For those of you with voltage stabilizers/grounding kits, have you had any issues with them robbing you of power?

I was planning on installing a Buddy Club kit, but I just read a post in the Dyno sticky from someone saying that their kit was actually decreasing their power output.

I don't really need the kit for any specific purpose - I just thought it could potentially improve throttle response and the rough idle. However, if there's the possibility that it could do more harm than good, I'd just as well not install it.

 

You can't really say mine is a good example but if someone wanted to put my t1r on their car and dyno it that would be the only proof. Or having my car dyno with and without it.

All i know is i ran crappy dynos becasue of an 02 sensor one of the dynos and then a dirty system which was becasue the car ran too rich.

 

If you keep adding grounds without removing the existing ones, you risk creating a ground loop and your electronic signals become more noisy than when compared to stock.

 

I have a NRG Grounding Kit and a voltage stabilizer. They have been on the car for months now and I am 100% satisfied...no problems, it's not going to "rob" you of power.

 

you need to dyno the car to see if there is any power gains or losses.

 

So if a ground loop is created, how will that affect my performance?

 

The objective of the grounding kit is to make your signals clearer since cars use a floating ground. When you have a ground loop, your ground is no longer constant since you have tiny amounts of current in it. Vground = Iground x Rground. Resistance is a constant of the wiring and you have tiny amounts of fluctuating current, I. That means V will also fluctuate. When V flutuates, it means your ground is not clean and electrical and electronic signals won't be as clear.

 

...and it won't really effect your engine performance, but could effect any high end electronics or large amps installed.

 

Yeah, I'm not expecting any real hp or tq gains (even though alot of descriptions lead you to believe in such gains ). I also don't have any high-current electronics installed (yet) that would cause any voltage fluctuations. I'm just looking for minor improvements like better throttle response, smoother idle, and possibly a slightly more rev-happy engine.

 

Those are reasonable expectations. At best, the engine runs smoother with better throttle response and possibly easier engine starting. At worst, you will cause the sensors to send incorrect voltage readings to the ECU and retarding performance.

 

Since everyone was chimming in suggestion on the Voltage Stabilizer and grounding kit, I got a question to ask.

Is it better for the grounding wires to loop? E.g. First wire connect to the chassis, the end of the first wire connect to the grounding pt. The second wire put on top of the end of first wire, and run the end of the second wire to another grounding pt... third on top.. on and on.

OR.

Each grounding wire connect to the chassis itself??? All separate.

I have both the voltage stabilizer and grounding kit from Sun Automobile, but after alot of search, it seems like there's alot of ways to ground it.

 

This is pretty much the only grounding you should do to your TSX, unless you have aftermarket electrical equipment.


EDIT: Links to the pictures are dead in that thread. I'll rehost them:

 

Hmmm, so you're saying I could potentially lose performance if I install this kit...that doesn't sound too good. How much performance do you think I could stand to lose?

 

hey drkangel348,

Thx for the pictures, you got anymore to host?

 

i have the hks "circle earth" ground wire kit and i did notice some improvement -- my car idles smoother with the a/c on

 

For each component, there are usually gaskets providing some insulation. That's why you have a ground at the engine block/mount, transmission case, rocker cover and usually intake headers. Then, it is the negative terminal that provides the floating ground. What I do is to remove the existing negative terminal to chassis ground, replace it with my thicker gauge ground wire. Then, from that chassis point, I connect various points around the engine components to that chassis bolt. So I guess I don't like to make a chain of grounds, preferring an octopus instead.

When you place your new grounds, make sure you REPLACE the old ones. Don't add onto existing grounds. For the TSX, I found the engine mount and tranmission case grounds to be very good and didn't have a reason to replace them. Instead, I replaced the existing negative terminal to chassis ground, and added a new ground from G101 direct to the negative terminal, and another from the alternator to the chassis ground.

 

No idea how much you will lose. Just don't go crazy and add wires everywhere. Remember that you should only have 1 wire per insulated engine component.

 

Thx for clearing up my issue aaronng, it would be nice if you can post up your Euro-R engine bay, and take some pictures on those critical grounding point. I will giv' U a hug for that.... lol

 

Mine is the equivalent to your TSX. I wish I had an EuroR

Here's a pic. I replaced the negative terminal to chassis and added 2 new grounds to the alternator casing and intake manifold. The engine block and transmission grounds were good, so I left those as they were.

 

I would also replace both positive and negative battery posts with gold terminals.
I have and I swear that the stock speakers sound cleaner.

 

Where do you get the parts? (Large gauge wire, new terminal clamp, ends, anything else?) From a car audio shop?

Here's another old thread on grounding kits: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...8&page=1&pp=25

 

Any Car Audio place should have what you need, or a Pep Boys.

If anyone is going to install a positive terminal just know that you have to cut the existing terminal off with a wire cutter that can cut two 8 gauge wires. The stock terminals are rather flimsy.

 

No problem, I posted all the pics that I got from JTso's post. I thought it was useful so I saved it for future reference.

 

I got my stuff from a normal electronics shop. They sold the 4-gauge oxygen-free copper cable, as well as the gold-plated negative terminal and connectors.