not OMG brighter), shifts are noticably smoother, downshifts seem quicker too. Biggest change I noticed is from a 50 mph roll, the car starts pulling hard the instant it downshifts. No lag at all. More actual power? No idea, my butt dyno isn't *that* sensitive. Quicker response and more overall smoothness is good enough.
The mounting points that aren't visible are noted with red arrows. If anyone has any better suggestions, I am all ears. I am thinking about attaching one to the transmission and chassis. I saw in some of the other threads something about a "daisy chain" method but really didn't see a clean way to do that.
There is a small bracket on the intake manifold under the engine cover I attached the wire to.
Engine block bracket attachment here:
Attached to the battery tray mounting bolt that looks like it goes into the chassis:
The wire going up under the engine cover from the front of the engine is bolted to the timing chain cover:
Arrow points to what appeared to me to be where the alternator is grounded. You can see on the chassis where 4 of the wires are connected to 3 points. Only the middle bolt is actually there on my car, but I had some 10mm bolts that fit into the already threaded holes above and below the already existing bolt.
Last edited by Scottwax; 03-22-2008 at 09:29 PM.
03-23-2008, 07:12 AM
#4
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Originally Posted by Scottwax
First impressions. Smoother. Everything seems smoother. Lights are a touch brighter (but not OMG brighter), shifts are noticably smoother, downshifts seem quicker too. Biggest change I noticed is from a 50 mph roll, the car starts pulling hard the instant it downshifts. No lag at all. More actual power? No idea, my butt dyno isn't *that* sensitive. Quicker response and more overall smoothness is good enough.
03-23-2008, 07:40 AM
#5
proops man, a few things i would have done different is ground the tranny to chassis (as you allready mention you want to do) and route the wires neater and zip tie them to exsisting wires/tubes. The way you have wires just lying/hanging around there might cause some bad grounds in the future which would depict the whole point of having them there in the first place, not to mention that if you ever have to change something under the hood, those things would be in the way and you'll constantly be moving them around.
Good job otherwise though.
Good job otherwise though.
03-23-2008, 07:55 AM
#6
I did almost the exact same DIY setup as you but my wires are ugly red
the tranny is easy but you have to remove the stock airbox scoop.
when you get that out in the middle of the tranny their is a plate with four bolts on it. I took on of the top ones out and put the ground wire on their.
As far as difference. Smoother idle, less power drain from amps, smoother acceleration when i am not punching the gas.
the tranny is easy but you have to remove the stock airbox scoop.
when you get that out in the middle of the tranny their is a plate with four bolts on it. I took on of the top ones out and put the ground wire on their.
As far as difference. Smoother idle, less power drain from amps, smoother acceleration when i am not punching the gas.
03-23-2008, 03:37 PM
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Thanks for the comments and suggestions, definitely want to do the tranmission one, if I remember right from reading the Nissan service manual for my car, one of the fixes for transmission issues has to do with grounding.
03-23-2008, 03:54 PM
#10
That relates to the ground point inside the pan, it somehow corrodes or breaks loose, FYI.
03-24-2008, 08:28 PM
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The theory is that the minimal grounding done by the factory isn't sufficient for the best operation of all your electrical components. Adding additional grounding with heavier gauge wires should allow better performance of your electrical system. Some magazine tests have shown minimal power gains (2-3 hp in most cases) but I think it is more likely you just get more consistant performance due to increased electrical efficiency.
03-28-2008, 06:05 PM
#17
03-29-2008, 07:25 PM
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I wonder if it has anything to do with a small bump in mileage? Been getting 20.5 mpg (doing the actual math) vs 19.5 before. Probably take several tanks though, to see it is a consistant improvement, could also be due to it getting warmer and less time in closed loop. 
Still, 70 of this was freeway, the rest light to moderate city traffic. Reset when I filled up.
Still, 70 of this was freeway, the rest light to moderate city traffic. Reset when I filled up.
03-30-2008, 10:36 AM
#29
Im probably going to do this in the near future but i was looking into the kits by buddyclub and apexi that not only include the wires but also a voltage regulator.
Anyone using this method?
<---just saw minor mpg gains when i switch to NGK IX
Anyone using this method?
<---just saw minor mpg gains when i switch to NGK IX
03-31-2008, 07:34 AM
#31
I finally got around to install my ground kit that i purchesed from blehmco. i def felt the difference. the only way i can describe it is that it felt like the time i changed my maf and didnt realize how much i was losing. I have an 00 and start up sounds more solid, acceleration seems to be better and def my lights illuminate nicer. i thought the leds where bright before, after the ground kit they seem brigther.
03-31-2008, 08:39 AM
#34
Yeah ground kits do make a difference but I notice that most people my self included use entirely too much wire thinking the more the better and wind up adding a whole bunch of weight with marginal gains. I actually did a ground set up and the big three together in 1/0 Gauge stinger wire and found out that about 5 short wires supplied 80 percent of the gains and none of them were attached directly to the transmission. (Although I do have a starter ground.) The other 20 percent for the most part was due to the positive battery terminal to the positive alternator ground. The key is to set up the least intrusive neatest set up with the shortest wires possible. Something that took weeks of testing to find out. Basically what I am saying is that you shouldn't need to have wires criss crossing your engine to get the benefit of the kit about 4.5 ft of audio grade or marine grade tinned (for corrosion resistance) 4AWG (not crappy SAE or home depot 4 Gauge) will do. Not to mention it will save you weight.
06-03-2008, 08:24 PM
#36
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06-04-2008, 01:47 AM
#37
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