Ground wire question...
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: Huntington Beach, CA, USA
Re: Ground wire question... (Vinhtran17)
Your car might idle smoother with those ground kits, but I doubt you'll really gain power. You should try fabricating your own ground wire too.
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Joined: Apr 2001
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From: Wilmington, NC, US
Re: (patmcd)
going to a stereo shop and purchasing about 6 feet of 10 gauge and some end terminals for easier and cleaner installation will do the same thing that the $100 kits do.
the reason for adding ground wires would be to help smooth out your idle, mainly. the car's stock ground wires are sufficient but over time they do need cleaning at the ends or replacing if damaged. damaged ground wires will hurt the performance, minimally, but they will hurt your idle more than anything else.
verdict: worthwhile mod since it can be done for less than $20. You have nothing to loose by doing this.
Do a little searching for optimal placement of grounds as well as recommended grounding points... be it to the frame or directly to the battery.... not sure of any differences personally but i haven't researched it.... their has been quite a bit of talk about additional grounding.
Regards,
Erik
the reason for adding ground wires would be to help smooth out your idle, mainly. the car's stock ground wires are sufficient but over time they do need cleaning at the ends or replacing if damaged. damaged ground wires will hurt the performance, minimally, but they will hurt your idle more than anything else.
verdict: worthwhile mod since it can be done for less than $20. You have nothing to loose by doing this.
Do a little searching for optimal placement of grounds as well as recommended grounding points... be it to the frame or directly to the battery.... not sure of any differences personally but i haven't researched it.... their has been quite a bit of talk about additional grounding.
Regards,
Erik
New User
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 4,143
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From: Wilmington, NC, US
Re: (P1mpSlap)
i've got 4 ga from the valve cover to the radiator support... just replaced the stocker since it was shredding at one end but adding additional ground wires will, in most cases, help smooth your idle.
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Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Fullerton, CA
Re: (Erik_Pb_Foot)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Erik_Pb_Foot »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
verdict: worthwhile mod since it can be done for less than $20. You have nothing to loose by doing this.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
excepte 20 bucks
verdict: worthwhile mod since it can be done for less than $20. You have nothing to loose by doing this.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
excepte 20 bucks
New User
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 4,143
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From: Wilmington, NC, US
Re: (Erik_Pb_Foot)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Erik_Pb_Foot »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">going to a stereo shop and purchasing about 6 feet of 10 gauge and some end terminals for easier and cleaner installation will do the same thing that the $100 kits do.</TD></TR></TABLE>
New User
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 4,143
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From: Wilmington, NC, US
Re: (96AllMotorDC2)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 96AllMotorDC2 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
excepte 20 bucks </TD></TR></TABLE>
i meant performance, reliability, maintenance wise.... smartie pants, GRRRR
-Erik <--- who should take back the statement about $20 worth of supplies and say steal them from your neighbor's rice burner
excepte 20 bucks
</TD></TR></TABLE>i meant performance, reliability, maintenance wise.... smartie pants, GRRRR
-Erik <--- who should take back the statement about $20 worth of supplies and say steal them from your neighbor's rice burner
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 563
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From: Beaverton, OR, US
Re: (Erik_Pb_Foot)
I have the Sun Auto Ground Kit.
It offers other benefits besides a small amount of power.
Like most things the benefit will depend on how bad your stock ones were. But the main difference that I noticed were first better gas milage, I use to get ~280 mile, now 300-320.
Second was whenever my CD player played sometimes it would dim a bit when cranked up, but now it never flickers, a last benefit was my car is noticably easier to start. (these things could have just been my stock wires)
You will get maximum use with them if you hook them up in series.
Also the Evo8 has Ground Wires as a factory assessory.
It offers other benefits besides a small amount of power.
Like most things the benefit will depend on how bad your stock ones were. But the main difference that I noticed were first better gas milage, I use to get ~280 mile, now 300-320.
Second was whenever my CD player played sometimes it would dim a bit when cranked up, but now it never flickers, a last benefit was my car is noticably easier to start. (these things could have just been my stock wires)
You will get maximum use with them if you hook them up in series.
Also the Evo8 has Ground Wires as a factory assessory.
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 394
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From: White Collard Crime capital of the U.S. known as S, FL, USA
Re: (NightRider-gsR)
****... I bought my kit for $15! Not much of a difference... but its a tad bit smoother through the power band... and better voltage through out the car.... just my 2 cents... here are my pics....
Joined: Dec 2001
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Most of the honda/acuras come with 8 gauge for grounding wires.
Usually manufactors will only put out what is necessary for the car to run, because they will not waste their money to put on bigger ground wires for the modding enthusiastics.
Honda knows they can do many other stuff to the car to improve performance, but they don't because the majority of the buyers aren't going to mod their cars heavily.
Go get welding cables or power wire from a car audio shop (www.knukonceptz.com has them pretty cheap). Preferablly 4AWG is all you'll need. Anything over that is overkill and won't benefit anymore, since ground wires are very short.
Also, there are no best wires. Wire is wire. The only difference is the craftmanship in assembling the kit, and of course color if it matters to anyone.
Usually manufactors will only put out what is necessary for the car to run, because they will not waste their money to put on bigger ground wires for the modding enthusiastics.
Honda knows they can do many other stuff to the car to improve performance, but they don't because the majority of the buyers aren't going to mod their cars heavily.
Go get welding cables or power wire from a car audio shop (www.knukonceptz.com has them pretty cheap). Preferablly 4AWG is all you'll need. Anything over that is overkill and won't benefit anymore, since ground wires are very short.
Also, there are no best wires. Wire is wire. The only difference is the craftmanship in assembling the kit, and of course color if it matters to anyone.
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 32
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From: Toronto, Ontario
Re: (GSteg)
Just make sure that you are using the right points to connect your grounds to...
Alternator housing, Tranny, valve cover, throttle body, and the MOST important...the thermostat housing (ECU main ground)
And, I'm gonna have to disagree with mey_xanng. My tests showed better results when you tied all of the points back to a common point. I saw a lot of voltage fluctuation when connected in series(like between .5 and 1 volt)
When the kit is installed using the right points, you are making the charging system more efficient so the alternator is dragging the crank less.
You are also providing one stable voltage to the sensors.
Finally, the problem with the stock system, is that it is the minimum grounding necessary, nothing more. There are gaskets, sealant, seams and paint all through the engine bay.
Sorry, a little long...I've put some work into the subject...and it definitely made a diference in my DA9...
Alternator housing, Tranny, valve cover, throttle body, and the MOST important...the thermostat housing (ECU main ground)
And, I'm gonna have to disagree with mey_xanng. My tests showed better results when you tied all of the points back to a common point. I saw a lot of voltage fluctuation when connected in series(like between .5 and 1 volt)
When the kit is installed using the right points, you are making the charging system more efficient so the alternator is dragging the crank less.
You are also providing one stable voltage to the sensors.
Finally, the problem with the stock system, is that it is the minimum grounding necessary, nothing more. There are gaskets, sealant, seams and paint all through the engine bay.
Sorry, a little long...I've put some work into the subject...and it definitely made a diference in my DA9...
