theSmoothDome

I guess I should have posted this in Mods, but let's be real...no one there cares about a grounding kit .

Anyway, I just finished my first mod by installing a 7-wire grounding kit. Being a complete mechanical misfit, I definately derived a little satisfaction from doing it myself. That last wire was a *****. I had to borrow a neighbors jack and jackstand to get it connected.

ohw

So, after all the hard work, did you notice any differences?

kendoll

Congrats.
If you don't mind how long did it take. What will you do next?

theSmoothDome

I've only had a few minutes to take it out on the street, but first impressions are that it definately smoothed out and lowered the idle. I'll give you a more detailed review when I get a chance to open it up.





I'd say all told, it took about an hour and half. The longest time was spent trying to find a neighbor who had jack stands so I could do the 7th wire. It attaches to the tranny housing, so I had to crawl under the car. The first 6 wires took me roughly 45 minutes and being the complete mechanical incompetent, I moved slowly and carefully. Someone comfortable under the hood could do it in 20 minutes.

Next up is the popcharger. From there, I'll most likely put in a Nismo exhaust.

Rushguy

Hehe..I just ordered the grounding kit and JWT Popcharger last night. So if it took you 45 mins it should take me 3 hours.

Marksf1

The grounding wire kit is the first mod I am going to try. I noticed that there is a 5 wire kit, 6 wire kit and 7 wire kit. The directions on the web only show the 5 wire kit. What does the 6th and 7th wire perform? Should I also go with the 7th wire? I do not have a jack stand and wouldn't call myself to mechanically inclined either. Also does the z-extreme kit come with instructions?

On a side note - I am getting a clear bra installed on Friday. I will let you know how it looks. I have an installer coming down from LA that has been recomended on various sites. I thought I would have to drive to LA but he said he would come on down here and do it in my garage. very cool!

theSmoothDome

The 7wire is for the 5at. I didn't run it as a 5 or 6 wire set up so I can't tell you if there's a difference. Z327, who makes the kit I bought, says the g35 guys swear by this 7th wire for the ATs. Right now, I'm pleased with everything. I had a chance to open it up this morning and, maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I definately believe that the manu-matic shifted smoother and quicker.

The directions I received were great! Even though I didn't know what was what, I was able to do the install by looking at the pictures. Having no real knowledge of what's under the hood,there was a few times, like the 7th wire, that I had to search for the place that looked the same in the picture, but even that wasn't so bad.

If you're looking at getting a kit. I really do recommend this one. The price is excellent, and the directions are easy to follow. I ordered the kit Friday night and it arrived Monday morning.

http://www.maxground.com/ground.htm

MacGyver

At any point during the install, was the ground completely removed? I ask because if it was, you reset the ECU, which would have an effect on how the car ran and remove what little benefit (if any) you truly received from the kit.

theSmoothDome

Glad you chimed in on this Mac! The factory body ground was removed. Is that what your talking about it? I've read that this alone will not reset the ECU, rather you have to remove the battery cables. My knowledge is rather limited, so I'll defer to others on this one though.


BTW, what's the status of the lighted windscreen? . I'm definately interested if installation is easy enough.

theSmoothDome

According to Technosquare, resetting the ECU is a little more complicated than just undoing a ground wire.

350Z ECU Resetting Procedures

Please read all instructions and be familiar with them before any attempts.
A stop watch or an analog clock with a second’s needle will be useful.

ECU Resetting Procedures

Timing is extremely critical. If it is NOT DONE within the specify time, the ECU will not reset and the Check Engine Light (CEL) will continue to remain ON.
A stop watch or an analog clock with a second’s needle will be useful.

Operations Procedures

1. Confirm that accelerator pedal is fully released, turn ignition switch “ON” and wait 3 seconds.
2. Repeat the following steps (2a and 2b) procedures quickly five times within 5 seconds.
2a. Fully depress the accelerator pedal (HARD).
2b. Fully release the accelerator pedal.
3. Wait 7 seconds, fully depress the accelerator pedal and keep it for approx. 10 seconds until the CEL starts blinking.
4. Fully release the accelerator pedal (while the CEL is still blinking)
5. Wait about 10 second.
6. Fully depress the accelerator pedal and keep it for more than 10 seconds.
7. Fully release the accelerator pedal (The CEL light will continue to blink).
8. Turn ignition switch to “OFF” position and now you can start the car. The CEL light should be gone.


Any have a take on this?

MacGyver

If you didn't remove battery ground, you're probably OK. The technique described above is for resetting the ECU without removing the cable, but I'm willing to bet removing the cable will do just as well with the side effect of resetting every other electronic device in the car.

I've always been highly skeptical of grounding kits for a couple of reasons. First, if extra power was available direct from the factory by adding in (literally) $0.20 in copper cable, I hardly believe they wouldn't do it. It's not like we're talking tens of thousands of dollars in extra reserach on header design, we're talking a pre-existing design called a wire. Second, all of the dyno gains I've so far have been made in one of two case: 1) The car was old and the stock grounding system was corroded, or 2) the dyno was performedincorrectly. The first case is easy to correct by cleaning the stock ground, and the second is easy to correct by putting an unbiased and knowledgable person behind the dyno controls.

If I have the time to complete a couple of kits, I will be performing a test in a few weeks at a local tech meet/dyno run. I entered in to this same discussion with one of my fellow S guys, so the challenge began. My 4 year old S that weathered 3 Boston winters (and all of the salt corrosion that goes along with it), and a fairly new S only a couple of months old. I'm betting the new S shows statistically insignificant gains.

I'll try to remember to post my findings here for everyone to tear apart.



As far as the windscreen goes, I shipped an LED string to Mike for installation, but until now I had totally forgotten to send him a control box...crap, I really need to do that. I guess I know what I'm doing today

Marksf1

Thanks for the link SmoothDome - I went with the 5 wire kit.

Hope to have it soon - We need to check each others cars out some time.

theSmoothDome

Definately