bike4miles

Has anyone installed extra ground wires with a kit such as the hyper ground kit? The idea is to get the most out of your electical system putting more consistant power to your spark plugs and everything else. I just oredered this kit off ebay for $30 shiped and there is also a TRD kit for $60 shiped:

Example install

I read some reviews from Import Tuner and Street Trucks showing measurable gains but what do you guys think?

kyle_22r

i think it's a scam. you're not gonna gain 5hp by adding grounds, unless the factory did a terrible job

Mystickal

I would seriously doubt a 5 hp gain in an otherwise stock truck.

However, back when I used to race my eclipse, it was well known that running heavier gauge wire to the fuel pump and replacing the battery ground cable with something a little beefier would ensure that everything was working to its full rated potential. But keep in mind that these were definitely NOT stock cars. For example, the fuel pump re-wire just put off a fuel pump upgrade for a few months.

Also, I don't know what gauge wire this kit comes with. But it probably wouldn't be a terrible idea to replace the negative battery cable with 4 gauge, especially if you have a bumpin' system.

But 5 hp? Again, I doubt it.

~Bill

bike4miles

Yea, I do have a 1200 watt amp and I already put in a 4g ground but I have always been a little concened that it goes into the engine block and figured it would be a good idea to gound the engine better and also add a few more grounds.

Mystickal

Two things - first, what goes into the engine block? The ground wire should go from the negative battery terminal to the chassis of the vehicle. The block should be bolted (grounded) to the chassis.

Secondly, with a 1200 watt amp, you need more than a 4 gauge ground. If there aren't any other amps in the mix, I'd run at least 2 gauge power and ground.

~Bill

Tokez420

a few of my friends have done it and liked it....all toyotas
but no 5hp.....still good tho

dbikeman

You wouldnt need a 4 gauge ground at the battery with a 1200 watt amp

Breezey

LOL are you kidden me? One ground is just as good as 10 ... A car has many grounds, heck the motor alone has like 4...

AFRunner

I can't remember which one, but one of the sport compact mags did a dyno of those a year or two back. They actually saw 4-7 hp on a dyno. I'm suspect of any dyno claimed gain or loss in that range, just cause it is so easy to fudge the numbers a little on a dyno. Still food for thought. Alot cheaper, and some other benefits as compared to say a throttle-body spacer that many people have bought.
Aaron

MTL_4runner

You can't be serious.
No way a ground kit will give you any more power over stock......sorry to burst the bubble. I don't know who comes up with this funny ebay kit stuff but they always manage to make it appeal to your imagination with some basis in real physics but the reality is, totally bogus.

Ignition systems like the MSD and others do work to a small extent (maybe the 5hp mentioned) but they are considerably more expensive and there is a reason for that. Remember no free lunches.

rimpainter.com

Normally, I would be just as skeptical as the rest of you...but I did see a dyno test of a hyper-ground kit installed on a new 350Z. The article was in Sport Compact Car about 8 months ago. They had a documented 5HP gain on the Z.

Gadget

Well, funny you should ask...

First that one on EBAY claiming to be a TRD product is a completely bogus. It is not a TRD product at all.

I have always said that unless there is something deficent with your vehicle's grounding system this type of thing will do NOTHING for you. Well I had a guy that sold such a product and tried to convince me different. He even sent me a set to try.

I installed it on a 2001 Tacoma SRunner and did before and after dyno testing. Got a big fat ZERO gain or loss. When the dyno shop guy saw those wires under the hood it laughed at me until I explained that I was doing a test and I did not pay for the things.

Now, if you have a bad grounding cable with high resistance and you install one of these kits, then you should see an improvement. Of course if you installed a new stock grounding cable you would see an improvement.

I think these octopus grounding cables should be put in the same catagory as those rip off throttle body spacers.

Gadget

MTL_4runner

Are you sure the magazine wasn't getting paid to do those tests?
I have to agree with Gadget, there is no basis for any gains unless your current equipment is defective.

rimpainter.com

A couple reasons I do not think they were getting paid off...

1. SCC regularly prints gains and losses of dyno-tested parts. They also publish mediocre results such as 1.3HP gains on $500 exhaust.

2. The test was done on an independent dyno. I think it was done at Jackson Racing’s dyno.

Not like I am trying to defend this product. I was surprised to see the results. Actually, I think SCC was surprised too. Their article was well written and appeared to begin with a high degree of skepticism, but ended with praise for the product.

I cannot say for sure that SCC is not getting paid. I also know very little about the 3.5 VQ in the Z. SCC does 3 runs without the mod, 3 runs with the mod, and takes the delta. So I think their dyno testing method is on par with industry standard.

Anyway, I won’t be running this product any time soon. I have fallen victim to the hype all too often (see TB spacer).

justinh

i know that this mod is really popular in the subaru crowd, but i can't remember if they were doing it for power or because they had electrical grounding problems. But i remember them doing this two or three years ago when the WRX's first came out.

MTL_4runner

Hey Christian,

Thye may have actually gained, I was just making a suggestion as to the skewing of results. Some systems may benefit if there was inadequate grounding or the OEM equipment became faulty easily on the original design but most of the time that is highly unlikely.

rimpainter.com

No problem, I guess the real question is do our systems have inadequate grounding?

According to Gadget they are good.

anthony1

iTrader: (1)

You might also think about the gain in percentage instead of the actual HP. The Z put out a few more Hp than the 4runner so...it maybe 2-3% Hp gain which for 3rd gen is bout 3.6? go through auto trans....I don't think you gonna get seat of the pants feel.

ROMAD

While not a ground wire "mod" I did recently upgrade the main electrical feed wire on my 3.0 to a 6ga. to actually resolve another issue. The wire I upgrade is highlighted in the following pic:



The wire bolts to the bottom of the main fuse assembly (yellow square) underneath the relay box. The factory wire is about 10ga. and is only soldered on one end. I replaced it with a 6 ga. wire and soldered both ends properly.

I did notice a improvement in overall smoothness in idle and acceleration but I don't think that was 'new' power but rather re-claimed lost power since the original was failing and most of the electrical systems were not getting the power they required.

I don't have access to a dyno to prove any power re-gains but maybe someone else could try this out with before and after dyno runs?

bike4miles

Well just to add fule to the fire I thought I'd add the list of the other claimes of the ground system since hp is one of a sizable list:

-Higher torque in low and medium power bands.

-Quicker throttle response, Stabilizes the engine at high RPM's.

-Smoother idling and improved starting.

-Better fuel mileage with improved combustion.

-Decrease of interfering stereo noises caused by insufficient grounding.