jaxtcracer

so i was reading DIY's the other day on grounding kits for scions/other cars in general and a thought crossed my mind. apparently, people have been able to go to the local hardware store and make their own kits for 10-20 bucks. naturally, after an install people rave about how their auto trannys idle smoother and wait... the butt dyno even detects something every now and then. so after thinking about this some more and even pondering making my own setup, an interesting thought crossed my mind. let's say someone could make their own grounding kit for $15. if any large auto maker decided they wanted to include grounding kits in their cars off the dealership lot, that would be very, very inexpensive for them to do, considering they buy in bulk, etc. so if these grounding kits actually improve the car THAT much, why wouldnt Scion or any other auto maker simply sell the cars for a dollar or two more with a pre-installed grounding kit? it just doesnt make any sense......... 2 possibilities: either grounding kits are actually ineffective at making credible gains or auto manufacturers are too stupid to include them with their cars for an extra penny. if someone could explain this too me, please do. i'm open to any thoughts. *end rant*

engifineer

100% percent useless. Period. People who spend money on them have themselves believing that it "improved" something, the same as the butt dyno makes you "feel" the gains from a CAI.

Take it from someone who took the time to obtain a masters degree in the field of electronics.. has worked on cars my whole life and who has designed many programmable control systems. The vehicles system is designed for more variance in grounding than it will see, unless you have a bad ground. If a grounding kit helps ANYTHING (other than MAYBE the noise in a very high powered audio system) you had a bad ground to start with.

SuperWhiteTC450

engif is exactly correct they do little to nothing thats the bottom line. As for adding grounds for large stereo equipment is a must. Some stereos now are drawing ungodly amounts of amps from the stock electrical system. Adding an extra frame ground up front and an extra one in back if you add batteries is a must. It is just an assurance to help the electrial system do its jobs more efficiently. But for the normal everyday driver grounding kits are plain worthless and a waist of 15 bucks.

MJVsTC

So you mean that eBay kit doesn't add 15 HP?

BlitzBlueTC

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what exactly is a grounding kit?

808tC

grounding kits are those colorful wires you see in your engine bay

WeDriveScions

^ LoL.

surfcity40

i like the cosmetic look of ground kits. lift the hood and it looks like a whole bunch of stuff is going on in there.
but i'm not gonna comment on the kit's ability to add any "magic". by the same token, i also wouldn't comment on a CAI adding "magic" or an axle back exhaust adding any "magic".
whatever makes your friends go "eww" when you open the hood is cool, imo.

everyone has their own level of superstition.
jmo.

Skeorx13

Yeah I bought some wires, and when I hooked em up to everything, my passenger side window went on the fritz. It wouldn't roll up all the way and kept moving like it was losing power to the motor. Then sometimes it would actually reverse while mid-motion. I took off all but one wire to the sparkplug area and it worked again, but it actually feels like it lost a little power/response. I'm probably just gonna take it off entirely. Waste of $20.

magyver

wires look cool? um no.. they dont do jack.. one one i can see is maybe a bigger one 4ga to the chassis if your running a large system/lighting.. but thats it.. then maybe a alternator wire addition to the battery.. other than that, kits do nothign

asg102

Well actualy if have an audio system the BIG3 does help I was recommended to do this hear did some research on it and many people say its a must if you have an audio system. Check it out

djrza786

Well, I have had the grounding wire set. I do have a powerful audio system, navigation system, and upgraded my battery to the red top Ultima. The wires are a pos joke, no good, waste of money, ugly and pointless. I got it on eBay thinking wires are wires and even though it's eBay, they're just wires. I had the kit on and noticed absolutely no difference. I already have real good audio cables and the correct guages for everything I need, so these grounding wires didn't do jack. Then, here's the fun part, one day goin to work a couple weeks ago, guess what? my car died, completely stopped working. All electronic components failed, my guages were stuck at right when my car died at 35mph, half a takn of gas, 2,000rpm, hazards wouldn't work, nothing would work. I couldn't get the car started. I was lucky I had enough momentum to pull off to the side of the road when it died. I had to call a tow truck and get it towed to the dealer. They said they've never seen a scion get towed in before. Any you know what the problem was? The grounding kit. As soon as they took it off or adjusted it or whatever, car started up, and no problems. I took the entire setup of wires off completely when I got home. Car has been fine since.

I would not recommend installing the grounding kit on the car, save your money and save up for a turbo or something, but it's a waste of time and money. If you got a big audio system in your car, just get a good wire kit to begin with, that should be all you need.

badbasic

thanks for the input guys. my wife will be happy that im not spending more money on the box.(at least for now)

xnevergiveinx

i did not get anything out of my grounding kit at all. i'm sure in theory, my system runs a little more efficient. but i don't crank it, so it doesn't matter

WeDriveScions

Yep... same here... I upgraded the grounding wires myself to 4 guage nice audio wire and noticed no increase in anything, but did look nifty... but... looks are the deal and the whole deal.

Chops

I installed my ground wire system per Mikochu's directions and have noticed my shifting is much smoother (auto) and my idle speed is lower.

And as far as buying these from eBay and them not working; IT’S FROM EBAY! Sometimes you get a good product and sometimes you get screwed.

If you read the DIY by Mikochu there are tC owners who say nothing happened and there are some who noticed a little bit of improvement. Obviously my car is different from a tC, so just because some of us xA and xB owners are ranting and raving about how much smoother our shifting is, doesn't mean it'll happen with a tC.

I have no clue as to how a ground wire kit would drain your battery, I've had mine on for a month now and it's been fine...

Just my 2 cents

WeDriveScions

It's shouldn't drain anything for sure if installed correctly...

I don't get that...

raWr215

15hp lol, okay buddy, don't do your research on ebay... you research before you go to ebay... always

highhobbiescom

what a joke

web

I got the ground fusion kit (black so it wouldn't be noticeable) and it seemed to keep the headlights a little brighter and interior lights. I have the 5 speed tC and when I came to a stop from about 30-35 mph and just pushed the clutch in, the rpms dropped so drastically that the lights dimmed and then brightened back up. After the ground kit, it is almost un-noticeable now. Any hp gains and fuel increase claims are bogus, but I found my headlights to stay a more consistent brightness.