Ground Wire Kit Points?

[dshive]

hey guys, I'm looking to hook up a ground wire kit. What points are recommended to hook up to?

[pleaidestar]

Each head, I/m, tie off from I/m to throttle body or add one under the coil and strut tower are the ones I did with a grounding block on the firewall. I could have done all the grounds to a block on the battery but I didn't like how the circle earth kit looked.

[monkeyposeur]

I bought a kit from broknindarkagain. Iirc there is a line going to each strut tower, one under the radiator, another to the engine, and a couple others.

[stevenva]

Ground wire upgrade? Good start.

After replacing all your ground wires with heavy gauge cable, take a look at the small gauge wire coming from the alternator to the battery. That will be the weak link in your cars 12V system after you've completed your ground mod. The good news is that it is easy to eliminate the weak link as well as get your ground mod. This is called the Big 3 Upgrade.

-Alternator output to battery positive. Piggy back over the existing output.

-Alternator case to engine block.

-Strut tower to engine block.

-Battery negative to engine block.

-Battery negative to strut tower.

*The strut towers are my preferred location due to their robustness and ease of access. Thin gauge metal locations like core supports are not as good due to them being tack welded and not as centerally located in the car.

There are a few good locations on the engine block which have decent size bolts.

You can make this mod easy if you replace the battery terminals with aftermarket ones which accept multiple large gauge cables. All connections must be to clean metal. You should spray battery terminal protector on after to prevent rust and corrosion.

 

http://elitestreetsmagazine.com/magazine/2008/jul-sep/tech2.php

[dshive]

good stuff guys! Thank you

[dshive]

There any model specific kits or can I just get a universal application kit off Ebay?

[stevenva]

I like to make my own. Go to a welders supply shop and get welders cable and the lugs.

[Zues Marine]

8ga. wire from Lowe's - $5

[stevenva]

I'd do 4ga or thicker to future proof it.

[dshive]

does Advance or Auto Zone sell the wire connectors or can I get those at Home Depot also?

[twisty]

you can get em at home depot, but the crimping is difficult without tools. they are a bit heavy to get crimped without a hammer and some help. not impossible, but not easy.

[purebluedoor]

alligator clamps crimp those 0 gauge connectors pretty well

you gotta man up though

[stevenva]

Solder them. I used to crimp them but the inside of the crimped connections would sometimes corrode over time. Here is a link showing a cutaway of a soldered connection.

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A MAPP torch is cheap and can be used to help with rusted fasteners later on

[Zues Marine]

Maybe home depot, I couldn't find them at Lowe's anywhere, which I couldn't believe... If not HD, AutoZone has them

[twisty]

Solder them. I used to crimp them but the inside of the crimped connections would sometimes corrode over time. Here is a link showing a cutaway of a soldered connection.

 

 

A MAPP torch is cheap and can be used to help with rusted fasteners later on

 

for work, we sometimes have to crimp and solder for anything larger than 4g. its a pain in the ass with 750mcm cable, luckily not all cities require it.

 

heres how big 750 is compared to 1/0 (about .4")

 

http://mooreu.com/000_store/imagesupload/1_Awg_Power_Cable_319w_287h_1.gif

[dshive]

How much length of wire should I buy?

[twisty]

should probably get a fabric measure tape (3 ft or so and flexible) and measure each point to point run, then add them together and get that plus a foot or so. if i say 10ft and its short, youll be bummed. i didnt buy the cable i used, so i didnt think of measuring before cutting it off the reels, sorry.

[dshive]

ahh poop haha I'll try to get some measurements then