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do ground wires really help???

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Old 04-03-2006, 06:20 PM
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But where are the actual stock grounds? I want to clean those off and then see if it helps my starting problem at all, but i can't find them. Also, can i undo the negative wire that runs from the negative terminal to the block. I want to take it off at the block and sand the connection down. Will that work?
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Old 04-03-2006, 06:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Pieps
But where are the actual stock grounds? I want to clean those off and then see if it helps my starting problem at all, but i can't find them. Also, can i undo the negative wire that runs from the negative terminal to the block. I want to take it off at the block and sand the connection down. Will that work?
For the best results run a wire to one of your starter mounting bolts.
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Old 04-03-2006, 06:33 PM
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Thanks Crazy97, i am gonna try that tomorrow. I hope it helps
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Old 04-03-2006, 06:49 PM
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I find that running a direct wire from the MAF sensor ground wire to the negative terminal of the battery made some difference to the smoothness of my car.
Do you have any pictures? What gauge wire did you use? And what wire on the MAF connector is the ground?
 
Old 04-03-2006, 07:37 PM
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ive used 10 gauge wire for my kit. ive notice a huge difference in the smoothness after grouding the MAF ground better. also the tranny one helps. NEXT project: Started ground
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Old 04-04-2006, 04:56 AM
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How do you ground the MAF???
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Old 04-04-2006, 09:59 AM
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Originally Posted by crazy97
How do you ground the MAF???
I just used a tap to add a regular gauge wire from the MAF ground wire and ran it to the negative terminal of the battery. There are 3 wires going to the MAF, I can't recall which one is the ground, I can look it up if you can't find it.
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Old 04-04-2006, 10:14 AM
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Originally Posted by 95bluse
I just used a tap to add a regular gauge wire from the MAF ground wire and ran it to the negative terminal of the battery. There are 3 wires going to the MAF, I can't recall which one is the ground, I can look it up if you can't find it.
A pic would help.
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Old 04-04-2006, 11:14 AM
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Originally Posted by 99grnmaxgxe
A pic would help.
Gee you guys are so spoilt This is really simple so read slowly

1. Go to local store & buy anything that will allow you to attach to th ground wire of the MAF. I can't recall what they are called, it clamps onto to the wire & has a spot to attach a second wire. Here's a link:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search

2. Locate the MAF , locate MIDDLE wire leading to it & using above tap...run your wire to the negative battery terminal & attach it using any appropriate method (check RadioShack for these too).
3. Pat yourself on the back.
4. Go beat up on some Vette with your new found torque
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Old 04-04-2006, 12:09 PM
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they only help if your car isn't grounded well to start with.
go talk to an EE about how your going to ground to like 8 different points in your engine and the guage of the cable your going to use. you'll get laughed at.

just clean up your stock grounding points. if you have hard starts replace starter/clean grounds/reground starter. periiod. thats it.

if you disgaree do you really think the nissan engineers inmproperlly grounded their engine? come on folks.

show me a dyno where you gained hp with an added GK. you will not find one.
snake oil my friends.
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Old 04-04-2006, 02:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Torgus
they only help if your car isn't grounded well to start with.
go talk to an EE about how your going to ground to like 8 different points in your engine and the guage of the cable your going to use. you'll get laughed at.

just clean up your stock grounding points. if you have hard starts replace starter/clean grounds/reground starter. periiod. thats it.

if you disgaree do you really think the nissan engineers inmproperlly grounded their engine? come on folks.

show me a dyno where you gained hp with an added GK. you will not find one.
snake oil my friends.
So you're trying to tell me all those guys on eBay are lying? Why would they? We all know Nissan builds crappy cars, so these guys are trying ot help us where Nissan engineers faltered. I hate when people come on these threads and douse the enthusiasm.





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Old 04-04-2006, 03:23 PM
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Cleaning up the original grounds did nothing for my car. Adding more of them in right places did wonders for me. Starts went from 15 seconds and sometimes several minutes to about 1 second for my additinal grounds.
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Old 04-04-2006, 03:32 PM
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Does anyone know where exactly i can find out how to install and creat my own grounding kit?????
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Old 04-04-2006, 04:00 PM
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Buy some 8awg wire and terminals, connect them. Use this as a guide.
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Old 04-04-2006, 04:12 PM
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Originally Posted by 99grnmaxgxe
Why's that?
It creates current flow between the radiater and the engine, which are of course made with different kinds of metals, with the coolant acting as an electrolyte. Basically, the radiator ends up clogging with debris and the rest of the cooling system gets filled up with muck as well. Its a handy way to sabotage an enemy's car, though. It will take long enough to happen that they will never suspect you.
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Old 04-04-2006, 05:59 PM
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Guys, Read this article, it is pretty good:

http://www.tprmag.com/issue/8/8_elec_stab.shtml
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Old 04-04-2006, 06:34 PM
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my custom made kit has made a huge difference in the performance of my tranny. im really impressed. i now am going to do a starter grounding point also, and link my existing grounds together better.
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Old 04-04-2006, 08:34 PM
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Originally Posted by crazy97
Cleaning up the original grounds did nothing for my car. Adding more of them in right places did wonders for me. Starts went from 15 seconds and sometimes several minutes to about 1 second for my additinal grounds.

ok why did your starter take 15 seconds?
think about it for a second. it wasn't because you engine wasn't grouned well enough.
it's because your starter wasn't able to draw enough current because of a bad ground.
clean up that ground, or it may be easier to just reground it.
wow problem solved.

your car was grounded fine from the factory. if you really did clean up the old grounds you would have fixed your problem.

as i said anyone who has a basic understanding of electronics knows that strapping your engine all over with 8guage wire is ****ing silly.

this is why i get pisseed at this board. stupid questions get asked again and again and again. and even when told the answer they ignore it.

oh and:


so show us some of your great grounded engines!

oh and if your tranny shifts harder now it's because your transmission has more line pressure then before. it's juices will get hotter and wear out faster.




i love how people see an improvement/change and don't understand why it was improved/changed only that what they changed did it.

guy1: so i regrounded my engine and now my tranny shifts harder.
guy2: uhh why?
guy1: cuz i added a grounding kit dummy!
guy2: uhh why?
guy1: cuz my engine wasn't grounded good
guy2: no i ment why does it shift harder.
guy1: because of my grounding kit!!!!!
guy2: *sighs*

maybe you thought that now that your engine is better grounded it made more hp and added HP would make your tranny shift faster/harder?

i'm an ***.
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Old 04-04-2006, 09:19 PM
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Can anybody find Kevin Wong's post on the write-up?
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Old 04-04-2006, 11:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Torgus
show me a dyno where you gained hp with an added GK. you will not find one.
snake oil my friends.

Actually, I think you're an idiot. Plain and simple. Are you really suggesting that Nissan couldn't have screwed something up? I've owned 2 cars and they both have been Nissans, so don't think that I am calling Nissan crappy, but they are human. Look at how bad they screwed up the 4th gen 5 speed transmissions! Or how many people have hesitation or starting problems in our cars! You don't think there's any room for improvement?!?! That's why there are so many aftermarket car part companies out there .... to work on improving the weakpoints of design in various cars. How do you think they can squeeze 20 hp out of replacing headers on a Civic while we get 3 hp from replacing ours? The exhaust manifolds on a Civic suck while ours were designed very well. Back to the point .... sure, cleaning up the stock grounding points will help, but what if the wires are all corroded in the line? It's not always that simple. Bottom line - grounding kits will help. How much depends on each individual car. And since you were asking for dynod hp gains from a grounding kit, here you go:
http://www.g35.ca/board/index.php?showtopic=1206. Basically, the guy Gordgee is like a god in 350Z/G35 online world making grounding kits for their cars. And he doesn't just strap a bunch of wires on a piece of metal and try to sell it, he tested what the most beneficial places and lengths for wires on their motors and dynoed it after each wire. I believe he did something like 20 pulls to see what's optimal for their cars, and there defintaely is hp improvements. If you don't believe me, here's more links full of people who agree for that car.

http://g35driver.com/forums/showthre...nding+kit+dyno
http://g35driver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33761
http://g35driver.com/forums/showthre...t=hyper+ground
http://g35driver.com/forums/showthre...8&page=1&pp=15

Feel free to read up and if you still don't think it will do anything, post away. But do me a favor - research a little before you open your big mouth and make us Maxima owners look like idiots.
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Old 04-05-2006, 05:17 AM
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Originally Posted by Torgus
ok why did your starter take 15 seconds?
think about it for a second. it wasn't because you engine wasn't grouned well enough.
it's because your starter wasn't able to draw enough current because of a bad ground.
clean up that ground, or it may be easier to just reground it.
wow problem solved.

your car was grounded fine from the factory. if you really did clean up the old grounds you would have fixed your problem.
It was easier to reground stuff, that's what I did. I shouldn't have had to do this. The starter doesn't have a ground, being bolted to the engine should be good enough right? Not for this car and many others. This is a flaw in the 4th gens.

Cheap grounds from Nissan=Headache a few years down the road.
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Old 04-05-2006, 03:03 PM
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ok i'm prolly gonna sell mine then.....hks ground wires....20 bucks free shipping anyone want em?
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Old 04-05-2006, 04:54 PM
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Originally Posted by RyanTaylorClark
Actually, I think you're an idiot. Plain and simple. Are you really suggesting that Nissan couldn't have screwed something up? I've owned 2 cars and they both have been Nissans, so don't think that I am calling Nissan crappy, but they are human. Look at how bad they screwed up the 4th gen 5 speed transmissions! Or how many people have hesitation or starting problems in our cars! You don't think there's any room for improvement?!?! That's why there are so many aftermarket car part companies out there .... to work on improving the weakpoints of design in various cars. How do you think they can squeeze 20 hp out of replacing headers on a Civic while we get 3 hp from replacing ours? The exhaust manifolds on a Civic suck while ours were designed very well. Back to the point .... sure, cleaning up the stock grounding points will help, but what if the wires are all corroded in the line? It's not always that simple. Bottom line - grounding kits will help. How much depends on each individual car. And since you were asking for dynod hp gains from a grounding kit, here you go:
http://www.g35.ca/board/index.php?showtopic=1206. Basically, the guy Gordgee is like a god in 350Z/G35 online world making grounding kits for their cars. And he doesn't just strap a bunch of wires on a piece of metal and try to sell it, he tested what the most beneficial places and lengths for wires on their motors and dynoed it after each wire. I believe he did something like 20 pulls to see what's optimal for their cars, and there defintaely is hp improvements. If you don't believe me, here's more links full of people who agree for that car.

http://g35driver.com/forums/showthre...nding+kit+dyno
http://g35driver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33761
http://g35driver.com/forums/showthre...t=hyper+ground
http://g35driver.com/forums/showthre...8&page=1&pp=15

Feel free to read up and if you still don't think it will do anything, post away. But do me a favor - research a little before you open your big mouth and make us Maxima owners look like idiots.
1st of all civics don't have shorty headers like our cars. when they replace the header it's the same as our F pipe. thus why we both gain about 20hp! i'd do that whole owned on the org thing but i'm not an ***.

i'm sorry i only speak from my own experience and what i'v been told.
i installed a kit on my 97max. no difference noticed.
buddy installed a different kit on his 97max no difference noticed.
i'v only had starter issues when i had a bad starter.

what i'v been told...well when i talked to the two head EEs at my work who are both into cars much more then i am they laughed at it. saying that cleaning up the stock ground is all you need, if it's even needed.

i may be incorrect but i thought most of our sensors work like this they measure both the signal and the ground to the sensor and calculate the difference between the two?

if these kits work for you...well i'm happy. personally i don't like how they look or how they perform. and will keep on giving the same advice. clean stock grounds.

if you really do feel like you need to do this goto home depot and save yourself the $$$.
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Old 04-05-2006, 05:28 PM
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:o)

Originally Posted by Torgus
1st of all civics don't have shorty headers like our cars. when they replace the header it's the same as our F pipe. thus why we both gain about 20hp! i'd do that whole owned on the org thing but i'm not an ***.

i'm sorry i only speak from my own experience and what i'v been told.
i installed a kit on my 97max. no difference noticed.
buddy installed a different kit on his 97max no difference noticed.
i'v only had starter issues when i had a bad starter.

what i'v been told...well when i talked to the two head EEs at my work who are both into cars much more then i am they laughed at it. saying that cleaning up the stock ground is all you need, if it's even needed.

i may be incorrect but i thought most of our sensors work like this they measure both the signal and the ground to the sensor and calculate the difference between the two?

if these kits work for you...well i'm happy. personally i don't like how they look or how they perform. and will keep on giving the same advice. clean stock grounds.

if you really do feel like you need to do this goto home depot and save yourself the $$$.
Show me a dyno where our Y-Pipes are worth 20HP!

"i'm sorry i only speak from my own experience and what i'v been told."
LOL, there is a LOT more out there Torgus than "what you've experienced" and "what you've been told".

So because your 2 engineers say that grounding kits don't improve driveability/power, then that's fact?!

First you asked for proof, via dyno, that ground kits improve horsepower. Both Ryan and I provided you with links to dynos - no comment from you. ?

Chill man. I have my skepticism and doubts too - but I am open minded to the fact that gounding kits may improve HP. Might I suggest you look into it before adamantly proclaiming that ground kits are worthless?
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Old 04-05-2006, 05:44 PM
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http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/504 <--y pipe review. claiming a part gives X amount of hp is silly anyways. it's a damn curve. i was just going with what the above poster had used as a number. and proved he is wrong.

i got to page 6 on one page and gave up i saw no dyno chart. i also went to each link...i believe you it's there though i just don't have time to dig.

obvious there is more out there then just me and what i'v come into contact with. All i can do is speak what i think to be true...generally people speak from what they know, and they know because of what they have learned from personal experiences and through communication with others. from my own use of the product and other's views on it whom know more about the science behind the product then i do, i have come to the conclusion that i stated above regarding them.

if the dynos do show improvements in HP i'd guess 90% of the time it was because of bad stock grounds. Or the engine was poorly grounded to start with which i don't think our VQ is.

as i said good luck with the kits! make em yourself it's more fun that way.
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Old 04-05-2006, 05:55 PM
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I had the ground kit installed on my Maxima and noticed no difference at all.
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Old 04-14-2006, 06:07 PM
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Apparition is right! its little smoother idle and headlight a little brighter and stereo a little louder. bass hitting stronger with the bose sys. i know you don't want to pay that stillen price like we did . but once i installed it i forgot all about it. or make your own just follow stillens install instructions to the t.
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Old 01-17-2010, 11:48 AM
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I used one on my maxima and i couldnt tell a diffrence. But i have one on my celica and it runs better now.
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Old 01-18-2010, 03:53 AM
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It does help, you get better power (in my openion), not something noticable, like MPH, but like performance over the stuff that you ground it too, like maybe the engine you will get some more performance, but nothing that you can easily notice.
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Old 01-18-2010, 07:27 AM
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Assuming your stock grounds are still good, it will make no difference.
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