EJ20H-TT Posted May 12, 2004 Share Posted May 12, 2004 Have done a bit of DIY earthing recently I know this in certain circles is viewed with sceptism. Well tht of in Japam though. Me i was doubtful as well. I haven't had time to do a full test. But first impressions are all good - starts quicker - idles smoother. Will give it a perfomance test soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUBE555 Posted May 12, 2004 Share Posted May 12, 2004 I personally don't care if it helps performance, I'm looking at the other aspects of how it runs, efficiency, and stereo quality being the major factors and so it sounds, those are the major differences. I'll probably end up doing it. You're absolutely right with a number of people being staunch opponents though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJ20H-TT Posted May 13, 2004 Author Share Posted May 13, 2004 Well did more of a test. Smooth is the word that comes to mind - especially at low revs. Slightly quieter as well at idle as a resut. Better responce at lower revs i think. I could not feel a power increase - so if there is one it is small. Seemed to jip through the VOD better as well. For only about $20 a worthwhile improvement. Especially for older Subs. Will be working on a B4 RSK - A revision in the weekend - so I see what happens to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 I was pretty skeptical. However, I did this mod on my 93 Touring Wagon and the difference is noticable. The car no longer hesitates around the 3000-3500 rpm range. I'm not too sure if it would be as noticable on a newer car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexjapan2 Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Defo has more effect on older cars. Newest twist seems to be earthing the exhaust :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiekid Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 I just got some grounding straps from the Auto Zone and mounted one on each side ofthe block to the frame. It wasonly like 11 bucks. My car is stil being tuned with the TEC 3 ecu so I am not sure if it made a differencce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timdog4life Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 just wondering what the standard grounding points are. I've heard people mention anywhere from 6 to 8 grounding points but I just wanted to know which are the major ones that are really important to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc0032 Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 [quote name='timdog4life']just wondering what the standard grounding points are. I've heard people mention anywhere from 6 to 8 grounding points but I just wanted to know which are the major ones that are really important to get.[/QUOTE]a good post to read [url="http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330464&highlight=grounding"]http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330464&highlight=grounding[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZLego_See Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 With my 91 legacy wagon, will doing this earthing mod stop the indicators from dimming the entire dash electricals slightly? also with the stereo it dims with the bass, so im thinking lack of current or severly high resistance. If i end up doing it i'll put a post up, report any improvements etc :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedawgs Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 This was the second mod I did to my WRX I had. I loved the outcome; smoothing idle and quicker start up. Does anyone have pictures of where to put the ground points on our legacy?? How about how much material to buy? Updated my vBGarage: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZLego_See Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 [url]http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~1amiga/earth.htm[/url] Have a good look at the pics... They aren't the best and they dont say EXACTLY where to put em , but that may not even matter much. All hes done is use a small car audio gold plated distribution box to go from zero gauge cable to 4 gauge cable, and then he runs it to... some places o.O Looks Damn good too :) and afaik that kinda of cable is only available in red blue and brown from many car audio outlets :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 [QUOTE='[NZ]Lego_See'][url]http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~1amiga/earth.htm[/url] [/QUOTE] That install would confuse the heck out of a car audio tech (or normal tech for that matter), until they traced back to ground. Red is ALWAYS positive and Black is ALWAYS negative. There are alternate colors of wiring, blue, silver, etc. The best way to ground is to get a digital multimeter and use the impedance function. You can locate a solid ground point (low impedance). You also need a wie brush or wire wheel on your rotary to remove paint and get to a clean steel surface when you test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedawgs Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 I agree confused me too. I thought for a minute that he was disturbuting the positive side. THat would have made a good spark. I guess I will have to do the mod myself and take some pictures and measurements for others... Updated my vBGarage: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZLego_See Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 yea yea i know this But you see As long as you know whats going on under there, there all is well :D I also fail to see how its going to confuse a technician...... its not a rare mod, and by simply just looking at the engine bay you can tell that yourv'e got negative ground feeds running to alternative locations.. Maybe technicians arent as stupid as you imagine? :confused::rolleyes: And when you think about it, running the appropriatly coloured black cables as alternative earthing points would achieve its purpose, but not its goal :) Also as previously posted on this thread [url]http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330464&highlight=grounding[/url] ^^ the best explainations of the mod are found here, as well as some numbers behind the theory :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nendo Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 i wouldnt do this mod on my gt but i would do it on an older car with poor grounding system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 well, dont forget, Subarus (at least after 1990 I believe) are all ground-switched. It can get annoying when installing HIDs and the "red" wire that you are hooking up is really a ground wire.. As Patagonian GT said, use a multimeter to figure out the resistance and impedance. As for the actual grounding kit, there are a lot of electronics in today's cars, it doesnt hurt to give some electronics some better grounding points to supply a cleaner current. Some of the really expensive ground kits (like the Apexi Voltage System and Sun Project's Voltage System) come with a voltage box (my guess is a 1/4 farad capacitor along with some other voltage/amperage smoothing electronics) which can help the rest of the car (especially the battery). Most of the JDM JGTC race cars even add larger grounding wires to the fuel injectors and spark plugs for a cleaner spark. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Jedimaster* Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 I hope someone does the footwork as far as finding what needs grounding. I'm a wiring screwup, but if someone told me where to put the wires, I'd do it (I just set myself up there, didn't I? :lol: ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZLego_See Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Im having a hard time understanding what you all seem so sheepish about.... I mean the whole cars body is negativly charged correct? so whats the harm in added some earth points? its also a VERY EASY mod, all you need to do is run a new earth to the area or component with the most resistance... and as its been said before, the older the car, the better the results hence why im soo keen on doing it to my 91 legacy gt... Dont be a puss and try it.... >_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 I agree it's a mod that is cheap and can have benefits. But, there would be no reason NOT to use black cable, unless you are trying to dress up under the hood. As for having some confidence in my local Subaru techs, when they can change my oil WITHOUT leaving the drain plug loose or WITH actually cleaning up excess oil that dropped onto the underbody plastic (only to stain my concrete driveway), I will trust them to trace my red wires back to ground. For the record, I did this on my '91 CRX as the stock copper ground on the engine block had oxidized to a point that it wasn't as effective as it should be. From my audio background, the best connections re: low impedance are gold rings crimped and then sealed with pure silver solder, lastly heat-shrinked for an air-tight seal. This protects the copper and keeps it from oxidizing (which is [I]muy mal[/I]). -Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedawgs Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Anyways for those who are interested. I am going to go down to the stereo shop tommorow and buy some supplies. I will take pictures and post the DIY thread by the weekend. It is not sheepish; its knowing how much of the material is needed. What is needed. I am not going to go out and buy the vendors grounding mods that runs more than $150. [QUOTE='[NZ]Lego_See']Im having a hard time understanding what you all seem so sheepish about.... I mean the whole cars body is negativly charged correct? so whats the harm in added some earth points? its also a VERY EASY mod, all you need to do is run a new earth to the area or component with the most resistance... and as its been said before, the older the car, the better the results hence why im soo keen on doing it to my 91 legacy gt... Dont be a puss and try it.... >_<[/QUOTE] Updated my vBGarage: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZLego_See Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 What about oxygen free cable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 What about OFC? It still gets oxidized by air. I have $700 Transparent Cables and $100 Monster Cable speaker wire. The difference? The Transparent stuff comes prepped as I described from the factory. The Monster stuff came on a spool for custom lengths and needs the prep. Shall I take a photo of what it looks like after five years of use vs. stripping it down to clean, fresh OFC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 As long as you are using some copper-stranded wire (the larger the gauge, the better) and crimp/solder the the gold-plated ends, you should be fine. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedawgs Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Alright, dont go overboard. $100 or $700 thats getting way too much for what this mod is worth. If this was a mod that was giving you 50-100 hps, then yeah, but there liitle to no gain from this. Updated my vBGarage: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 [quote name='firedawgs']Alright, dont go overboard. $100 or $700 thats getting way too much for what this mod is worth. If this was a mod that was giving you 50-100 hps, then yeah, but there liitle to no gain from this.[/QUOTE] Sorry - I was using some home speaker cable as an example of what to do to properly terminate wire. At best, you can use some '00', '1', '2' or '4' gauge power cable from your local car audio shop (2 or 4 gauge should be sufficient). The smaller the number, the larger the cable. You can also get by with the same gauge cable from Home Depot or Lowes - just make sure it is stranded and not solid core or you will never get it to do the bends you need. This will be much cheaper but generally won't be the OFC variety of copper. 1 or 2 gauge gets pricey - 4 gauge should be around $1.50-2/ft at the car audio shop. This stuff has about a 75% profit margin, so try to talk them down a little on price. Hope this helps. You shouldn't need to spend more than about $50 with proper gold ring terminals. Make sure to get rings that match the size you choose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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