Thanks for sharing Bret.

JJ

 

Pretty well the same impressions that my colleague Robert had after his install last year. He's a skeptic no longer (he's a skeptic about most mods ). We actually did the ECU reset before and after the installation to make sure we weren't going to be influenced by the reset.

Gord, Robert's getting an EX35 for his wife. He's wondering if you have a kit?

 

Very well said Spyderbret. I've install the 10 wire kit last weekend and the car is much more responsive from throttle to braking. I'd like to borrow what you said about "the car is able to keep up with you better."

 

I originally got this as a dress-up mod. I expected maybe a bit of a smoother power band and higher idle or something to that extent. Since I have a 2005 6mt, not an automatic, I didn't expect much in terms of performance since it's... well... a manual .

I installed the Performance kit last night. (By the way, Gord is great at communicating about the product and any questions or concerns you might have. Also very fast shipping considering I live in the USA.) Install was very simple and the instructions made sense. I installed all 8 wires right away since they are all easy and I didn't have to take a break for the ECU wire (it was cake, just be careful when drilling the ECU wire boot).

First impression/test drive WITHOUT ECU reset:
- Car idled higher for longer on first start
- Idle is permanently about 200 rpm higher than before
- Car seems to accelerate smoother throughout the whole range; and it is noticeable in the low-end. I had a low-end power lag issue with the breathing mods I've installed and this has been noticeably improved by the grounding kit.

Second impression/extended test drive WITH ECU reset:
- Same idle symptom on first start
- Idle is permanently about 200 rpm higher
- Car is even better at accelerating smoothly and a big more power throughout the band; it was actually kind of scary to control during acceleration

(IMPORTANT: I have never reset my ECU before this. I learned on this car and have had periods of time where I babied it and drove soft, along with more aggressive driving periods in its history. I have also put on several other mods that the ECU might be taking advantage of fully now such as an intake and a y-pipe down exhaust, and an engine torque damper . So keep in mind that on my 6MT the ECU reset might be negligible on JUST the grounding kit. Including the other mods, the ECU reset was definitely a noticeable change, but I can't prove if the grounding kit helped or not after the reset unfortunately.)

Re-cap:
Performance outcome vs expectations: A
Looks outcome vs expectations: A+
Install difficulty: easy
- Do not expect to be blown out of your seat like a turbo install would, but I would say this mod really does make the engine run smoother and definitely fixes some of the low-end power lag some people might have from freeing up their air flow on their N/A set-ups. I am talking about the sluggish acceleration from 1000-3300 RPM.
- On 6MT the ECU reset doesn't do much for the kit it seems, although there is a noticeable difference with the grounding kit overall.

Pictures are below for those that may find the instructions to be lacking in the detail of mounting points. The instructions were excellent, don't get me wrong, but I am more of a visual person when it comes to installing stuff. Gordon; thank you for the mod and the great service, and please feel free to use these photos for your instructions in the future if you feel like they provide a benefit to people.

In the picture of the ECU wire boot, that black area isn't a huge hole, it's just the soap I used to lube the wire did its job.

 

And here are the rest of the detailed mounting point pictures. I gotta admit... this grounding kit looks sexy in my engine compartment. All I need are some red radiator hoses and maybe paint some parts red, like the plenum.

 

I finally finished my install today. I have a 5AT 05 coupe. I was very skeptical, but decided to give it a shot due to the overwhelming reviews.

First 8 wires:
Nothing. No gain or difference. Maybe a slightly more stable idle, but debatable. It felt a little better at first, but then went back to its craptacular shifting and rough, metallic feeling idle. The shifts in "manual" shift mode retained their eerie thud and mail-in-rebate length delay. I wasn't very impressed, it didn't do much in my situation, just a slight placebo effect for the first day after the ECU reset. I drove like this for a month. Install was a breeze except the transmission wire, which took time to locate and install.

Last two wires (ECU and TCU):
This took about an hour, taking my time for the first time. The interior trim is easy to remove, and you won't need to replace any of the clips. To see if it made any real difference, I did not disconnect the battery. I left the ECU in its present state. This would show me any immediate effect, any eliminate the placebo effect.
I started the engine. I almost didn't even realize it. It was dead silent and smooth. Not even the metallic scrape noise at peak rpm during startup. So far, very pleased. Time for a drive. Pulling out of the spot, I immediately noticed the throttle was very smooth and linear. Zero hesitation or delay, it felt great. I am thrilled from these improvements alone. As an electrical engineer, with plenty of tuning experience on other cars, I recognize how the quicker response time from sensor to ECU can result in more accurate fueling. As much as I can think it's all in my head, I feel a difference. The car has never been this smooth. The change in feel could be in temperature/humidy changes from yesterday to today, but I really feel as if the fueling is improved.
-Update after a few days driving: The smoothness seems to have been mostly placebo effect. It's definitely still a little smoother, but not as extreme as described above. I'd say about a 10%-25% improvement. Gas mileage is about the same.-

Now what about those massive clunks during shifts? What about the 2 second delay when upshifting? Well, a nice test drive had me pleasantly suprised. Shifting times went from 2-3 seconds to about .25-.5 seconds. Obviously, the difference between 2 seconds and half a second, is enough to make you want to drive your car again. The thud was gone also, it was quick and smooth. Sometimes I didn't even feel it. It's like a whole new car, the car we paid $40k for. Trying to get it to "thud", I was successful once. However, it was still about 10% as severe as my average thud before the grounding kit. I'd never think that improving the ground path from the ECU to TCU would make this much of a difference. It's amazing. I actually enjoy driving my car again.
-Update after a few days driving: I'm still happy with the kit. The "clunk" hasn't come back, except every so slightly on the 2-3 shift. However, every shift was clunking violently before, and about 5x harder, so I'm happy. The clunk that remains isn't very harsh at all, just feels like a power shift where the car even lurches forward, in a good way. I'm still very happy with it, I'd say it improved 80-90%-

Am I faster? No, probably not. Everything is just more consistent.
Summary
Very very happy. This kit did exactly what I wanted. My only qualm is that I needed to buy the first 8 wires to get access to the 2 wires I needed. Gordee should really offer just these wires, or an abbreviated kit for them. It would make for a perfectly stealth install, as well. Regardless, I was willing to pay the extra, just to help pay for his time researching and testing all of this. I'd recommend the 10-wire kit for automatics, but I wouldn't see the point in any other kits.

 

Great to hear from another Electrical Engineer.

Actually, the final 2 wires are designed as a supplement to the others and all the wires act as a System. Interestingly, way back in the beginning, the VQ started with the basic 5 wires based on the Japanese market Nismo kit. It was Zxtreme and I that developed the first 6 wire kits that brought about the initial rave reviews! GroundingGear Ltd. went on to develop further, and testing was done up to 15 wires. We found that over our original 10, the others were window dressing.

Though total numbers of wires really isn't that important unless they've specifically been R&D'd into the System, lots have jumped on the "how many wires" bandwagon without fully understanding it. Some knock-off kits use 10 wires, but by design, are less effective as the chosen points are different. Some add one or 2 more bringing the total to 11 or 12, just to cover the important areas.

Also interestingly, for most all other vehicles except for the G35, the GroundingGear® System users have been drivers of manual transmissions. The effects of smoother running and improved throttle response remain constant, but AT owners get the added benefit of improved AT response. Hope that clarifies things.

 

Gordgee,

I hope I'm not giving too much away, let me know if I am, and I'll edit it out. But, a few questions/recommendations:

1) Have you ever considered upgrading the 6" ground from the battery to chassis? What about that with a beefed up negative terminal terminal? While the entire system is tied together seemlessly, I still think a lot is lost trying to piggyback onto the crumby existing terminal. A lot of surface area is lost and there is a metal type change/jump. I have an old audio connector laying around, I'll try it out and let you know if it improves anything.

2) The ECU wire travels from the ECU to the engine. Why not meet at battery? The extra wire almost seems redundant, as there is already a engine-battery wire. That 4 GA path should be enough, and I don't think the intersection at the battery terminal would hurt too much. You may be able to reduce your wire costs there. It's also one less visible wire.

I'm sure you've tested and know better than myself on this issue, but I figured I'd throw that out there. I wish I had a tuner available to see how signal response improves. I bet my two recommendations were part of the 15-wire kit you ruled out. Still though, that stock battery terminal bothers me. hehe. I may upgrade it just to get the extra parts out of my closet.

Great kit though, well worth the money for AT drivers like myself that nitpick over every quirk of the car. The craftsmanship was also great.

 

I finally installed my 10 wire kit on my 03 Sedan 5AT. I won't go into too much detail, because it's already been said.

I actually installed the first 8 wires 3 days ago, just to get a base line. It took about 30 minutes. I could feel a difference in the car from the second it started up. The idle was different (smoother) and acceleration was there more. I felt if I hit the gas, the engine new it was time to go. It was weird knowing I added a few (better) ground wires to the car would change the driving of the car.

So today, I installed the last 2 wires, the TCU and the ECU. Took about 15 minutes. Start up was the same as before. Nice smooth start and idle. BUT when I hit the gas, it was better than before. The car woke right up and off it went. VERY smooth shifting throughout the gears, when it was time to shift, the car did. No lagging... At WOT, just before the car hit the redline, it shifted. It never once hit the rev limiter like it use to with WOT. In manual mode, the car shifted when I told it to. Never kept creeping up for a second before switching, it just switches.

I say you need all 10 wires, not just the last 2. All the wires compliment each other. I'm going to try an install with just the ECU & TCU and I will let you know how it goes, if there's a difference.

I went with the Cola (black) because it blends well with the engine bay and not real noticeable unless your looking for it. I like my engine bay a lot, no jazzy off the wall colors (green, red, blue, yellow, etc), just simple. But to each their own

Now for the pics. I didn't take any pictures while doing this, as they have already been posted. These are crappy pics I just took with my iphone to let you guys know what it looks like back together. I know it's DIRTY in there...

 

I'm glad you like the kit, but I have 2 words for you engine degreaser.


Post#800

 

pm sent,

another question here..

does it come with manual instruction?!?!

 

when i just installed the kit is seemed to have made a difference in shifting speed but after a week or so its back to being itself, slow. I don't think this mod works at all, its just our weird ECUs that keep on readjusting itself and make you think its the mod that is working . I had the new program udpated on the ECU from the dealer an I was 99% sure my shifting was faster right after. Two weeks later we are back to the same Sxxx , shifting sucks again.

 

The TCM controls shifting… the ECM (ECU) won’t really make much difference…

 

Received the 10 wire 5AT kit today and installed it right away. All the wires are pretty easy to install except the transmission ground, of which I had to run out and buy a floor jack and jack stands to complete the job. Took the car out for a quick test drive after ECU reset, much improved throttle response and shifting between the gears, engine idle is also quieter and smoother.

Would recommend having pictures included in the instructions as some of the grounding points are not easy to understand by words. I had to my iPod Touch to access http://www.z-xtreme.com/installation.html to find some of the bolts.

Thanks Gord for a great product.

 

anyone have a picture of the ground on the tranny?