Can someone please educate me on the use of a Grounding kit?
what is it for? Can it be installed by myself? or need a professional?

Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Dennis
04350zTouring

 

It's supposed to give you smoother idle,etc.

But, we all know it's really just for looks. It shouldn't take anyone longer than 30 minutes to install themselves.

 

A grounding kit is to capture and kill all those stray electrons under the hood reeking havoc and sucking up horsepower.

 

Bwhahahaha! It is supposed to improve electrical connections, but this is mostly a problem in older cars. Newer cars dont see that much of an improvement. People have reported smoother idle, but I think its all in your head. I put mine on in 30 minutes following the supplied instructions (www.maxground.com) mainly because it makes the engine bay look better. But remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

 

grounding kits are a waste of cash! Period! unless you think some colored 4-gauge wire scattered throughout your engine bay makes it look better. All I can see is a bunch of wires getting in the way when I need to install/work on something.

 

I put mine in +/- 30 minutes. SAVE YOUR MONEY for a meaningful mod. It adds nothing, IMO.

 

you ask me.. i say looks...

you ask other people... they swear by it...

oh well...

 

I had rough idle and read a grounding kit might help... I didn't NOTICE any change whatsoever...

I still have it, who knows... I won't bother removing it, so I keep it

 

More rice than nice. Waste of $$$.

 

I would hire a professional electron exterminator: this is no job for an amateur.

 

That one just cracked me up!

 

If you have alot of aftermarket electronics it might be a good idea,....I think

However, I won a free grounding kit and install at the RR/TI meet so lets see what it does.

 

adding more wires to the engine bay does not make it look better IMHO.

 

It added security for me. It is important to have a good ground for all electronics and it is nice that I have more than one ground in case the main get corroded or loose.
I would hate to fry my CPU because of a bad ground. It's just extra insurance for me.

 

depends if you use a cheap kit or not. If you use one that uses like steel or speaker wire then yeah its probably gonna be ****ty
Sun automotive ones we use down at the shop actually show a dyno result of at least 5-6whp on every single one we've done and up to 18-20 whp on turbo applications. This is with a mustang dyno.

 

 

What is the AWG of the factory grounding under the hood? Has anyone had to upgrade to larger gauge to accomodate their sound system?

 

This is the 2nd most popular help topic (technical) after "Help, I can't install wheels cuz of a stud!"
I say build a kit and install it onto your own car and see if it make a difference. Just like all other engine mods, your car will react different. I say its a good mod but I won't pay an aftermarket company for it.

a tutorial...

 

I participated in a similar thread on the vBoard regarding the grounding kit on the Spec. There's a lot more positive energy on this subject over there. I couldn't see spending $100 for some speaker wire and lugs, so I made my own by copying a popular brand. I was told of a smoother idle and power gains: natta, zilch. Then I heard that older cars with degraded ground wiring would see the gains. At best, it may RESTORE whatever was lost due to erroded wiring, but no more. Of-course, it would make sense to just fix the defective ground strap, and there aren't that many, but if you already bought a kit you may feel obligated to justify it. I've also seen product reviews with dyno results claiming upwards of 5hp. To this I must repeat my esteemed colleague:

 

I didn't post to argue with the negative results you had, our results have spoken for themselves. I am not a manufacturer claiming to gain hp by this nor am I a vendor pushing product out, just sharing our experience has been very positive with the sun brand ....Probably sold about 300+ units and every has been positive feedback in person and on the dyno when dynod. Sun uses full copper instead of the cheap speaker wire kits you guys are talking about.