[GaryM]

Again, this old chestnut...............

I fancy fitting a set but am reluctant to pay for something I can make for free - a bit of 10mm tri rated multistranded cable, lugs and heatshrink is all thats needed.

Has anybody got any info on which bits get grounded?

A diagram or some detailed pictures would be nice!

 

[PhatPhil]

Think the Hyper Gounding kits that are advertised over on www.vwvortex.com have diagrams.

 

[Josh_PoloGTi]

The Polo GTi owners of Hong Kong swear by them...

They recon the kits make a difference... But I'm sure if you get some decent oxygen-free copper cable that's thick enough, and some gold plated spade connectors, you could make the same thing for next to nowt.

 

[tylerama]

What do they do.. apart from ground things obv !! ??

 

[pope1]

Gary, you're really looking for things to do aren't you? [] Only saying that because I looked at it myself (way back when the long Vortex thread was only a couple of pages) and decided not to bother.

Seriously though, I'd suggest checking the resistance between various points on the engine and gearbox before doing this mod. If the resistance is the same everywhere then I can't see the kit will make any difference. That's why I haven't bothered. If someone can explain otherwise I'd be interested myself. Just my 2 cents.

 

[GaryM]

Well, yes I am!!

Its a cheapish mod that im still skeptical about so maybe worth trying as it wont decrease performance.

 

[EddyH]

Link to DIY grounding kit:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1335672

Some more info here:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1138874

And some diagrams:

 

[Milkfloat]

Option 1 misses the Alternator out, surely that would be one of the first things to ground properly? The Votex guys often seem to over estimate the power of their mods, but can a simple few bits of wire reduce any power loss by that much?

 

[Cappy]

this is something that is commonly done in the car audio scence and really does make a difference.

Just get some 4awg power cable from and ICE retailer with some crimp ring terminals.

The procedure is normaly reffered to as the Big 3 which are

-ve to chassis

-ve to engine block

-ve to alt

The reason for this is.. most cars have really heavy duty power cables for free flow of current, and usualy very weedy earth cables exposed to the elements.

The way this works is, if you replace the crappy earths, you get less resistance which means less wasted power, which means less load on the alt.. which means less load on the engine.

You will probably feel the difference when driving.. but doubt you could measure it on a rolling road.. You may notice a fuel economy boost too.

Amit

 

[Milkfloat]

Blimey Cappy, long time no hear from you. Where have you been?

 

[GaryM]

Cheers Eddy, just the kind of diagrams I was hoping for.

 

[andymac]

I did the mod on my 4motion after reading all 10 pages on vwvortex, I just used some amp cable and gold crimp ring connectors from halfords (cost about 15 quid), didnt seem to make a difference at first........ but after a month or so I removed it and I really noticed the throttle response weaken and fuel consumption drop, also the lights started to dim when the engine idled, they didnt when the grounding kit fitted.

I refitted it and I definetly think it works

 

[GaryM]

Andy, when you say Amp cable what exactly is the spec of the cable? Where can I get some from?

 

[andymac]

I dont know the spec it was just some very fat amp cable (for powering ICE amplifiers) your local halfrauds should have a huge s election of autoleads cables and connectors, the way I figure it is if this cable can carry wattage for a 400 watt amp with then its good enough to provide a nice earth for your car

 

[pope1]

Gary, have a look at that Vortex thread again for info about the cable thickness. Think I was going to go for 8 gauge myself when I last looked. Can't remember now but I think 4 may be a little OTT. Please let me know how you get on, I'm still interested in learning more about this one.

Andy, I'm curious. Did you have the light dimming problem or anything like it before you fitted the cables?

 

[GaryM]

Pope1, whats 8 gauge in real cable sizes (mm squared)?

 

[pope1]

Gary, 8 gauge is 3.3 mm in diameter AFAIK. I think 4 gauge is the normal size used for battery connectors. Here's a link with current carrying capacities and gauge sizes.

http://www.the12volt.com/wiring/awg.asp

What do you reckon about the size to go for?

 

[pope1]

How/where do you attach these cables to the body without removing paint and risking rust?

 

[pope1]

Can't believe this. Gary it's all your fault. After seeing this topic, and reading some of the newer stuff on Vortex including some dyno plots I hadn'd seen before, I was checking out the price of 4 and 8 gauge wire at lunchtime today. That in spite of my doubts about whether this will do anything worthwhile on my car.

No black 8 gauge until Friday and the 4 gauge looks huge so I've got some time to come to my senses. Can't see myself getting the gold connectors though...didn't I say I wasn't going to bother with this at all[].

 

[GaryM]

You have to go with the gold connectors, just think - much lower resistance and will add at least another 10bhp []

Thats why I just love this forum []