fineEGOmaniac

I'm in no way making a claim that my horsepower increased from this. But I DEFINITELY know that my engine idles smoother. I know this because before the ground, my cold-air-intake would vibrate so hard via its rubber connection to the intake manifold that the pipe of the intake would tap against the corner of my battery. After adding the ground, my car not only transitions gears smoother, but If I look at the engine while it's running, the intake pipe doesn't even vibrate, let alone shake. My engine litterally idles 500% smoother.
I KNOW THIS FOR A FACT, BECAUSE I DID IT AND I'VE SEEN IT. So I don't give a rat's a*s about the amatuer electiricians on these post who claim otheriwise.

kungpaosamuraiii

I don't care all that much about the amateur electricians either but the professional ones here are the ones that have my ears.

matty-tC

sciontific proof would be preferred





get it? sciontific? oh god i'll be here all week. try the roast beef. tip your waitress. this thing on?

engifineer

Yeah, I guess a masters in electronics engineering and working on cars since I was 8 or 9 years old makes me an amateur

So.. you can PROVE it is 500% smoother???? Can you give me that proof???? Where are the measurements?? My tC idles as smooth as any other car I have driven so not sure about your intake measuring stick... Were the conditions the same? Was the car at the same temp? was the AC on or off? If so, how often was it cycling???

I am not 100% bashing your claim.. but you come out calling people "amateur" and quote "facts" and "proof" that are about as valid as a butt dyno. You could have simply said "I used one and it seems like it idles smoother". That would not have provoked a negative response and would be much more valid than your 500% proof.

matty-tC

my car doesn't rattle and it's stock

maybe he had something f'd up and he fixed it not knowing it. who knows.

RaCe4rICe

who cares... if they thinks it works ( mental or not) let them be... if they wanna do it, then do it

fineEGOmaniac

I said I don't care about the amateurs who post. Clearly you're a pro, so that doesn't apply to you. After looking at my engine once more, I'd sciontifically say it's more like 525% improvement. That's butt dyno validity if you ask me.
As for the negative reaction ... saying people pay "good money for this crap" is pretty negative if you ask me. (See a few posts before mine.) So I aint hearin' nuthin 'bout me starting the neg vibes, you hear?
That's butt dyno validity indeed, sciontifically speaking.
-Mike Moon.

WhippedCRacKeR

as i was reading this thread i was gonna say.. where is engifineer to clear this ____ all up.. cause he knows his ____. i was considering trying this to help in throttle response.. but engifineer has cleared it all up for me.

thank you engifineer, you are my hero.

Scott17

I am by no means an amatuer in electricity, Scions, or cars in general. In fact, I would be considered a professional with a lot of experience. Your "subjective" test methods are quite convincing, but they leave me wondering at your methods. You say that "I know this because before the ground, my cold-air-intake would vibrate so hard via its rubber connection to the intake manifold that the pipe of the intake would tap against the corner of my battery." It seems as if your intake install was not done properly. I have heard the claims of engines idling smoother, but I guess I never noticed any of the few hundred I have worked on idleing rough to begin with. To test your "scientific theory" why dont you take your ground wires off the negative battery terminal and hold them away and see if your engine idles rough, then simply touch your ground wires back to the terminal and it should instantly " idle 500% smoother", then remove the wire amd SHAZAM! 500% rougher! ( Watch out for that intake! someone could get hurt!) Maybe the added mass of that wad of heavy-gauge wire strung about the engine compartment has lowered the resonant frequency of your engine assembly, thereby reducing vibration.

TimmyT

Personally I like the bumpy Idle of my brand new tC.... I don't have to shake my own chocolate milk now. :D

xnevergiveinx

ok, lets cut that crap with the name calling. what can i do to improve my throttle response? honestly

PRE5TON

Glad I read this thread before i put $60 into a ground wire kit...

superbill

yeah this thread will smoke any hope from a ground kit mod....damn !..of course it sounds like it needed to be..oh well i guess i will look else where for a fix to my throttle delay problem.

randomsuper

i bought one and all it did was add a mass of wires to my engine. save your money. you're better off spending that money on your girlfriend. at least then you might get something out of it.

lo_bux_racer

Buy and install a lightweight flywheel. The OEM unit weighs 16 lbs, 9.8 ounces. The Fidanza unit weighs 9 lbs, 2.8 ounces. It completely cured all my complaints about slow throttle response.

It is not cheap or simple to install, but it will cure your problem and not introduce any warranty issues, or longevity issues compared to stock. It's the best win-win you can imagine for an engine mod.

AFA amateur status - I started experimenting with electronics as an amateur in '73. I turned pro in '79 and spent the next 20 years of my life working on both ground and aircraft electronic systems for the Air Force. But you wouldn't know that. Now you do.

Acsilva84

preach it engifineer!!! lol

saimike

i couldnt agree more. this is the crux of the argument i've been trying to drive home in some other forums i participate in. and might i add that if you had a bad ground to start with, an expensive grounding kit is but a bandaid. the real solution is to track down that bad ground and fix it. its probably a bad connection somewhere.

ScionDad

$60 for a ground wire kit? OMG.

$10, do it for looks and future corrision issues for your electronics ground system and noise. As your body panels corrode, your ground potential will in fact change from piece to piece. New car, not much of an issue. Used car...sure thing down the road. If you have stuff grounded all over your car (amps in rear, monitors, etc), then this could save you some noise issues down the road.

There is also the issue of the ECU... Add anything running off the ECU lines and referencing ground...you better ground to the ECU ground point. Why you ask???? Because of noise and difference in ground potential has to be as min as possible.

For $10...I would do it as I add additional electronics (even tho I haven't....just lazy). I've spent more and got less.

Right now, I'm more concerned with the alt dying out from all the crap added to it's load.

lo_bux_racer

If I showed you pictures of the underside of my '93 Supra, you'd hate me. Zero corrosion after 12 years and 140+k miles. I may hate California politics, but I sure don't mind the non-corrosive environment of the Sacramento Valley.

All my grounds are still just as clean as the day they were installed, and I still have the original (corrosion free) battery terminals.

Oh, yeah, I was born and raised in Iowa, I fully understand the Midwest salted road cancer.

ScionDad

You guys SUCK out there. Those are the best rides in the country. Nothing better than seeing a clean, cancer free classic rollin. The salt around here not only eats the car...it eats the driveways.