GTech Test: Grounding Kit

[flat_black]

Hey, all. I just built a custom grounding kit for my Protege5, using 4ga speaker wire, a Tsunami battery terminal, and Monster crimped terminals. Here's the before and after tests with my GTech meter, three runs per configuration:

Before:
98
99
98

After:
102
102
102

I'm amazed at the consistancy afterword, but I suppose the first one was pretty consistant, anyway. =) So, a gain of 3 or 4ish horsepower is nothing to sneer at!

Also, I made sure the tank was filled to the same point both times, and was warmed up similarly.

 

[mazdadan]

Yeah it's amazing how much this simple mod helps especially with throttle response. When I had my RX-7s it made them much smoother off the line. I'm probably going to do this to my ES soon.

 

[YP5 Toronto]

Flat_Black: Myself and about 5 other members of our club here in Toronto will be doing the same thing.

Where did you place the wires? We have a very good idea of where to put them, but I would love to know how you did yours.

Any help would be great!

 

[slenser]

Holy crap! That's a ton of HP for a couple of wires. How many connections did you end up making?

There are kits on ebay right now going for a bout $45 shipped and I have been eyeing them for a while, but they look like they replace about 4 grounds. If they work as well as yours, that is a VERY cheap mod.

4 FWHP....WOW!

 

[twilightprotege]

hey

thanks for giving us before and after figures on this. atleast you can back up what you're saying! well done.

but yeah, let us know where you placed the wires

later

 

[slenser]

Interesting note...I just got a reply from a seller on ebay. I was asking if his connectors were gold plated or plain steel. He said that Aerospeed (the manufacture of the wires he sells), does not recommend gold connectors. He didn't know why and now I'm very curious.

The only thing I can think of, is a corrosive or oxidation reaction between the gold and the iron. I know from working with computers, that this very thing used to happen with memory with gold leads and steel connectors in the simm slots.

I don't know if this is what they are referring to, but maybe someone else can clear that up for me.

 

[KYREDP5]

Just to let everyone know, I'm ordering a kit off e-bay, and was planning on testing the resistance of all the ground points before/after install, and also measure the voltage and current draw of the headlights, stereo, and anything else I can think of before and after. I should win the auction tonight, so I should have the results by the end of the week. I'll keep everyone updated.

 

[AnthonyO3]

Can someone post pics of where to mount the wires for opitimum horespower?

 

[KYREDP5]

Here's one.

 

[KYREDP5]

and another.


These were taken by another member.

 

[ZackyFarms]

awesome, i was gonna get the kit off ebay too, but i want blue. so im just gonna make some.

can anyone comment on the gold plated issue?

 

[flat_black]

Gah! Wow, lots of responses. =) Sorry about taking so long to respond, I've been going out to the movies the past couple of days, and trying to relax some. Anyway, I'll head out now, take pictures, and do a little write up in a little bit. Should be up within an hour or so.

 

[flat_black]

http://www.protege5.com/vbb225/galleryuser.php?s=&userid=2930&gallery=groundkit/

There you go... I took a bunch of pictures of the install. Here's a list of where I grounded the cables to.

1.) Negitave Battery terminal
(I got a two 4 gauge and one 8 gauge terminal so I could retain the stock grounding points, too)

2.) The sensor off of the intake tube. I only did this to use up the spare piece of 4 gauge I had. =)

3.) Intake Manifold

4.) Fuel Rail

5.) Passenger Side Chassis

6.) Drivers Side Chassis

7.) Original Chassis Ground, a little more toward the Driver's Side from the battery.

8.) Negative Battery Terminal, again.

As you can see, I set it up a little like HKS' Circle Earth system, by returning to the same ground point where I started. After measuring resistances between the battery and the altinator, and the battery and chassis, after finishing this up, it seemed to drop the parasitic increase of resistance, the further I got from the battery. Definitly worth it. =) The engine idles smoother, responds faster, and, as forementioned, I gained about 3-4hp off of the install. Hope this helps!

 

[johnjay5]

Hey flat_black, i purchased me a grounding kit off of ebay and hope to recieve them this week. Thanks for the pics and locations of where to ground it.

 

[AnthonyO3]

Thank you so much for the pics, hope to do this install pretty soon
Thanks,
Anthony

 

[KYREDP5]

Hey flat_black, i purchased me a grounding kit off of ebay and hope to recieve them this week. Thanks for the pics and locations of where to ground it.

If you read the post right above yours it tells you where the pics are.

http://www.protege5.com/vbb225/galleryuser.php?s=&userid=2930&gallery=groundkit/

Anyway there is a grounding point on the block near the passenger ground you migh want to try, and also I've heard that putting a ground point where the distrubutor would be if we had one yeilds good results.

 

[quik]

what exactly is being grounded

Do all the wires lead from the enginge somewhere to a ground or are you just grounding everything in the engine bay that you can find to ground? And am I correct in interpreting this statement

it seemed to drop the parasitic increase of resistance, the further I got from the battery.

to mean that better results are found if more grounding is done away from the battery instead of around or on the battery?

I'm just learning about this, if you can't tell!

 

[flat_black]

As any current travels through wire, if there are imperfections (Oxygen, bubbles, any corrosion, anything, really), you'll get more and more resistance, which means that current can't travel as freely, and it's lost as it travels along the wires, meaning the alternator needs to work to replace the lost current, rather than just have most of the current return to the battery. All you're doing is reducing the loss of power at the accesories, really, so you're placing more of the available horsepower to the ground, rather than the alternator. =) Hope that explains it, Quik. By the by, I'm going to go get some chocolate milk, now, thanks to your nickname.

 

[quik]

I'm glad

I could help you out with your thirst problem. Thanks for the clarification. I'll give this a shot in a couple weeks.

 

[herarety]

Thanks for the pics, flat_black Really clarified what you did.
I may be trying this out in a couple weeks or so.