I keep reading about Earth Ground Wire System's for the Z as well as seeing them for sale and have been searching to find a post that explains what it is for.

I assumed it had something to do with aftermarket audio for big amps and such but I think not.

Anyone care to educate me on what an Earth Ground Wire System does?

Thanks

 

Read the text here:

http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchan...Category_Code=

It explains what a grounding system is "supposed" to do. I have a 7 wire Max Ground system and noticed no difference in the car.

 

It looks good under the hood. That's about it. I would never consider it a "performance" mod.

 

Speaking of grounding system, i just had to install a new battery on my Z and bought one that has the terminals at the opposite side so I had to buy the extenders to make the cables reach, but now my grounding wire doesn't reach all the way to the negative terminal of the battery. Can i just ground it to the body, would that be the same? Or does it have to be the (-) terminal of the battery?

 

It's total ********, looks would be the only reason to buy a grounding kit.

 

http://www.sunautomobile.com/hgs_pro.htm

 

http://www.caraudiomag.com/testreports/0401cae_hyper/

http://www.activetuning.com/products...350Z-03GRNDKT/

 

This seems to be a generic mod for any car. And all of these grounding kit manufacturers assume that electrical engineers who design the electrical systems in the cars do a poor job of designing them.

IMHO for any digital circuit, a slight change in voltages (mV to a Volt) doesnt affect the performance at all. Since ECU is all digital it doesnt affect it at all, it might only affect analog sensors on the system which are not that many.

One more assumption here is that solution to all electrical problems is grounding, if that was the case electrical engineers would be out of jobs, researchers would have nothing to do.

And I can say this even though I am not an electrical engineer. Its simple physics behind it.

 

LOOK only.

 

From an electrical engineering standpoint it does make sense. Here's a good post (it's pretty in-depth):

http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=187844

But I think most importantly is real world use, right? We've sold a lot of kits and we've gotten a lot of feedback...much of it being positive. Many are skeptical (as were we) until they install one. Not saying you're going to get a huge power gain, or any for that matter, but there's a lot of factors which can be affected for the better. And if anything, it's not bad for the car. I always use this example. If it costs Nissan $1 per car to use thicker wire, and they sold 855,002 cars last year along (and should sell more this year). They saved themselves almost a million dollars. The manufacturers use what works good enough.

 

Just make your own. Find out where the kits out there hook up, and get your own 4-gauge speaker wire, cut it, and then attach some connectors on the end.

That's all you realy need. I don't see why people think they can charge $100+ for these things.

 

Ours are $49.99 shipped and custom fit for the 350Z

 

Definitely one of the most reasonable prices out there.

 

If you make your own, you must use high quality wire and connectors. The connectors must also be properly connected. Otherwise you are wasting your time.

Poor grounds cause wierd and intermittent problems. The also limit current flow preventing devices from providing full power. Remember any current that passes through the power lead must also be able to pass through the ground path.

Best way to check ground quality is to use an ocilloscope. Good VOM might show ground noise by connecting the ground lead to the -bat post and the +lead to the ground point to be tested and set the meter on the lowest AC scale.

 

http://www.350zmotoring.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=31144

I say it works. Install a kit and see for yourself.

 

It does NOTHING. Save your $ to spend on a meaningful mod. This comes from a disappointed Z owner who wishes he had his $100 back.

 

...sorry about that I just though it was funny. I was planning on making my own, but did you see any postive gains anywhwere? I'm not expecting an increase in power, but did it run or sound smoother and more responsive???

 

That link doesnt discuss anything about fundamentals of digital circuits and affect of voltage spikes in them. A 1V output changed to 2V doesnt make a difference in the reading of the signal. Theoretically 0-5V is treated as a 0. So a little variation is not a big problem. The link talks about physics of electricity (atomic level), battery and alternator. Battery and alternator are probably the least sophisticated parts of the car electrical system.

Also the grounding kits have really thick cable, 4-6 guage, applications for cables like these in high power tranmission, example in a car would be a spark plug cable. If you have ever been shocked by a plug, you know what I mean. Most 12V and 5V signals in all the sensors (low power) and electronics dont need thick cables like that. If you look at the circuit boards in the sensors or contacts, the conductors are really tiny. What does that tell me, thick wires are not necessary and I still havent seen any real information why grounding is necessary or how the electrical system in the car is inadequately designed to need grounding.

I dont have a problem with people modding for a placebo effect or looks. But claiming that it has technical merit without direct correlation is not acceptable to me.

I dont know why the point would come up if companies skimp on quality for saving, but if they did japanese car makers wouldnt be where they are today.

 

Beautiful quote.

 

There is plenty of direct correlation. I put on a grounding kit and my VQ runs smoother and responds to the throttle quicker.

It would be nice if we could tag electrons like elephants and track them but we can't. You can remain a skeptic and never try it, or give one a try and then jump into the pro or con camp. Maybe the Z's electrical system is better and the improvements are less noticeable, but 90% or more Altima owners noticed improvements. The Titan seems to respond favorably as well.