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Roadrunner
14-04-2003, 11:52 PM
This looks interesting ....

I did a bit of research a couple of years ago with my Legacy RS-B and some of the knowledgeable guys I spoke to in Tokyo and Hong Kong reckoned that fitting a Grounding Kit (http://www.takakaira.co.jp/asp/template.asp?id=817&cat=2&prodID=NOoKlLlgiHjfmIhfgGpMnmqNOoKLrqjhjinfgGKMLmq NOoKlLlgiHjfmiIfgGpMpmqNOoKLNOoKlLlgiHjfmiI) made a considerable difference to the car - sharper response, improved sound quality from the hi-fi and a general improvement in performance. I didn't do anything at the time because there wasn't a kit available and the guys I spoke to made all the connections themselves, but this looks more like a proper kit.

Does anyone have any experience or thoughts about it?

Brian

Brind
15-04-2003, 12:18 AM
A good earth is a good thing especially if you want to avoid noise interfering with your sound system, or your starter motor to be as efficent as possible.
But seeing extra power or better response from your engine is almost utter ****e! your engine should have huge bonding straps where it mounts to the bodywork as standard, even if it doesn't it will get a relatively decent earth from all of the ancillaries attached to it.
If you do have a poor earth or find your starter motor is a little sluggish you can always add extra leads or even give the existing cables a good clean which will make a hell of a difference.
But to buy these special wonder leads that miraculously give you extra bhp is a huge con in my opinion.

Roadrunner
01-05-2003, 01:02 AM
Well, against some advice ;); I fitted a grounding kit to my car at the weekend, and I'm absolutely astonished at the difference it's made. The car is noticeably quicker :) INSERT INTO post VALUES (like 3 seconds quicker to three figures!); the autobox much more responsive INSERT INTO post VALUES (in full auto mode, changes down much quicker when going downhill whilst braking; in sport mode, much crisper changes); the headlights are better, but haven't noticed any difference in music quality though.

Nice kit sourced from Takakaira in Japan, good quality, and provides earthing from battery to bodywork, engine block, inlet manifold and INSERT INTO post VALUES (I think) fuel pump.

I was a bit sceptical before, but the guys I spoke to in Hong Kong and Japan re my Legacy RS reckoned it was worth it. I have to agree .... :)

Brian

-LegnumVR4-
01-05-2003, 08:50 PM
What brand and what was the price H.7 ?

Brind
01-05-2003, 08:50 PM
:Ponder: Never had thought that? are you sure you didn't just have faith in them and believed it was that much better and put your foot down harder?

If it made that much of a difference you/we must have very poor earth connections to start with!

Brind
01-05-2003, 08:55 PM
How many leads and where did you attach them H.7?
I'm very curious about this now!;)

Roadrunner
01-05-2003, 10:17 PM
The kit is made by Ultra Power Ignition Systems INSERT INTO post VALUES (which appears to be the same company whose name is on my battery). It wasn't cheap, at JPY 28000 inc postage INSERT INTO post VALUES (so, around £140 all in) but, hey, I've got altogether far too much money anyway ;) and I really shouldn't order stuff when I'm half-pi$$ed :rolleyes:

The kit is very well made, with four braided cables sheathed in plastic, with gold-platedINSERT INTO post VALUES (?) connectors, which may be why it was so dear.

Brind,
It's not in the mind ;) . I don't have "faith" in anything - pure scientist, me :p . The guys I spoke to in Japan and Hong Kong all said that the earths in these cars INSERT INTO post VALUES (talking about Subaru Legacies at the time) were very poor and couldn't cope with all the electronics. The VR-4 has even more electronic stuff than my Legacy RS-B so I guessed the same could be true. Certainly, the standard earth strap in the VR-4 looks pretty ropey on mine, and the difference is noticeable.

Pics below INSERT INTO post VALUES (sorry the quality's not great):

Brian

Roadrunner
01-05-2003, 10:19 PM
Kit connection to the battery:

Roadrunner
01-05-2003, 10:20 PM
Wiring diagram INSERT INTO post VALUES (all in Japanese, so it's just as well the pictures were accurate ;) ):

Brind
01-05-2003, 10:56 PM
Excellent, cheers for the reply H.7!

It looks like I'm a believer then.. :)
Although it was never impossable to make a difference, I guess it would work wonders if the original supply is ****e.

Unlike you I've got altogether far too LITTLE money anyway so I may even go the DIY route and try the same, it certainly wouldn't do any harm... I may even see how much it would be to buy lengths of silver coated cable!:cool1: one of thee best conductors.
Does it tell you what the cable material is? apart from copper?

Cheers H.7.:)

Roadrunner
01-05-2003, 11:09 PM
Sorry, Brind, I don't know what the braided cables are made of. They're certainly kinda silver-coloured but I'd be surprised if they were silver-coated INSERT INTO post VALUES (maybe they are! - would help explain the cost ;) ). All the writing on the packaging and in the instructions is in Japanese - might as well be in Chinese, means zip to me :rolleyes: ;) .

Having seen the kit, it looks easy enough to make one up that would do the job just as well. The mounting points are pretty obvious INSERT INTO post VALUES (all pre-threaded holes) for standard metric INSERT INTO post VALUES (either 10mm or 13mm, IIRC) bolts, although a couple of them were knuckle-scrapingly difficult to get at :INSERT INTO post VALUES ( .

If I can help with other pics, or anything, let me know.

Cheers,
Brian

-LegnumVR4-
02-05-2003, 04:56 AM
Can u enlarge the instructions so i can make out how the install is done. How many cables come from the battery 2 or three? Can u tell me what wires go where?

Cheers:)

jaysback
02-05-2003, 08:21 AM
guys.
get yorselves to INSERT INTO post VALUES (dare i say it) halfords/ripspeed get a autoleads - terminal block. and some lurvely black wire from thier ice section instant grounding kit at a third of the cost.
going to invest in some wire as soon as i can have a measure up :D

Petrolhead
02-05-2003, 09:35 AM
I have to admit, when I started reading this thread I thought you were talking about those black rubber strips that hung off the back of your car, you know, the one's with the diagram of lightening running from the top to the bottom :D :D :D

Sooooo, not THOSE earthing straps then :biglaugh:

I could now see how good solid earths would make a difference, but as mentioned above, it should only make a difference if the originals have become worn. Can't imagine that the Mitsubishi designers would build such a car with sub-standard parts.

D.

Roadrunner
02-05-2003, 10:26 AM
From Petrolhead:

Can't imagine that the Mitsubishi designers would build such a car with sub-standard parts.

So you've not experienced the trackrod-end / steering arm / suspension bushes problems yet?? None of these are up to the job on the VR-4, may well be standard parts from a lower-spec Galant, but I don't know. I do know that the suspension bushes should not need replacing at 27k miles, nor should the track-rod ends at 42k miles or the steering arms at 50k miles! :INSERT INTO post VALUES ( The rest of the car is fine :D

Brian

Roadrunner
02-05-2003, 10:32 AM
LegnumVR4,

I'll try to improve the quality of the diagram - that was just a quick digital photo taken in a dark garage, but I'll scan the diagram and repost when I get a chance.

There are four wires that run from the battery negative post - a short one to the nearest bodywork INSERT INTO post VALUES (you can see that on the photo above); one to the engine block, one to something below and left of the airbox INSERT INTO post VALUES (fuel pump maybe?) and one to the inlet manifold INSERT INTO post VALUES (which is where the standard earth strap is located).

Brian

-LegnumVR4-
02-05-2003, 11:49 AM
Originally posted by jaysback
guys.
get yorselves to INSERT INTO post VALUES (dare i say it) halfords/ripspeed get a autoleads - terminal block. and some lurvely black wire from thier ice section instant grounding kit at a third of the cost.
going to invest in some wire as soon as i can have a measure up :D

Yeah thats just what i had in mind:D

What i need to know is the mounting points of the wires?

What size wire is used? 4-8 guage?

Cheers.

Roadrunner
02-05-2003, 11:55 AM
IIRC, 6 gauge for all except the engine block,which was 8 gauge. The engine block attachement point uses a 13mm bolt, whereas the others use 10mm bolts.

BraindG
02-05-2003, 12:36 PM
Orrrrr........

how about just adding another cable? leaving old cables up, but adding some brand new fairly thick cables?

INSERT INTO post VALUES (spot the scot :p)

Brind
02-05-2003, 12:45 PM
Originally posted by BraindG
Orrrrr........

how about just adding another cable? leaving old cables up, but adding some brand new fairly thick cables?

INSERT INTO post VALUES (spot the scot :p)

That is what H.7 has done.;)

Obviously leave most alone, but that little cable connected between the bulkhead and the top of the engine is quite small, if you beefed that up direct from the battery it'll probably work wonders.
I can't quite tell where the others a going..
But the main earth coming off the battery isn't all that big so a thick one from the battery to the bodywork would work well also.

But make sure you clean the surfaces well before connecting otherwise it won't make any difference because you end up with high resistance again.

Roadrunner
02-05-2003, 08:32 PM
Herre's a better picture of the wiring diagram. The top section shows the wire gauge and length for each of the connections:

-LegnumVR4-
02-05-2003, 10:47 PM
Thanks for the info H.7:)

Do u know if u could confirm INSERT INTO post VALUES (take a photo) where that connection goes for the one near the filter, hard to make out from the diagram.

Thanks again;)

Roadrunner
02-05-2003, 11:43 PM
Here you go .... It's one of the knuckle-scrapingly difficult ones :eek: . Look down between the left side of the air filter box and the braided air hose and you'll see the threaded hole for the bolt. It's fairly obvious once you're looking in the right area.

-LegnumVR4-
03-05-2003, 01:59 AM
Good work H.7, i thought it may have been that, just wasn't sure if it was :Ponder:

Super stuff that :D

Brind
04-05-2003, 06:57 PM
I just found this site without looking for it.
DIY Earth modification (http://www.mudd90.freeserve.co.uk/technicalstuff_diy8.htm)

-LegnumVR4-
06-05-2003, 08:51 AM
Well i made up my own grounding kit the other day and installed it. It fixed up the noise i was getting in my stereo which is great. I didn't really notice/feel much difference with power or with the auto box but it has done something:D

Roadrunner
06-05-2003, 09:45 AM
Good to know that you got some benefit to make the painful knuckles worthwhile .... :)

-LegnumVR4-
06-05-2003, 10:28 AM
Try putting a b*****ds back together like my car by yourself! Now thats painful knuckles, arms, wrists and every other part i managed to hit:Scream1: :mad2: :Scream1:

But it was worth it in the end :D

Maybe i didn't notice/feel the difference as my car has had a bit of work done to it. I didn't get to drive it around the hills and my auto shifter has been modified for quicker response and shorter throws so it may not have been as noticeable:Ponder:

-LegnumVR4-
02-06-2003, 03:01 AM
Just a update on my grounding kit. I had an alarm installed in the car about 3weeks ago and i got back my noise. I found running another bit of cable from the right side shock bolt INSERT INTO post VALUES (there are 3 of them that hold the shock in place with the engine brace) to a bolt that is on the engine near the engine mount black brace got rid of my noise. The alarm must of upset the earthing?

Oblivion
01-05-2009, 11:53 AM
I'm thinking about getting one of these kits, but seeing as my battery is in the boot where would I put that connection? Also wondering about that connection thats by the airbox since I dont have that either...

Turbo_Steve
01-05-2009, 11:39 PM
I'd do: A big one (4awg) to the bodywork in the boot. A big one to the bodywork in the engine bay. A big one to behind the dash, to the earth anchor there, and from that earth point run some smaller gauge (8awg) stuff to the engine block and anywhere else you like the look of.

Beastlee
16-03-2010, 09:16 AM
I'd do: A big one (4awg) to the bodywork in the boot. A big one to the bodywork in the engine bay. A big one to behind the dash, to the earth anchor there, and from that earth point run some smaller gauge (8awg) stuff to the engine block and anywhere else you like the look of.

Steve,

Can you direct me to the particular point you mean? I suspect half of my car's issues are related to a bad earth.

WizardKing
16-03-2010, 10:35 PM
When I fitted a new amplifier, as a matter of course I fitted an extra earth strap.
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