Do Grounding Kits actually work?

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PIMPMYFX

Member
I was reading about them and a few G37 drivers reported that it sped up there shifts. I was wondering if any of you guys/girls have had experience with them?
 
I installed a 10 wire kit, & it made the FX feel more connected. In that I mean, smoother idle, acceleration & better shifts.
The kit included Tranny, ECU, & TCU to ECU wires

Grounding is good
 
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I have this one & while it's pricey, it is good quality
You really could make one yourself. I believe there's a thread on the site somewhere.
 
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No one can really prove they work, at least not on a dyno. You're definitely not going to make 11 hp like that site claims. A lot of people swear that they work and they get faster shifts, better throttle response, etc. But just as many have tried them and say they didn't do anything. I've done it on a previous car because we relocated the battery for a turbo setup to the trunk so I had to run a ton of wires anyways. Felt zero difference in terms of throttle response, shifting, idle, nothing. No dyno difference in power either.

If you want to do it, just buy the wires and terminals from a stereo shop or eBay. It's just amplifier wire along with ring terminals. Or buy a cheap kit from eBay. Paying more really gets you nothing since even high end wire and ring terminals are cheap on their own. Cut to length and ground the same spots the kits do. Maybe you'll feel a difference, maybe you won't. Worth a shot if you're curious.
 
The thing I noticed for example on the engine of the FX. They basically just put another grounding wire right beside the existing one.

If you look at the left side of your engine there is two thick wires connecting to the block and the timing cover which ground the engine to the chassis.

IMO grounding kits do nothing, and any effects people do feel are just placebo.

Our cars are pretty well grounded out from the factory. Unless these cables were damaged, then there is no reason to add more wires...
 
Often, the sites like to show a picture of a tiny OEM wire next to the newer larger, prettier grounding wire. That's great marketing, but what they never really show you is the equivalent power wires. I've looked at a few and generally, the power wire is the same size as the equivalent grounds. That's all you need, going to a ground wire that is bigger than required does exactly nothing. Grounding the ECU does nothing since it's all digital - it either works or it doesn't, your car won't run smoother because you put a bigger ground on your ECU. Not sure how you'd get faster shifts on the transmission from a better ground. TCU sends a signal to the VB to shift, maybe a bad ground could cause interference, but that's reaching.

Plus the kits are just supplemental, they don't seem to actually replace any ground wires, it's very indirect. If you ground your amplifier to the chassis, that's direct. You do it wrong, you get noise. Adding a grounding kit would be the equivalent of leaving the amp to chassis ground, then running a bigger wire from the chassis ground to another grounding point. How would that make any difference? I see claims about smoother injectors, but I don't see how? You're not touching the actual wires to the injector, you're just adding a bigger wire to their grounding point.

It's pretty easy to check how your grounds are. Get a multimeter and put one end on each side of the ground wire. If it's close to zero, it's fine. If not, your ground is bad. Try it with a grounding kit, I'd bet the numbers are the same. Strange how no company actually puts up a number showing their grounding kits have less resistance than OEM. That's the number to measure, not "smoother shifts" which you can't prove.
 
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This is even a bigger crock of shite than the $90 6' Monster HDMI cables for your home theater. As said above, it's digital.....that means it's either on or off, a one or a zero, closed or open, don't waste your money. This is bull shite and does nothing but make your wallet lighter.

MC
 
Good thing I didnt buy one of those ebay resistor chips good for 100 hp :/
 
LMAO, good one.

I heard that putting specially folded tin foil next to the air cleaner will yield a 10 horsepower increase, and allow you to pickup AM radio stations in Russia. I'll fold and ship for $399 including tin foil and shipping.

MC
 
Call it snake oil then.
But I promise, I felt a subtle difference and definitely not just in my head. Combination of my miracle grounding wires and a pro tune from techno Square, my motor is silky smooth and better than before those mods
 
GTO, no offense intended, thats great if you are happy with the results of the additional grounding. I'm making the point that the entire car, metal, is ground, and is solid unless there is a broken ground conductor to a specific powered device. If the powered device functions reliably when powered on then the ground is sufficient. The same applies to the positive wiring, adding an extra positive battery cable will not improve the quality or reliability of the 12 volt power. Both positive and negative wire gauge is calculated by the max electrical load to be carried by that circuit, oversizing the wire gauge, or in this case adding another conductor, does not change the characteristics of the circuit. If the ground is undersized the wire will be destroyed by overheating when the circuit is under max load.

MC
 
Did you do the grounding wires and pro tune at the same time? A new tune could definitely result in better idle, rev up and make the car smoother.
 
I had the wires before tune. True, the DynoTune smoothed out the motor & power curve, but I still felt the a difference after wires went in. I know, weird.
 
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It is possible that you had a damaged or loose ground that installing the ground kit eliminated. This would be a positive that you would not get had you not put in the grounding system.

MC
 
I had an experience before most of you were born. A very sanitary high performance sports car. Everything perfect. Went out to dinner, returned and it acted as if the battery were dead. A sharp AAA driver checked it out, then proceeded to remove the main ground strap from the engine to chassis and clean it as well as the engine block connection area [it all looked perfect before he touched it], reconnected everything and asked me to try starting it again. The starter spun great and all was 100%. The tech explained that a lot of really clean cars like mine would get that tiny bit of water trapped in the connection and after a while it would affect the quality of the ground.
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So after that long winded tale- if you think your car could be improved with a better ground- FIRST disconnect your main power wires and make sure you have cleaned all the connections and treated them so they won't attract corrosion. Then reconnect and see if you detect any difference. At the very least you have improved the odds of your electrical system being in good health - and perhaps save quite a bit of money. Just saying.
 
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