I don't see why gravity works, but it does. From the bit of reading I've done, yes, most cars are poorly grounded. Manufacturers have no real motivation to do a better job there.

BTW, not picking on you personally, Stim, it's just an interesting discussion. Hopefully bluedevil settles it once and for all.

 

If you want a simple scientific test, here is one.

Measure resistance from cylinder head (where spark plug) is, to negative of battery terminal. Do this before install and after install of kit. If you see a significant drop of resistance, then you have improved the path of electricity from the spark plugs and potentially have improved performance.

However, if you do see a difference, i would be looking at the original cable and considering replacing it or cleaning the terminals. 5-8 year old cars offer plenty of time for corrosion of the oem cables. Its possible that any performance gains are simply from correcting poorly maintained factory connections.

So....if anyone is installing a grounding kit anytime soon, could you get us some resistance values before and after? Choose a few clean spots on cylinder head to battery negative and record the results. Retest in same spots after kit install. Perhaps a few other spots could be tested? Trans case? Various vehicle grounds? Make sure you do it with similar conditions and a cold engine. Heat increases resistance, so if yoummeasure on a hot engine, it will be higher than a cold engine.

I'm not an EE, but I'm an ME...so the answer "well the dyno shows an improvement" is not good enough for me. I want to know why.

 

Wouldn't be the first time. Ford trucks are notorious for electrolysis occurring the in heater core due to poor grounding.

 

Don't worry, i am going to have a friend help me install it. He has the same kit on his car. Plus i want to know where my car is sitting w/ the WHP. I don't know what i am getting to the wheels. If this grounding kit really adds. How many people is going to have it on there cars?

 

So you are going to do a before and after dyno Yoshi?

 

yep. I still need to call and talk to the guys about it. I forgot to get the info from Dave so i can talk to the guys about it.

 

To really be cmplete, you should go over the current grounds on the car before install/dyno and clean and make sure all the connections are fresh and tight. That includes the major chassis, engine block and battery connections.

That way it rules out the the grounding kits are compensating for aging/oxidizing oem grounds.

 

^ +1

 

Do i want to change out the OEM grounding kit? I moved it to another location to hide some of the wiring.

 

I don't feel as though you're picking, don't worry lol. Interesting discussion indeed. Grounding on vehicles has improved quite a bit, but I still don't think for that much power gain. Would love to see the tests Mustang wants with the testing Yoshi plans on doing.

 

Everyone talks about power gains but who in here really dyno the car w/out and w/ it on the car? I hope it don't cost too much to dyno to get info on this. haha It better be worth something if it really adds.

 

Grounding kits are like electronic rust protection, just another way of fleecing you out of your hard earned money. There's no real way to measure if these things work or not so keep your money in your pocket. Better spent at a strip bar....if you're throwing it away anyway lol!

 

Not change it out, but at least verify that all the connections are clean and tight and oxidation free. Maybe remove the connections and scuff them up a bit so that when you tighten them down, the make a good strong electrical connection.

 

My friend and I installed a complete audio system in his lexus a couple of years ago which included a 1.5 farad capacitor with a built in digital volt meter. We were getting some engine noise so I built a grounding kit myself out of some 4 guage wire we had laying around. It was only five points of contact but we picked up 1.8 volts on the guage after it was installed. Also when we cranked up the system before the kit it dimmed the headlights and made the idle drop a a little. After the kit both of those issues went away. Remember the power from your battery actually flows from the negative terminal to the posative and, given the amount of electronics drawing voltage from our cars, I believe they can be beneficial. I installed on on my G that I made myself using the factory ground location as well as a wire to the frame rail, transmission, shock tower, block, and intake plenum. I didn't see a "performance" increase but it did seem to shift a little better afterwards. It also idles a little smoother in my opinion.

 

If you were getting dimming and you installed a capacitor, you were just hurting the electrical system more. A capacitor is a total waste of money. It's a band-aid and sales gimmick. If you're electrical is not up to par, it's just a strain on it because it's trying to reserve current and let it go when needed. However, the rate it which it stores it is not nearly fast enough at the rate it needs to give it off. That's why you need to make sure the electrical setup is solid from the get-go. And if it's solid in the first place, why even get it, it won't provide much of a benefit. Better off getting a better battery or adding one since it's cheaper than buying a high output alternator.

The engine whine you heard could be from a variety of things. Poor RCA's, weak shielding, bad ground, running RCA's same side as power/ground wire (sometimes it makes a difference sometimes it doesn't), and several other reasons.