# ground wire kits



## Bryan200sx (Jan 23, 2003)

have you guys used them. i know they work because import tuner always has gains on their project cars when they use them. if you have done it what did you use as ground points


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Well,
I haven't gotten a full kit, because if I had $100 it would go elsewhere first. Still, For about $10 you can get all your grounds that already exist in the car to new or better standards. First you have to find them, then get rid of the corrosion on them, and replace with a new ring terminal. You won't notice power gains, but you will see better idle throttle respinse and faster windows opening and closing. 
As for where to mount, a good place is where your existing grounds are, and a few to the block and unpainted parts of the engine bay.
See link in my sig.

Seth


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## zeno (Sep 17, 2002)

I have the kit. It is nothing to jump up and down about but I did notice a better throttle response, a small bit of extra power, and the car ran better. For $100, I think it was worth it.


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## Bryan200sx (Jan 23, 2003)

i know you guys are going to condem me when i say this but ebay has them running for $35 so i dont know if im going to get it or not being that im on there every day looking for a sunny B14 grill.


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## zeno (Sep 17, 2002)

The eBay ones are crap. Spend the money on either the Sun or HKS wires.


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## Randall (Jan 30, 2003)

What about replacing the stock ground wire (from the -ve battery terminal) with 4ga or 0ga wire that is typically used in audio applications? Is this a good idea?


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## zeno (Sep 17, 2002)

> What about replacing the stock ground wire (from the -ve battery terminal) with 4ga or 0ga wire that is typically used in audio applications? Is this a good idea?


This has become the million dollar question. Many people stand solidly behind the idea that they could do the same job as the Sun or HKS system simply by using super low resistance audio wire. I keep hearing this from board members but no one has yet to test the idea. In theory it should work, but (IMO) I like to have a dyno proven product. NPM is suppose to release an article about Sun's HGS next month.


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## UNISH25 (Aug 12, 2002)

zeno said:


> *This has become the million dollar question. Many people stand solidly behind the idea that they could do the same job as the Sun or HKS system simply by using super low resistance audio wire. I keep hearing this from board members but no one has yet to test the idea. In theory it should work, but (IMO) I like to have a dyno proven product. NPM is suppose to release an article about Sun's HGS next month. *


NPM is gonna test these things out. As an electrical engineer, I have yet to see or theorize how they work....
But this is what I'm thinking...

If you apply multiples loads across the same battery, what happens is that your voltage on the battery will drop!!
Now whats the only place in your car, thats electrical and associated with the engine?
BINGO! Your alternator...

I'm thinking that these wires, will reduce the overall load on your battery. And direct more power to the alternators instead. Thus giving you the hp needed.


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## Greg200SE-R (Feb 5, 2003)

Huh? Sorry man, but nothing goes into the alternator. 

I don't claim to know how they work either but one possibility is that the car's sensors may become more accurate, due to their their signals being compared to a cleaner, more uniform reference. They could allow the computer to do its job(s) better, too. 

Remember the grounding problems most of us experienced at one time or another in our sound systems (alternator whine, noise, etc.)? To some degree, I'm sure these types of problems have an effect on how the car's electronics work as well. Spurious voltages and differing potentials are to be expected in just about any car. I once fixed a noise problem in my stereo by running a dedicated ground cable distributed to each component in the system. It worked. These ground kits are essentially doing the same thing, and it sounds feasible to me that it would improve things.

At over a hundred dollars, though? I for one am waiting for full, thorough reviews and analyses on how the things work.


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## zeno (Sep 17, 2002)

> I for one am waiting for full, thorough reviews and analyses on how the things work.


SCC, Super Street, and Import Tuner have slapped the Sun HGS on a shitload of cars and they all experienced a gain. The larger the engine, the greater the gain. They had Maximas gain 10hp at some rpm levels! Most 4 cylinder engines they test gain around 2-5hp w/ the wires alone. 

How they work....well, I don't know; but they certainly live up to the promise (which is why I like dyno proven results).


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## UNISH25 (Aug 12, 2002)

Greg200SE-R said:


> *Huh? Sorry man, but nothing goes into the alternator.
> 
> I don't claim to know how they work either but one possibility is that the car's sensors may become more accurate, due to their their signals being compared to a cleaner, more uniform reference. They could allow the computer to do its job(s) better, too.
> 
> ...


Actually the alternator is connected to the Sentra batteries.
I have the electrical diagram right here. But you are right in saying nothing goes into the alternator. 

What I meant to say was that the overall load on the alternator would go down....not the battery. And direct more power to your batteries and car instead...I got that backwards on the last post...lol


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## Greg200SE-R (Feb 5, 2003)

That's cool, I figured a fellow technician like you would know what you're talking about. I just didn't know what to make your comment.


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## sentra2nr (May 26, 2003)

so what is all of this connected to the negative terminal on the battery?


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## zeno (Sep 17, 2002)

> so what is all of this connected to the negative terminal on the battery?


Sort of....most of the wires converge on the neg. battery terminal which then connects to the chassis of the car. The points you are suppose to use are both the left and right side of the chassis, tranny, valve cover, intake manifold, and neg. battery terminal.


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## himilefrontier (Jan 21, 2003)

You could duplicate this cheaply with some 1/0 gauge welding cable.It costs about $2 a foot and is available at any welding supply shop.You need to use solder and a torch to attach it to the terminals.I used it to solve a current draw problem with my trunk mount battery and cut off switch in my AMC 360 V8 powered 1979 Spirit..I believe the ground wire on the alternator on our cars is black, and bolts to the case with a single 10 mm bolt,about an inch from the positive terminal.


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## Guest (Jun 9, 2003)

*Custom grounding kit*

i used 4 Ga Stinger Audio wire running to a distrubution block with 4 8ga outputs. I ran one to the top of the intake manifold, 1 to the ground next to the distibuter cap, 1 to the opposite strut mount and 1 to the other end of the valve cover. When I finished, I recieved a much better throttle response and better fuel economy. My only suggestion is us quality audio wire. I work as an audio installer and had access to these wires for free, but is well worth it. [email protected]


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## UNISH25 (Aug 12, 2002)

Yeah...use good low guage wiring.

I think a 10guage wire should be enough for all your needs here.
In reality, this MOD is a do it yourself mod!!!
All we need are the instructions on what wires to replace and bullseye! +5hp for cheap money! 

Really...don't waste money on buying audio wire. And then replacing your grounds with audio wire. Any good copper wire would do(as long as its not oxidized, and crusted!) Trust me on this...I did a lot of research on copper wires!


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## pearsont74 (Oct 1, 2002)

I suggest using a fine grade of copper wire(like they use in audio) and going with at least 6-8guage, even 4 isnt bad if you are running a alot of high power steroe equipment.
I used to do customer installs and we would upgrade the ground wires for the completition cars we worked on. Never realized it affected the engine performance...


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

the $100 kits are a rip off, you can do the same thing for under $50 and I'll tell you how. I already did this myself on my mom's maxima (I was doing it mostly to make the headlights a bit brighter). When I was done, the interior/exterior lights were brighter at night, the car started faster, the idle was smoother, and I could feel a difference in power and also see a difference in fuel economy (almost 450miles/tank highway).

If you want to do this yourself you will need the following: 
About 10 feet of 4AWG Audio wire from a car stereo shop
about 10-12 copper eyeloops (4AWG of course...it is easiest to find them at autozone right by the car batteries)
Heat shrink (at Lowes or home depot in the electrical section, make sure it is just big enough to go around the 4AWG cable)
Anti-corrosion Gel (spray can) (at autozone right above the copper eyeloops)
Exacto knife
wire crimper
heat gun (you can also use a flameless lighter from Wallgreens)
Wire cutter (or something powerful enough to cut clean through 4AWG cable)
To do the install, follow these steps:
take your 10 foot cable and an exacto knife and strip about 1/2" of plastic off of the wire from ONE end (run the exacto knife around the plastic to strip it off)
Take one of the copper eyeloops and crimp it on tight
take the heatshrink tubes and cut them in half (you want 1.5" pieces) slip the tube over the eyeloop and place it so part of it is on the wire and part on the crimped section of the eyeloop. Use your heat gun to shrink the tube and it will make a nice tight seal
Hook this end to the negative terminal of the battery and run the wire (neatly) to it's next grounding location (I suggest any piece of metal connected to the intake manifold)
find the length you will need and cut the excess wire off completely. Repeat steps 1-3 to add the eyeloop to the other end of your piece of wire. Bolt the wire to the grounding so you will have a cable going from the battery to the intake manifold
Repeat the previous steps to run grounds throughout the engine bay **USE MY SUGGESTED GROUNDING POINTS BELOW**
When you're finished, take the anti-corrosion spray and spray each grounding point to prevent corrosion.
**I suggest you run a wire from:
the battery *-->* the chassis (right behind the driver's side headlight)
the battery *-->* the intake manifold *-->* engine block (near the alternator) *-->* chassis (behind passenger side headlight)

IF ANY VOLUNTEER IN THE TAMPA AREA IS INTERESTED, I WILL DO THE WORK ON YOUR CAR SO I CAN DO A WRITEUP WITH PICTURES. I WILL GO TO THE STORES AND PICK UP THE PARTS (VOLUNTEER PAYS OF COURSE) AND I WILL DO THE WORK FOR $10. Volunteer gets a new grounding kit with labor all done ($50-60), people on the forum get a well illustrated write-up).


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

PS, I will try to get some pix of the maxima soon.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

here are the pictures from the maxima: http://www.printroom.com/ViewAlbum.asp?userid=Tampa_Nissan_Meet_02&album_id=145642


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## sprayin200sx (Dec 3, 2002)

i am goin to do my kit...i am goin to u use 8 ga. wires and get like 25ft of the cable and connectors and attach to motor grounds, like alternator, on the thermostat housing, and other grounds on the motor...my friend did his own and a lot of sympotms decreased like the car surging when u close the windows and his idle is better and response....in the long run it helps out cuz the stock wires have high resistance...


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