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Do grounding wires REALLY work?

 
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 08:27 AM
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Do grounding wires REALLY work?

Come on! I've seen this for quite sometime and it just seems like snake oil to me. Thoughts, suggestions, comments?

-chris
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 08:29 AM
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depends on what you mean by work... they made my car idle a lot better. Everything else like the radio, lights, MPG - all appeared to be just a little better, but I can't tell for sure.
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 08:31 AM
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Snake Oil IMHO. Of course if you ask the guy that paid $150 for a ground kit, he will tell you he gained 10hp w/ brighter headlights. Some people have a hard time being convinced that they threw away money.
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 08:45 AM
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Originally Posted by jj_008
Snake Oil IMHO. Of course if you ask the guy that paid $150 for a ground kit, he will tell you he gained 10hp w/ brighter headlights. Some people have a hard time being convinced that they threw away money.
have you tested one??? I have and it was well worth the $30 IMO
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 09:19 AM
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Originally Posted by Imyurturboluva
Come on! I've seen this for quite sometime and it just seems like snake oil to me. Thoughts, suggestions, comments?

-chris
Try it its not like you dont have enough wire hanging around No I dont have it on mine
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 09:23 AM
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$30 won't hurt either for DIY kit. Kind of fun actually.
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 11:51 AM
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$22 for the Ralliart on ebay!

Doh! Correction...not real Ralliart!

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Old Sep 26, 2004 | 03:25 PM
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Originally Posted by jj_008
Snake Oil IMHO. Of course if you ask the guy that paid $150 for a ground kit, he will tell you he gained 10hp w/ brighter headlights. Some people have a hard time being convinced that they threw away money.
Exactly my suspicions, which is why I got one for something like $20 (which is all a few large wires is worth anyway). I figure I've spent $20 on a bad lunch more than once, so I can afford to find out with a clean conscience. But when someone tells me they paid >$100 for a few wires, I begin to hear the words of P.T. Barnum echoing in my head...
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 03:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Ted B
Exactly my suspicions, which is why I got one for something like $20 (which is all a few large wires is worth anyway). I figure I've spent $20 on a bad lunch more than once, so I can afford to find out with a clean conscience. But when someone tells me they paid >$100 for a few wires, I begin to hear the words of P.T. Barnum echoing in my head...
Muwahaha! Yep, every minute.

So, what was your take on the wires, Ted? I mean, good grief...wires! Now, I have $1500 patch cables on my tube audio system that people shake their head at, but they DO work. Grounding cables though...sheesh! Maybe I should try them for 20 bucks...hmmmm.

-chris
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 03:40 PM
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Can't tell you what to expect from the wires, but I wouldn't expect much if anything at all. With a high wattage sound system, large power/grounding wires are a must, but that's a different story. I'm in France at the moment, while my car sits back in the Dyno4mance shop in GA going from bone stock to Vishnu Stg 1 +++. I'll report on the wires when I get around to installing them, but I would be pleasantly surprised if it made some sort of truly noticeable difference that was not clouded by wishful thinking.
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 04:32 PM
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It is unlikely that they do anything beneficial

shiv
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 04:36 PM
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BUT...they're a MOD! And they're pretty! ROTFLMAO!


-chris
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 05:20 PM
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definately experienced better idle.. and it just felt a little bit more meety down low and of course the added benefit of all your electronics working maybe just a little better. DIY is the only way to go, its well worth $30 to make your car more solid feeling.. which is what i felt it did, just dont spend 150 dollars on it.
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 05:44 PM
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Major snake oil, IMO. Seen them do zip on a dyno before.
Old Sep 26, 2004 | 08:19 PM
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I was skeptical before buying a DIY grounding kit.....but I like to keep myself busy and bought it. Their were two details that stood out when putting together/installing this kit. One was the multiple ground points at various locations within the engine bay and the other was the gauge of the wire.

First I had to ask myself, why would there be 6 grounding points including the negative post of the battery? All electrical devices need to complete a circuit for its intedended operation. In the case of..lets say, automovitve electrical needs....a ground reference is taken to complete a 0 to 12V circuit. If the reference point is in anyway altered, the intended voltage isnt given. Perhaps extending multiple ground points to the common negative post of the battery brings the 0-12V range back to the table rather than a 0.51- 12V range.

As for the guage of the wire, automotive electrical devices dont run high enough amperage levels that require numerically lower gauge wires except for the ignition system and perhaps high power sound systems. I did see my kit used oxygen-free wires, which would be useful considering the "skin effect"

My only two observations after installing the grounding kit were:

The HID's were more luminous
The rpm's did not drop when I moved the steering wheel (car was at a stand still)

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