Are there any grounding kits for our TL?

 

Aren't grounding kits universal?

 

I'm not sure. All I know is that before I got my TL I was considering the G35 and the members at g35driver mentioned grounding kits a lot.

 

In my professional opinion as an EE and an auto journalist, these devices are a complete waste of money. One either has electrical continuity or one does not. The "junk science" and the suspect dynos are not convincing.

This topic raged briefly on the S2000 site, with the haves (have a degree) vs. the have nots (have no scientific knowledge). The EE's and the physicists (there were about 4 of us) were willing to bet hard cash that a properly functioning stock system would see no benefit from these "grounding" kits - they are as absurd as the notion that cables with identical R,L, and C have a sound due to copper "purity".

If you are interested, go to s2ki.com in the Under the Hood section and do a Search on topic. It will help you identify the irredeemeable idiots in our midst.

Save your money.

 

Without the scientific knowledge that RR brings to this thread, I cannot comment directly upon what he has said. I will tell you that my friend owns a racing shop, and has access to a dyno. We dyno'd many a car before and after the grounding system and all showed relatively significant differences especially when considering the low cost of such kits.

 

I've never heard of this. Is the concept that by providing a shorter path to ground, electrical components work better? Sounds like junk science, but I'll read through the discussion that was posted.

 

Let's abandon the science for now (although that is a fool's bargain), and talk dyno runs. First, remove any bias. Then, unless the IAT's (input air temps) are within a few degrees all bets are off - dyno runs can be different moment to moment, and unless the grounding kits show gains beyond the measurement error, the results are meaningless. It is like the butcher putting his thumb on the scale - you may think you are getting more meat, but it is all shaft. Big caveat emptor - this is one of those Bling-Bling mods - do it for that if it means you feel taller afterward, but the seat of the pants dyno is almost always placebo effects (quo vide). Professor RR over and out.

One of the most knwoeldgeable Honda'ites I know is Ultimate Lurker - check out his posts on dyno runs in Under the Hood on s2ki.com, or his great work at Temple of VTEC. He and I exchange emails, as he has gotten fed up with Internet genuises who are all air. Solid source of real info.

 

I majored in EE.

I just wanted to know if this kit existed for the TL.
I personally think it's just placebo.

 

So you would know which retailers to avoid?

 

Okay, when I first clicked on this thread I thought you were talking about those things that will eliminate that annoying zap when you close the door after stepping out of the car. Then I read further and realized I was wrong.

What are those little dangling things that hang from the bottom of the car (usually near the exhaust) that you see?

 

Lore those are anti static thingies. You are right it will not zap you with the static when you get down from the car.

 

LOL I thought the same thing as Lore. What on earth IS a grounding kit? Please explain for the great unwashed (e.g. me).

 

It's just that I haven't read anything about the grounding kits for the TL yet. I had read about them for the G35 and other cars. Just thought maybe it depended on what car it is.
I checked Stillen but they don't have it for our TL. I searched for it on the net and nothing came up.

Anyways, what does wanting to know if the kit existed for our TL has anything to do with knowing which retailers to avoid?

 

You can read about it here.

http://www.z-xtreme.com/GroundingKit.htm

 

Thanks! Now I understand.

 

This is funny. I'm a Communications Transmission Engineer for an old Southern BROC and I thought this was going to be a discussion on electrical influence or induction.

I never knew that that was an automotive electrical hi-po junk science contingency. I just hope this board doesn’t start spiraling down with "R Sticker" people like some other sites. Voodoo engineering is just not my cup of tea.

 

Lore, the grounding kits are the Emporer's New Clothes for automobiles. I responded back on one of these "miraculous" grounding devices a few months ago, but can't find the thread because the search feature is still broken on the forums. (Hey, mods - Will the forum "Search" feature ever be fixed, or is this beating a dead horse?)

Anyways, to get back on topic: The grounding kit replaces the ground wire between your battery and your car frame with thicker wire and sometimes some goop to remove oxidation.

The "theory" being put forth by the places that sell this snake-oil is that the car's stock cabling isn't adequate to handle the current for the car. Also, they may be using some proprietary wire braiding to reduce signal noise in your car. For only $99.95 (or whatever), you can improve your dyno readings and audio systems of your car.

Well, when looking at one of the ads (Here's one), there were no real facts presented that support their claims.

One thing that I thought was really funny are the oscilloscope traces that "prove" how there was "less resisitance" with the Hyper-Ground system. Well, if the traces weren't so darned blurry, you might be able to tell whether they are using the same voltage scaling on both pictures. If they aren't using the same voltage scale, you aren't getting an apples-apples comparison. Think of this like a microscope: Who has thicker hair, me or my girlfriend? If the microscope is set to 100x when looking at both my hair and her hair, you can tell whose hair is thicker. However, if the microscope is set to 25x for her hair, and 100x for my hair (and nobody told you about the different settings), my hair would look a lot thicker. The advertisers could be doing the same thing with these traces if you can't tell what the settings are.

In a nutshell: Replacing your ground cable in your car has about as much effect on your car's preformance as this: How much faster does your computer run if you replaced your 350W power supply on your computer with a 450W power supply when your computer is only using 225W?

 

Order your Grounding Kit now, and get a set of fuel line magnets for free. Operators standing by...

-r

 

It is simple - if someone sells snake oil, would you buy a cancer cure from them?

 

Even if these grounding kits did nothing, or little improvement in the car's performance, spending $5 to make your own kit...wouldn't that be worth something? experience and bragging rights? I got my kit for free.

 

"Even"? Mobilezen it seems this is something you just have to have, so go ahead - make sure at least that the Anaconda cables you cobble up do no harm (I have seen aftermarket kits where the copper oxidized under the cheap exterior jacket, which no doubt raised the bulk resitivity.

It is irrefutable fact that this is junk science BS. Some might consider it Bling-Bling, but to anyone who did not sleep through Physics 1 it is a most blatant identifier of the hopelessly science-challenged. What bragging rights does that provide, I wonder? - mine's bigger contests were the stuff of grade school. (But mine is).

Tornado next? Put that $5 toward a good fuel system cleaner just before your next service would be my advice.

 

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73472

 

One of my friends made the grounding kit for me and just gave it since it was one of the first ones he made. Its not something I have to have. As a matter of fact, I took it off my car within the first couple weeks. Didn't noticed much, only that the lights would not dim when I punched the gas...other than that, no noticeable increase in any form of acceleration. The most I spent on my current car is just eye candy. Many of the mods I did receive out of the kindess of people's hearts. lol. So for these grounding kits, might be the ultimate placebo of all time.... I noticed small things but definitely would not pay for such invention.

 

Your lights dim when you punch the gas? - that is an alternator issue, not the grounding wires.