VR4 Grounding Kits [Archive] - Club VR-4 Forums

bernmc

13-01-2007, 04:53 PM

Well, after PSB's heads up, I toddled over to Rugby today to be the guinea pig for Groundingkits.co.uk.

Bloody miserable day to be fiddling with engines, I have to say!

Pete's a nice bloke, and he's trying to buid his business up at the moment.

I went for clear cabling (other colours available too) - it's all 8AWG wire with a gold plated distribution clamp.

Some pics of the measuring & fitting:

uploaded/1552/1168702761.jpg

uploaded/1552/1168702812.jpg

... and some of the finished kit - you can see a couple of the silver cables snaking around the strut brace, and around the battery:

uploaded/1552/1168702895.jpg

uploaded/1552/1168702925.jpg

Should be a relatively quick, easy install once the kit is done - 5 cables in all. Seems to be good quality.

Differences...? I always a bit wary of raving about sudden improvements, particularly with turbo cars - there's so much that can alter the way the car responds - a couple of degrees drop in air temp for example, so I'll be a bit guarded for now...
The dash warning lights seem brighter.
When first turning on the radio, I seemed to get a fair bit of static for a few seconds before the thing settled on the station - seems to have been cured. This was intermittent, so I'll keep an eye on things.
One definite change is that the tiptronic changes have become much smoother - I can't explain this. I felt the changes were getting slightly 'lumpy' and thought that the Amsoil ATF may have degraded subtly despite the clean bill of health that the lab gave it recently. However, changes were smooth as silk on the way home. The ECU will have been reset while fitting the kit, but I would have thought that would affect auto mode rather than tip. We'll see what happens over the next week of regular driving.It's enough to convince me to get a kit from Pete for the 350Z. The boys on the 350z forums seem to think it makes a big difference, so we'll see...

Axeboy

13-01-2007, 04:59 PM

Top stuff bern

Can you confirm each of the points that the kit connects to?

I have a kit from these guys but fitted it solo and am interested to know wheres best?

Looks good in clear too!

psbarham

13-01-2007, 05:33 PM

cool , keep us posted on how it goes ,if alls well I'll get one for mine

bernmc

13-01-2007, 07:12 PM

Top stuff bern

Can you confirm each of the points that the kit connects to?

I have a kit from these guys but fitted it solo and am interested to know wheres best?

Looks good in clear too!

I'll have a good look in the light and take some better pics.

mattpage

14-01-2007, 12:49 AM

Do you think there is a chance of getting them to argree to a membership discount? I see from thier website that a few other clubs get a small discount.

bernmc

14-01-2007, 03:57 PM

Do you think there is a chance of getting them to argree to a membership discount? I see from thier website that a few other clubs get a small discount.

Maybe.... seem to be a few goup buy discounts too. Is ther enough interest...?

Beastlee

15-04-2007, 05:40 PM

Bern, did you ever get any pics to show the correct mounting points for this? Would be very helpful.

bernmc

16-04-2007, 08:06 PM

Poot... forgot all about it. Will try to do some Thursday before the car goes. Hope I remember....

ralliart-type-s

17-04-2007, 09:57 PM

these kits are essential for all jdm spec cars. dunno why the earths on them are so pants!! but they make a HUGE diff to all the electrics, lights and aircon and everything will perform much better. improved fuel economy?? some say so.I need one for my car so if theres a group buy going down i'd be up 4 it.

Beastlee

18-04-2007, 09:24 PM

At £40 delivered I may just plump for it anyway after payday.

stuartturbo

18-04-2007, 09:34 PM

Dont forget they are to suit a uk battery terminal as i found out DOH

bernmc

19-04-2007, 07:28 PM

At £40 delivered I may just plump for it anyway after payday.

I think you'd be hard pressed to make one up cheaper.

For the record:

Battery neg terminal has 3 connections (pic1):
1 to std ground cable.
2nd to chasis next to battery (pic 1 & 2)
3rd runs up around the engine to attach to a bolt that sits behind the nearside strut (pic 3)

From the cable attached to the chassis near the battery, another cable runs up to attach to the strutbrace (pic 3 & 4)
From the cable attached to the bolt behind the strutbrace, another cable runs along the back of the engine to connect to the throttle cable adjustment bracket (there is a std flat grounding cable running from the bracket to the firewall). (pic 4)
From the other bolt of the throttle cable bracket, a final wire runs to the bolt behind the offside strut (last pic).

Or something like that!

Beastlee

19-04-2007, 08:34 PM

Hmm, interesting then. Someone has already been installing additional cables to mine but not a proper grounding kit. I'll contact them and ask if they could sell me one without the batt terminal as I already have two of them, ready for ICE installs.
Many thanks for the pictures. I already have high spec cables as I work with helicopters that need them anyway, it's just a case of getting the corrct ring terminals to install them. May be cheaper to do it that way but will be stuck with plain cables.

Axeboy

19-04-2007, 08:48 PM

I'll check my setup..

Im sure one is on my starter... hmmm

Beastlee

19-04-2007, 09:55 PM

I've seen diagrams that flow all the way around the engine.

CANDEE

19-04-2007, 09:59 PM

Hmm interesting... might have to try it to go with my 2 gauge ground already from the battery... :P

Bern in that second pic was that two runs to the point next to the battery or just one?

bernmc

20-04-2007, 08:51 AM

Hmm interesting... might have to try it to go with my 2 gauge ground already from the battery... :P

Bern in that second pic was that two runs to the point next to the battery or just one?

One run from bat to bolt, then another from bolt up past the engine to the bolt behind the strutbrace.

Please note peops - these connections are not gospel - the kit has been made up by a couple of guys who are doing a lot of kits for a lot of cars. There might be better places to put the connections. Just see them as a starting point.

Roberto

24-04-2007, 01:50 AM

I fitted one of these kits a few weeks ago.:scholar:
At the same time I replaced the small tube off the dump valve.

I'm not sure which made a difference, but something made a big difference.

Pickup and power seems to be better.

Also for some reason the engine idle has dropped slightly.:inquisiti

orionn2o

31-07-2007, 09:15 AM

What was the final Verdict Bern. Worth the spending or not??

ANTHONY

09-03-2008, 10:27 PM

so have you fitted one to the Nissan yet. just one point how do you get a good earth on a car if its sitting on four bits of rubber?

psbarham

09-03-2008, 10:41 PM

so have you fitted one to the Nissan yet. just one point how do you get a good earth on a car if its sitting on four bits of rubber?

it means earth as in negative, not earth like in your house/pan to reduce the amount of wires in the car the negative of the battery is connected to the chassis, and then the chassis acts as one huge negative wire with each electrical component earthing through the chassis

ANTHONY

10-03-2008, 12:06 AM

cheers Paul thats cleared that up .so unlike those earth straps you used to see hanging down from the rear of old fords

Kieran

10-03-2008, 12:08 AM

cheers Paul thats cleared that up .so unlike those earth straps you used to see hanging down from the rear of old fords

/haz

Oh, I remember those - my dad had a pair on his Ford Cortina... Quality '80s rubbish they were!

shaun1978

10-03-2008, 12:41 AM

weren't they supposed to stop you getting a static shock or something?

psbarham

10-03-2008, 07:45 AM

weren't they supposed to stop you getting a static shock or something?

travel sickenss, they got rid of the static, shame no one had the heart to tell the designer that rubber is a great insulator /pan

ANTHONY

11-04-2008, 08:00 PM

travel sickness, they got rid of the static, shame no one had the heart to tell the designer that rubber is a great insulator /pani thought they were rubber with a strip of metal running through it

cee

14-04-2008, 03:48 AM

i thought they were rubber with a strip of metal running through it

u kidding right?

MarkSanne

14-04-2008, 11:51 AM

Fitted the groundingkit this weekend. Took less than half an hour, only problem was when reconnecting the gold-plate battery-clamp that is part of the kit my alarm started going off. Turned it off, but a few secs later it was going back on. Then I pressed all kinds of buttons on the remote and inside on the control unit without knowing exactly what I'd done to shut it up. Then took a testdrive. I though it felt a little bit different. Some kind of smoothness, but then again... might be my imagination. Turned on the Pioneer headunit gauges-control-function (displays a volt-gauge) and then I saw the voltage was almost always upto 14.1 and sometimes on 14.2 volt! That had never happened before, as it always was somewhere around 13.6 - 13.8v.

Then I braked quite hard when I wanted to overtake someone at a two-lane roundabout. Engine stopped, alarm gave 1 little beep and there I stood. Quickly started the engine again and drove off. Did a few hard brakes again and 50% of the time (clutchpedal in and almost completely to a halt) the engine stalled!

Unhooked the grounding kit, tried again, same sh1t.

Still unsure, next day I checked the alarm settings (never done that before, so the help from my gf was invaluable as she's always faster in understanding those things then I am). Reconfigured some stuff, tried again. Seemed to work like it was supposed to! But then tried it again a few hours later, darn...

Maybe someone has any ideas on this? Is the engine ECU relearning (idle-point)? Is the alarm busted? Could it be the battery?

Roberto

14-04-2008, 03:58 PM

ECU might need to relearn, happened to me after a change of battery.

Try it it's a simple one to sort.

Fitted the grounding kit aswell and thought it made a slight difference, but as you say, it could just be a wishfull thought.

ANTHONY

03-05-2008, 11:18 PM

just fitted a grounding kit and i have to say I feel it makes a difference with the starting, the idle seems smother, the lights seem brighter and it looks good

Turbo_Steve

06-05-2008, 11:14 PM

Braking hard causes stalling:
Vacuum leak
Loose battery terminal
ECU needs educating

I'd suggest the best benefits would come from engine block, chassis earth point (near battery) and the cabin earth point. An extra strap to the gearbox on autos is probably a good idea. A long run into the boot, with links for amps and AYC is probably ideal.

Have seen it make massive differences to stereo, smaller differences to headlights, Not noticed any significant engine benefits on other cars.

miller

07-05-2008, 08:53 AM

Is there a group buy on these then Bern? Or have you a link to his site/product?

Cheers

Mike

MarkSanne

07-05-2008, 09:05 AM

http://www.groundingkits.co.uk/

miller

10-06-2008, 03:07 PM

Just ordered one!!!

pitslayer

10-06-2008, 03:13 PM

the only issue i have with the grounding kit on mine, is the gold clamp is utter crap, its up as tight as it can go, and you can still pop it off with ease. get some tinfoil and wrap it around the terminal hope it fits better then, or i just buy a new terminal that actually fits

MarkSanne

10-06-2008, 03:46 PM

@Pitslayer: I have that in a somewhat lesser manner too. The clamp just doesn't really fit that good and with mild force can be taken off by hand.

pitslayer

10-06-2008, 03:58 PM

mine just pulls off no effort at all, it kind of defeats the object of having a grounding kit, if the wodjya ma call it doesnt fit properly, yes i did just forget the name of the thing that connects to the thing /lol

miller

10-06-2008, 04:46 PM

oh great just as i have bought a kit!, can you not add a washer style thingy to increase the circumference of the battery clip?

or is this problem just on certain battery types? ie i may be lucky and have a larger battery as mine is a cold area spec car?

Mike

pitslayer

10-06-2008, 11:54 PM

my car has a large battery ;) im just going to wrap tinfoil around it, or just get a different terminal :)

Goku

11-06-2008, 07:44 AM

Here's the earthing instructions from the Ralli art earthing kit...

22548

sightless

11-06-2008, 08:15 AM

/Grrr ^^^ have a translated version :iloveyou:

Fully

11-06-2008, 11:32 AM

I'm confused on why it connected to the body 3 times!

Goku

11-06-2008, 11:16 PM

/Grrr ^^^ have a translated version :iloveyou:

What for ?

Just copy the diagram :D

Goku

15-06-2008, 05:04 AM

Well, the translation is just a bunch of warnings and stuff, only that little bit with the picture actually says anything.... and it doesn't make much sense.

miller

15-06-2008, 11:28 AM

Just received my Kit yesterday, now i gotta go buy a soldering iron, damn didnt realise it went to this extremity, i thought it would have just clamped the old negative wire! Ah well

Must say it looks a tidy piece of kit

Mike

miller

17-06-2008, 11:08 PM

Finally got round to fitting my kit this evening, very well made piece of kit! took me about half hour but would have been quicker if i hadnt kept dropping screws.

First off the hi vis dash seems MUCH brighter and WHITER as does the air con display unit, for some reason after the ecu reset i seem to have gained around 200rpm on rev limit prior to the box changing. wether thats due to better grounding or ecu re learning will remain to be seen.

My idle is lower, around the 500 to 600rpm and seems very stable.

gear changes seems a hell of a lot smoother and that is taking into account the gearbox on a learning curve!!!!

My battery clamp fitted perfectly, in fact i had to loosen the screw given to get the thing on!

Mike

PaddyB

18-06-2008, 10:17 PM

What did you need the soldering iron for ??

miller

18-06-2008, 10:27 PM

you dont need one, it does say to connect your cars negative lead to the new clamp to solder it on for best results. the clamp does come with connectors which you can 'squash' to connect!

I didnt solder in the end!

Mike

PaddyB

19-06-2008, 12:05 PM

Cheers.

Has anyone been in touch about the group discount yet ?? Also has anyone ran an earth to the gearbox (on autos). I'm thinking of getting one of these kits - they appear to have a beneficial effect.

GT40-Steven

09-11-2008, 09:25 PM

Bump!

I have fired off a mail to Pete regarding the terminal and the connection to the AT box since I'm interested in a kit.

Could you guys that had problems with the grounding terminal tell me the make and model of the battery you have? I was thinking since it's only some of you that have it installed that have issues with the terminal it might be a make/model of battery issue.

adzgti

16-11-2008, 09:04 PM

Hi all,

We sell loads of these at where I work. we've found the Buddy Club Race Condensor to return the best results. You generally tend to find JDM cars have coil packs mounted very close to the engines inlet manifols(s); this in turn results in interferance created by the static charge of the inlet.......especially so on turbo models. this saps engine efficency and performance. Like previously mentioned, you typically notice a running engine voltage increas....hence the brighter dash....in hiensite, could you imagine the difference this makes to the spark of you plugs.

Not only should your car run smoother, but you guys should also notice a gain in mpg (it may be ever so slight, however every little counts) Our Impreza demo cars manages to recieve an average BHP increase of 10 hourses! very impressive for an itemsa worth just over £100. Thats my experience anyways, dunno if any other retailers on here could back up the claims of these kits but i'd defo recommend one if you walked into my store.

Kieran

16-11-2008, 10:24 PM

this in turn results in interferance created by the static charge of the inlet.......especially so on turbo models. this saps engine efficency and performance..

Can you expand on that? I don't quite follow the logic. Also, on these cars Mitsu have fitted a ground strap between the bulkhead and the inlet anyway, so it should be no potential difference?

ANTHONY

17-11-2008, 12:45 AM

i was having a problem with my stepper motor since fitting a grounding kit the problem has gone ....sorted

adzgti

17-11-2008, 10:56 PM

Can you expand on that? I don't quite follow the logic. Also, on these cars Mitsu have fitted a ground strap between the bulkhead and the inlet anyway, so it should be no potential difference?

Hey Kieran,

I'm not 100% on the Galant/Legnum application, I was just speaking from past experience. Where I work with specialise in Subarus(Ithought I mentioned that in my post...so my bad) and this is a nutorious problem. The OEM grounding system is not suffice and as a direct result is inadiquate to dispurse the static build up through the inlet. Guess whats mounted on the inlet on Subarus? Coilpacks!

We experience different levels of interferance dependant upon non turbo or turbo models. If you could consider the air flow differance between a force air induction and a non forced air induction, you notice the forced air's charge pipes get very hot in comparrision. what generates that heat? friction and with friction comes an interfering static build of the localised area; and if that area has electronic componenets near it, they in turn are affected. A voltage drop on a coil pack is the difference between a car running as smooth as a button or a car running like a bag of hammers on the top end. Its very common in Subaru's that they 'miss' high up the rev range whilst running increased boost. changing the plugs alone does not solve this problem, nor the coilpacks. I suppose its took my firm a fair few years to realise how to eradicate this problem totally and I thought, maybes if it works for one, it works for them all. This problem is also very common on the high revving Hondas. But ultimately I totally agree with this post...these things really work and its well worth investing in one!