Ground Wires Kit

[IanL]

Originally posted by Grants:

Besdies....have you seen the stock ground wires? There are TWO 18 gauge peices of crap that ground the engine/tranny. One connects to the tranny, the other connects to the engine near the timing belt covers.

Perhaps this is why installing ground wires didn't improve things on mine? The original grounding on my car (Eunos 30X) has considerably bigger and better wires than that.

But as I said previously, Im not complaining and reckon that installing a ground wire kit makes perfectly good sense.

Fair enough. My MX-3 is a '97, and it has very heavy grounding cables (the factory must have got the message)- I guess that's why I haven't been very supportive of the idea.

[lakersfan1]

Originally posted by IanL:

Originally posted by Grants:

Besdies....have you seen the stock ground wires? There are TWO 18 gauge peices of crap that ground the engine/tranny. One connects to the tranny, the other connects to the engine near the timing belt covers.

Perhaps this is why installing ground wires didn't improve things on mine? The original grounding on my car (Eunos 30X) has considerably bigger and better wires than that.

But as I said previously, Im not complaining and reckon that installing a ground wire kit makes perfectly good sense.

Fair enough. My MX-3 is a '97, and it has very heavy grounding cables (the factory must have got the message)- I guess that's why I haven't been very supportive of the idea.

Yeah, the factory grounds are laughable on my car. The tranny to frame ground has to be about 12 guage. It's a joke. Would it be to much to ask for 8 guage main grounds?

[Nallboy]

Are these e-bay ground wire kits worth it? I think it's $26 after shipping. I don't mind spending that! They're 8-gauge and look nice, but do they include everything?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7931459265&category=33574

I really have no idea if that'll work as a link, but I guess it's worth a try.

[Grants]

Those ebay kits are probably the cheapest way to go. If you buy cable, lugs and heatshrink seperately it would come to more than that. The kit looks like it comes with everything you need.

I reckon you shoud buy a set for sure, most people seem to notice a substantial improvement, especially if your OEM ground wires are the small ones.

And they look good too so $26 is well worth it!

(Having said that, a 4 gauge set would be better from an electrical perspective but is probably unnecessary as 8 gauge is probably sufficient.)

(And you're link worked ok.)

[projectmx]

do these grounding kits need to be tied into the battery? cause mine is in the trunk? but looking at my wires under the hood they are horridly small.

[Grants]

Yes they should be tied to the battery if possible but that would be difficult if your battery is in the trunk. (A cable long enough won't come with the kit.) You need to run a good size ground wire from the trunk to the engine bay and join the ground wire kit to that.

[Ricksmx3]

I put in my ground wires kit this weekend. And if i do say so myself i can feel just the slighest improvement in performance and as other people have said idols alot smoother and lights are brighter and dont dim as much when the stero is on. Overall i am very happy with the out come of it and i recomend it to everyone. Well worth the money!

[projectmx]

maybe i should run two battery grounds cause it seems dumb to run a ground all the way from the trunk to the front of the car... it would be a less efficiant battery ground running a wire that long.

[Grants]

Less efficient than what? Do you mean the steel chasis? Steel is not as good a conductor as copper.

From your post I assume you are picking up a ground at the back of the car onto the chasis or something?

If this is the case I'd leave all your existing grounds as they are AND run a new cable to the engine bay and install the kit. The whole idea of a ground wire kit is to eliminate losses in the electrical system and therefore maximize effeciency of all electrical components. No good installing the kit and relying on the steel chasis as part of the grounding system.

[IanL]

I think you'll find the problem is not the steel chassis; the high resistance arises where the cables are attached to it. If you get good bright metal contact between the battery grounding wire and the chassis in the trunk, and protect that bright metal against corrosion, and similarly to your kit under the hood, it will be fine.

[Grants]

I agree with you there Ian but... they need to make sure their wiring is grounded to the same "chasis" at the back as the front. ie not a crossmember or something that is painted and bolted in. You want a one piece bit of steel right though with no joins. Then I'll agree with using only the chasis IF the connections are done right (which my guess is most people don't). One high resistance joint and you might as well not install the kit at all. And worst of all - you'd never even know! You'd just think the kit made no difference.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if a grounding kit is considered worthwhile to install, might as well go the whole way. Hell, you can even get gold plated terminals so I guess thats what sort of priority some see it as (especially those with the high output stereos). Those same people would freak out if you told them to use the chasis as the main ground bus!

[Nallboy]

Thanks, guys. I'll grab one of those kits in a week or so (next paycheck ).

[projectmx]

is 7 gague ok for this?

[Grants]

The bigger the better. The ones they sell all seem to be 8 gauge so if your buying a set you don't have much choice. If your making a set why not go for 4 gauge?

[Legato626]

how hard would it be to make one and is there any instructions for it?