Grounding Kit and Fuel Economy/Performance Improvements

I read in another forum that installing a grounding kit will:
- "reduce friction caused by the motor"
- "improve horsepower, response and free up lost torque"
- "help the electronics inside (dash) and outside car (headlights,
etc)"

Pls see here:
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=28785&postcount=26

Has anyone used a grounding kit in his vehicle and experienced if any
of the above claims are true? Do you think the beneficial effects
apply to generally any year/model, or perhaps only to certain older
vehicles?

 

Horsepucky. That difference is in the noise level run-to-run of a
typical dyno. Just the change in ambient temperature from the first run
to the second run could have that much affect. And you couldn't tell
the difference in 2 HP even if the difference was real.


Matt

 

Has anyone used a grounding kit in his vehicle and experienced if any

I think that any vehicle should have proper grounding ex factory.
Grounding kit sounds like sorting wheel alignment by tightening wheel
nuts.

 

If you have a new car, it might be good to get some di-electric grease and
dab it on the connectors, put some anti-corrosize goup on the battery
terminals, etc. That would help any vehicle over the long haul. As time
passes, electrical connections do corrode and become poorer. What they are
suggesting is more along the lines of wearing a back brace for a lower back
problem instead of strengthening the abdominal muscles over time to support
the back the "natural way". (This comes to mind because I am having to wear
a brace today due to an injury yesterday, but if I had been doing
ab-strengthening exercises then my upper body would have been supported by
more than my spine and back muscles.....

 

The claims are basically bogus unless there is a problem with the
factory grounds. That CAN happen over time as the connections oxidize
and the metal they're grounded to rusts. Adding better quality grounds
can help to compensate for this natural aging process, but it's not
going to gain you any horsepower or torque, reduce friction (what an
incredibly stupid claim!!!) or prevent you from going bald. However, if
the ground kit doesn't have soldered connections, it's a joke, as it's
just going to corrode like the factory grounds. Most kits are more about
"bling" than function.

You can make better grounds than most of the kits using wire from Home
Depot and gold plated connectors from an electronics store. Solder the
connectors to the wires and you've got a system that's better than most
you can buy, for a fraction of the cost.

Go to http://elantragtclub.tripod.com/elantra/ and check out the DIY
section. There are DIYs on ground lead installation and making a ground
buss (I wrote the latter DIY).

 

It won't last though. There's a good reason manufacturers don't use
soldered connections under the bonnet.....corrosion. Far worse with
soldered connections than crimped.

 

And vibration tolerance of a soldered connection is poor. That is the
reason that airplanes are required to use crimped connections.

Matt

 

Where did you hear that? Soldered connections create a chemical and
physical bond between the wire and the connector which corrodes far less
than crimped connections, since water and air cannot get into the
connection.

 

In addition to the points I made in the other post, if this was the
case, why would factory battery cables have cast-on terminals, which are
essentially the same thing as a soldered connection?

I should have been more specific. I use crimp-on connnectors and solder
them afterward. When constructing a buss, the branches are wrapped
around the main tightly, soldered, then taped for insulation. In both
cases, there is a tight mechanical connection AND a soldered connection.

 

A properly crimped connection is gas tight in the crimp zone. That
should limit corrosion there. Outside the connection zone nothing
protects the exposed conductor.
All that said, I was under the impression that the main advantage of
crimps is cost. Terminals are not that much different in cost but the
time involved in a crimped terminal is significanty less than that of
a soldered one.

 

I can tell you from experience that it doesn't, at least not
consistently. I've seen LOTS of corroded crimped connections of various
types. Up here in New England where road salt is used every winter, it's
a significant problem.

One would expect that.

Exactly. It's done because it's cheap, fast and it's ususally good
enough for a few years (through the warranty period?).