Oooookkkkkkkkay?

 

Since you brought it up, and no offense, but doesn't the above also apply to you? With the anonymity of the web (as you note), no way to know if you're just some random sales guy.

I comment only because I'm interested in doing this mod, and am thus interested in understanding the reality of its effectiveness.

 

twro:

Thanks for the thorough and (ahem) interesting review. I'll send you your 'bonus' ASAP.

I'm combining your post with the appropriate review thread.

 

Having read your post I don't expect you to be here but I'll respond anyway . . . . having read your pontification(s) -along with other members- just goes to show we enjoy all brands of BS.

 

well i think my car needed the time to get used to the kit - well the ecu that is.

now that its adapted i get my usual 400kms on a full tank. Ive been driving less aggressive also so that could help.

 

My apologies for twro.

He's a collegue in the same office complex. Not the sort to post on forums, as I mentioned in the '07 Sedan forum thread. I'm the one that talked him into trying GG, and he said he would post a review on the condition that he would be honest in his review. Didn't know he was going to talk about his views on Net forums. He's a good guy (really), but you have to know him to appreciate him.

Maybe I'll go hide his PDA dock since he's not in today.....

 

Glad your gas mileage went back up. Keep an eye on it. As I said, several have reported better mileage.

 

Sounds like he would be a good assistant for a RonCo infomercial. Very entertaining to read.

 

And now for my (somewhat lengthy) GroundingGear® review…

I had been reviewing info on the GroundingGear® systems for quite some time on this forum and finally decided it was time to see what they would do… on both G35 Sedans I own… a 2005 6MT and 2003 5A/T.

The 2005 6MT has a Stillen Intake and 350Z Tube, otherwise it is stock.
The 2003 5A/T is bone stock. It is not the “doggy door” version. I think that makes it a 2003.5.

Anyway, I exclusively use Chevron 93 octane gas, unless traveling or something. More about why that is important later in this post.

I thought it would be interesting to compare results on both cars by installing the systems right at the same time. After working with Gordon on my order and making shipping and payment arrangements, the systems arrived… all quite quickly. Great communications.

So last weekend, I installed 1 Red 8-wire system on the 2005 6MT and 1 Blue 10-wire system on the 2003 5A/T. I installed the system on the 6MT first (my daily driver), then the next day the 5A/T system (my wife’s daily driver).

My install and testing process was as follows: Drive 15 minutes without changing anything on the car. Perform ECU reset (pedal method). Drive another 15 minutes – Same route. Install the system. Perform 2nd ECU reset. Drive another 15 minutes – Same route.

The first install (6MT) took about 4 hours total with all the driving and figuring out how to best route and secure the wires. Included in that time, was an extra pedal reset and 15 minute drive after installing all but the last wire, which lengthened the overall install time. The second install was completed in 2.5 hours total, and that was the 10-wire 5A/T system, with the driving.

Materials and craftsmanship of the systems is top-notch, and the instructions are excellent. I really enjoyed the learning process about how parts of the car are assembled during installation. I’m sure if I had worked more with the cars in the past, the installs would have gone faster.

Driving Impressions:
2005 6MT Sedan - 28300 miles.
8 wire GroundingGear® Performance System - full 8 wire package.

Idle: Slightly smoother, slightly slower. Previous warm idle was just barely 600 rpm without A/C on, now it is just a little lower. I used to notice small inconsistencies in the purr every 15-20 seconds or so during idle, but now it seems to be really consistent. With A/C on – idle was about 825 rpm, and now it is right at about 800 rpm.

Throttle Response: More responsive. It definitely seems that the car is more responsive. I used to be able to “jab” the throttle in neutral at idle and hear the intake (slight delay) then the revs. Now there is much less delay. It does seem that it takes slightly less gas to get the car moving, and seems a bit easier to get ahead of the friction point of the clutch with my throttle foot, particularly in low gears. So I’m sort of having to re-learn the new responsiveness.

Shifting: Slightly smoother. It seems that the effort to shift, and the pre-existing, minimal, notchiness of the transmission has reduced.

Gas Mileage: Slightly Better. I’ve driven 284 miles “normally” after I had fun with part of the first tank after install. I used 11.507 gallons to cover that distance, which is 24.7 mpg. I’ve had as low as 22 (city/aggressive) and as high as 27.3 (highway cruise at 73 mph) with this car to date. Normally on my daily commute I get around 23-24 mpg. It has been hot this week, so the A/C has been on more than normal and I still obtained better gas mileage. I’m really curious to do a long highway drive and see what happens.

Knock/Ping: Dramatically reduced. This is the biggest unexpected benefit of this install on my car. At 1600 rpm (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th gears) and occasionally between 2200 and 3000 rpm (3rd/4th) , this car has pinged since day 1. After the install it hardly pings at all. It used to get what I called “afternoon pings” – the pinging would get slightly worse through my 27 mile commute everyday on the way home from work. I just figured it was because everything was warming up. Hot days were worse. I had used fuel system cleaners and octane boosters to get it to “tolerable levels”. Infiniti “could not duplicate”. It seldom would ping in the morning. After this install, I’m not using any additives and it doesn’t ping in the morning. In the afternoons, it very slightly pings only as the car is warming up on the first few runs through the gears. Then for the majority of the drive home everyday – NO PINGING! Also, afternoon temperatures have been in the upper 80’s / low 90’s this week, so this has been a hot week for testing. I thought I was going to lose my mind trying to eliminate the ping, and had given up thousands of miles ago. Now I’ve installed GroundingGear® – problem solved!


2003 5A/T Sedan - 68000 miles.
10 wire GroundingGear® Performance System - full 10 wire package.

Idle: No noticeable change in RPM or smoothness, but again, this is not my daily driver. Without A/C it idles at about 600-625 or so.

Throttle Response: It is definitely responsive, and seems to be more so than before.

Shifting: No question about it. Hands down, the Manu-matic mode shifts MUCH quicker. I purposely tested this heavily on the test drives before and after the install, and before it was typically between 1 and 2 seconds to complete a shift. Now it is approximately HALF of that time, (even quicker at times, depending on the gear). The “D” – mode (normal auto selection) has shifts that are smooth as glass. I think smoother than before. It has always shifted fairly smoothly, but now seems to be better.

Gas Mileage: Too soon to tell. Still on the first tank – this car doesn’t get the daily miles that our 6MT does.


Summary: (both cars)
Fantastic! Great “bang for your buck” mod, I would do it again in a heartbeat. No question- tangible, positive changes to both cars performance/operating characteristics.

Thanks Gordon!!!

 

Very detailed review!

Why would this help the pinging? Anything similar in testing before Gord?

 

i have definately been lagging on this...

 

ckg35 -
Thanks - I tried to make as many notes as possible.

As to the pinging - I think I read somewhere that sometimes cars with GroundingGear® may run very slightly richer, but I am not sure. Maybe I saw that on someone's dyno chart on the web. I am curious what Gordon thinks about your question though.

Nonetheless - I'm very happy with the systems. Great mod!

 

Installed the 8 wire kit a few weeks ago. I have nothing but good things to say about it. I have the 6mt sedan, so was a bit skeptical that the kit would actually be of benefit. The drive is smoother overall, with low idle rpm. There is noticeable improvement in throttle response. Interestingly, my gas mileage has improved considerably. There is no doubt that there was something wrong with my car in terms of mileage, but there were no error codes pointing to the culprit. I was averaging 300km/tank. Now with the grounding gear, I am getting about 420km/tank (city). Can't explain why this is so, but I'm not complaining.

Thanks Gord.

KJ.

 

Here's a quick impression of the Grounding Gear 10 wire kit for the 07's. I received the kit couple days ago and finally had several hours where I could finally install it.

The product itself is very well made, props to Gordgee, I was impressed right off the bat. The instructions are very clear with pictures and made life very easy as I went down the list and crossed each step off.

The install took me about 4 hours only because I did other things in the middle of it. The hardest part was the glove box and deciding how I wanted to run the wires. I attached some pics in case anyone's curious how the 07 looks. I'll be strapping up the blue wire that hangs down in the front, but for now everything is connected and functional.

After I was done I took the car for a nice 20 minute drive on the freeway and nice twisty backroads keeping the RPMs high and manually shifting at every turn as needed. I did the full ECU reset when I unplugged the battery and completed the circuit. Initial impressions are great. Shifting is without a doubt improved and smooth as silk. Pedal response was also much more sensitive. D, DS and Sport all felt much better with no harsh shifts like I would get sometimes if I slow down right before the 2-3 shift in DS. The revmatch also felt much cleaner and the duration was shorter when going to the next gear up or down. I'll know mileage changes after I drive it for a while.

All in all, I'm pleased with the product and I am a believer in this mod.

Thanks Gord.

 

Robert seems to still be pleased with the 'Gear on his '07. I ask him everyonce and a while, and he just grins and gives me a nod. I'm wondering where the feedback from all the other '07 drivers is?

BTW Gord, I can't seem to get on your website! What gives?