I've said this before, and I'll say it again as have many others. The best bang-for-your buck mod is GroundingGear! (Gee, I'm beginning to sound like a commercial! ) It literally transformed the way my G35 felt! No, it's not in my head, as I'm very familiar with placebo effect, etc. Even my wife and son notice the differences, as have some friends that didn't know I had it done. I'm still waiting for a buddy with a 350Z that had it done to give me some written feedback to post as well.

Look guys, I know there are always bigger and better mods like Nitrous and FI. I've done some of them on my other rides. There is absolutely no comparison for noticeable horsepower. But they are also very expensive or in the long run, affect either driveability or reliability! Even the Crawford plenum has it's negatives, and some have reported removing them because of the negatives and questionable gains.

I made my own Z-Tube using the rubber bellows from the stock tube, and plastic tubing that I shaped using a heat gun and oven. It gave me the sound, but no noticeable performance gain (sound usually =placebo gains).

I tried the real Z-tube, again with the same results. I have the NISMO CAI now. Again little difference, maybe in the top end.

Kinetix Y-pipe, nada.

The biggest reason I promote grounding now is that I too was a big skeptic! The first Sun Auto kit I installed made a noticeable difference! The Stillen kit looked better, but I didn't like the construction. GroundingGear: no comparison! There are many posts here that say the same thing, despite what a few nay-sayers will tell you. Check out the hundreds of posts in the two FAQ threads. I spent hours of my life 2 years ago doing research before I finally convinced myself "what the hell".

For those of you that think it's not worth it, probably nothing I or anyone else says will convince you otherwise. Many magazine articles support the mod as "the biggest bang-for-you buck" statement and back it with dynos.

I know Gord's reasons for not promoting his product more. I'm just not in agreement with them.

To the original poster: Do the GroundingGear first! Then go with tires/suspension mods, then Nitrous or FI if you're so inclined! Save your money on the intake/exhaust mods unless you like the sound.

 

Careful! The same arguement can be used against the grounding wires...

Or you can wait for the CAST Crawford Plenum to come out early-February!

 

what is this torque converter someone spoke of for the ATs?

 

Hmm Somthing thats on Every Freakkin Automatic Ever Made!.

 

edgeracingconverters.com

 

what are Gord's reasons for not promoting more?

 

Can someone explain to me what is the grounding gear and what does it really do? Does it have to do with electrical stuff in the car?

 

I know that Gord felt that he was placed in an uncomfortable position many times by attacks here on the forum over the past year by those "so-called experts" (nay-sayers of any mod that they don't believe in) that claimed he was simply using his powers as a mod to sell his wares. It stirred up so much crap that he almost lost over a year of feedback and discussion on his giant thread when it was deleted.

Also, because of the strict guidelines re advertising and selling on the forum, he doesn't want to be accused of bending the rules that he's supposed to enforce, even though it seems that others are allowed to keep threads running that promote things like "window and door lock operation from the remote", etc. as web-based businesses.

He also runs into the conflict of feeling that he should provide the product at a discount to forum members, even though the wholesale price to his dealerbase is higher and can get him into trouble with his real business base! Even when he does this, people complain that they can buy kits off e-bay, or make kits themselves for less. I ask, "How many of the members here, or even from elsewhere doing research (like I did at one point), would have even considered hyper-ground kits without the work Gord put in?" And really, I've tried a few other commercial kits and have seen many. His really are better, and I know many here will agree! Even a few stereo installer businesses have had him make their kits, and they have the tools and can access materials at cost! What do you think that says!? Personally, I think it's a worthwhile mod, even at the full retail price, and I don't say that about many things (except maybe the G35). That's why I tend to stick up for GroundingGear any time I can. Many others have in the past have as well, but I think they've grown tired of the newbies that come here attacking grounding. I've got a pretty thick skin (but little time ).

(Sorry Gord, I hope I haven't said anything I shouldn't have)

It has more to do with getting a better signal to the ECU or something. There is a good explanation and you can read the feedback on the Hyper-Ground FAQ thread (if I can get this link thing to work).

 

Thanks for your support. I don't think what you've said is news to anyone that's been here for any length of time, as several have said similar things over time.

The thing is, everyone needs to make their own decisions re any mod they choose and the relative benefits. Personally, I don't think most appearance mods are worth it as they can be very expensive. Many "performance mods" also fall short of reality as well, even though aggressive sound is often perceived as performance.

Myself a converted skeptic of grounding, most of the veterans of this forum know I got into this thing because the GM at the Infiniti Dealership wanted me to do this for them. He said "Lots of ppl will pay much more for things that do nothing for performance! This has the looks and it makes a difference I can feel, so I want you to do my car and a couple of customer's cars as well!" Little did I know the costs of protecting myself as a real business, and the time involved to do things properly. Now, I just think it's cool that I've helped (and converted) car enthusiasts from as far away as Guam! It's also cool when I go to a dealership and the car in the showroom is "GroundingGear™ Equipped"!

If I wanted big performance, no question. I'd go with Forced Injection of some sort, but I'm not crazy about the costs involved and compromises in reliability. I'd love to see the 15+ HP gain that some magazines got from grounding, but I'm satified with my own dyno results and appreciate those sent to me.

Other than the grounding, I personally felt that the thing that made the most difference to my G35 was when I built up the stupid dead-pedal to the proper height!

 

Well, my 2003 5AT sedan is in the shop for an oil change and a couple of warranty issues.
I got a 2004.5 loner with the good transmission software ( downshifts to first when stopped)
Man, mine shifts Soooooo much better with the GroundingGear 10 wire system. Night and
Day better. Everytime I get a loner, I justify my purchase of Gord's 10 wire system.
Good on you Gord!

 

Gord's grounding is cool~ Nismo CAI sound nice with stillen true duel, if you not gonna get an aftermarket exhaust, then go for z-tube setup. Crank pulley Is another option that im thinking of right now. Another good mod is...splash guards.

ps. check out ppls replies and see what mod is available, as you can see...not much is available since its still a pretty new car out there.