What up y'all,
I've had the mod itch for a while now and finally with two days off in a row I've managed to get some work done!

First of all I want to give +100 props to Jeremy (BlackBetty) and his amazing product and service. If I remember correctly I sent him a pm at 3 in the morning, and he got back to my by 8am through e-mail! After me desperately wanting the product ASAP Jeremy managed to send it off on that day's shipment when he GOT HOME from a day off... what a great guy. I received the wires (4AWG carbon fiber wrap) within three days (only due to the weekend) and just installed them on my car. Pics are coming later on, but I just wanted first rant and rave about the quality and ease of installation about the BlackBetty Grounding Kit.
Check it out for yourselves:

Wires just opened - Wires ready for install.


Now here comes the easy installation, and following are pics of the specific grounding locations and before and after shots. All instructions were done from my iPhone off of GShack and G35Driver installation posts.




Intake Manifold Grounds


Final battery ground before zip-ties

Engine open, awaiting zip-ties

cover on, zip tied wires.


Again, I can't give enough props to BlackBetty for the kit, and here's what I've noticed on my car: I always use tiptronic or paddle shifters and ALL of my gears shift much quicker now, especially 2->3, 3->4, and the most important 4 or 3 -> 2. I haven't noticed much volume increase on the Bose system, but can notice that everything is a little brighter. That or it's the placebo effect.
I am getting 3-4mpg better, but that could be because of the ECU reset as well. Overall, I believe the BB grounding kit was a great choice for a starter mod, and has definitely increased my driving excitement.


NOW, onto the grille:

I stalk G35driver all the time for new and exciting things to do to my ride, and the most intriguing one I saw lately was about "painting" a grille black. This DIY article introduced a product called Plasti Dip Spray (blue spraypaint looking bottle) which turns into a black rubberized coating once dried.
I was excited about this more than spraying it because of the fact I can literally "peel it off". I haven't tried this yet, but I know it's possible and can even re-apply coats if it gets damaged from debris and road crud.
Here are some pics of the install: Pretty self explanatory.
Before:

Bumper off

Grill out of bumper

First Coat

Back on with no emblem

I like it on much better

Much better lighting


I love the ding-resistant finish and the more aggressive approach. +1 to whoever made that first thread about PlastiDip spray! All in all it was a hot couple hours of work in the 105 degree sun - but totally worth it!
Hope this inspires someone to get the itch as well!

/rant
Sam

 

Woot, props for Jeremy. That guy has some serious swag, let me tell you.

 

+1

i'm very happy with the black betty kit. there was a definite difference in how the car behaved after i installed it. being an electrical engineer i know just what an insufficient ground can do to electronics.

as for the midnight grille, that looks effin sweet on your car. definitely a nice white on black thing going on, but i gotta wonder how it would look on platinum

 

It is an LP! The pics just look white because of the sun and not the best camera.

Didn't put this in there either, but I have DEFINITELY been noticing increased throttle response. Paddle shifters shift instantly, while the stick in 100% improved as well.

 

My G is platinum and I think I'm going to give this a try. I'll post some pics this weekend.

Just as an FYI.... you don't need to remove the entire front facia to remove the grill. Check out Mishmosh's Stillen Gen 3 install

 

^ i want!

 

What are the advantages of having a grounding kit?

 

The grill looks g8.!! i also painted my grill with the plasti dip and looks sweet. no dings or peeling as of yet.

 

i read somewhere on the forums that the grounding kits dont do much on the 2nd generation sedans. can anyone disprove/confirm this statement?>

 

did u have to do any 'prep' work with the grill, such as sanding the chrome off before spraying the plastic dip on? any special tips /advice when applying the plastic dip?

 

wow thanks! made my life a whole lot easier haha

 

OP, looks great!

I, for one, noticed a change for the better. My review is around here somewhere, with further notes. But you can also check my site for the same info. --> http://gshack.org/?p=128

No need for prep work. You can if you want, but sanding it down will make PlastiDip adhere more (i.e. permanently) to the grill. That kind of defeats the purpose of the PlastiDip being peelable.

 

wow I always hesitated to get one thinking you had to take off the front

 

Thanks soundmike, I didn't realize that Gshack was yours... that's actually what I used the most to help me install the kit. Great pictures and instructions!

apex: I don't wanna sound like a tool but if you read the whole first post it does describe some advantages of having the grounding kit. Basically, it makes everything slightly smoother, brighter, louder, and more enjoyable (for ME!).

joesmith: I didn't do any sanding before the PlastiDip because I wanted to be able to peel it off to reveal my original plasti-chromed grille if need be. You can sand if you want but it would make the PlastiDip adhere more, defeating the purpose of using it at all.


sam and kuro: It does look easier without taking the front fascia off, but I needed to clean it up anyways--- it's really not that hard to take off.

Also, I would get the stillen gen3's in a HEARTBEAT if you didn't have to dremel through your stock intake pieces, and if it used dry filters (example = r2c)

 

Thanks for the review Sam. And thanks for your business.