[krzy]

I was reading through the 70 page thread at g35driver.com ([ link to thread ]) about a guy that is building grounding kits for G35's and 350Z's and had a thought. What if I got a couple other people together and rather than designing a product to sell, we came up with a complete community supported HOWTO to build grounding kits specific to the Scion tC?

Basically, my idea is this..

I don't have the time or energy to complete a project like this. Testing cables, connectors, insulating goo, heatshrink, writing all the docs, taking pictures, etc. What i'd like to do is start a project of sorts with a couple people that are willing to come up with a 5-7 point grounding system that has been thoroughly been tested on our cars.

I think if we divide and conquer, we can come up with a 'kit' that specifies types of wire, types of connectors, and detailed instructions on where to order, how to build, and how to install it ourselves. I'm tired of seeing grounding kits that cost $100-$150 when its really only about $25 in parts and a little bit of effort. We've got people with auto's and manuals and we've got good people that can provide solid feedback, as well as a support forum for discussions. We've got a lot of different skillsets ranging from mechanics to stereo installers to network engineers here. I think we can come up with a solid kit that passes the tC 'butt dyno' with flying colors.

This will require some time for research, investment in parts and cable, and a few removed bolts in our cars. I'd like to try and keep it as simple as possible with good clear instructions and pictures so that anyone that can connect home speakers to a home stereo could do the install. The goal here is not to build a product that is for sale, the goal is to contribute to the community.

Any thoughts?

 

[phazo]

Sign me up. I'll help out if I can. I'll use the kit I have to try out different grounding points, or do any kind of tests you'd like. I can add on aditional point if I need, to make a total of 5 points w/ the kit I have.

 

[krzy]

I've ordered some cable and ring terminals from Knukonceptz.com. The wire looks pretty impressive, but testing will reveal the truth.

QUOTE

from www.knukonceptz.com:
Wire description:
Kolossus Kable 4AWG BLACK/SILVER Power Wire features 2058 Tinned Strands of Pure OxygenFree Copper. Thats right, two colors in one massive cable. Don't let its size fool you, the ultra fine 36awg strands still give this beast incredible flexiblity. Coupled with a rugged PVC outer jacket that is impervious to grease and oil from your car while with-standing the extreme tempratures (-40 to 105 C) and capable loads of 120A.

Terminal Description:
Gold Plated Crimp 4AWG Ring Terminal - Blue Grommet. Ring opening is 5/16"[/b]

My understanding is that more strands = better flow in this case since the signal we're dealing with flows on the outside of the wire. This stuff is only 99cents per foot so I figured i'd give it a go.

Worst thing that can happen is that i figure out how long cables need to be.

 

[xman]

Im all for it. I was thinking of going to get some grounding wires & connectors from home depot. The problem is the whole installation and testing for me. I can figure out maybe 3 or 4 connections but the others im clueless. Also as for testing, I would not be able to understand that voltmeter or whatever it is. But im willing to give a try. With our combined minds, Im sure we can find a great set up that every body can make and benefit from it.

x

 

[krzy]

Originally posted by xman@Nov 11 2004, 03:51 PM
Im all for it. I was thinking of going to get some grounding wires & connectors from home depot. The problem is the whole installation and testing for me. I can figure out maybe 3 or 4 connections but the others im clueless. Also as for testing, I would not be able to understand that voltmeter or whatever it is. But im willing to give a try. With our combined minds, Im sure we can find a great set up that every body can make and benefit from it.

x

Either my home depot sucks or they don't carry the right wire. I did find some 4GA wire, but the strands were huge. It was like 128 strands. My understanding is that for power, a higher strand count is better since it is the surface area of the wire that makes the difference.

This is why I opted for the 2000+ strands in the post above.

I also need to find a good source for copper ring terminals. I'm not sure how the gold ones are going to hold up under the hood.

krzy

 

[Tak Fujiwara]

hey count me in!!! I hab the time and willing effort to create a groudning kit and hopefully with your support and combined knowledge we van come up with something

 

[phammerz]

count me in also, ill get some of my car friends to help me out, and ill ask my physics teacher =) he knows a lot aobut this stuff, can't we look at other grounding kits to see what they do and sort of copy it onto ours =)

 

[phazo]

So going by the way my kit was made and looking for some high performance parts to build your own kit. I actually got a little depressed. It looks like I could actually build a better kit than the one I bought!

My kit looks to be mostly aluminum in the places I feel it should be gold plated for the best connection. I hit up the Car Domain's website (www.cardomain.com) and it looks like they have EVERYTHING you need to create your own kit, it could get a little pricey, but the quality would be pretty solid!

This is what I would suggest as far as a general idea of the parts needed (THIS IS ONLY AN IDEA AND SHOULD BE DONE AT YOUR OWN RISK, I HAVEN'T TESTED THIS IDEA YET) :


Negative battery terminal (with two ports so you can bolt in the stock grounding cables as well as single 4 gauge wire).

A Distribution block that accepts one 4 gauge wire and has four 8 gauge outputs.

A short length of 4 gauge wire, probably about 1 foot.

And then about 5 to 10 feet of 8 gauge wire, which you will cut to different lengths and use to ground the car at different points.

Also get four 8 gauge crimp style ring terminals.

Run the 4 gauge cable from the negative battery cable to the distribution block, run the four 8 gauge cables out of the block cutting them to the exact distance of the grounding points (remember short distances are the best, and the less slack on the wire, the better). Crimp on the ring terminals on the end of the wires and bolt them down to your grounding points.

and voila! Everything you need to make a relatively solid grounding kit.


I'm actually thinking about re-doing mine to see if I notice more of an improvement. All the parts I looked at were from stinger, and were either gold or platinum plated. Also they have a good selection of wires on the car domain website, however, they're nothing compared to what krzy found on the knukonceptz website (I'd suggest going with that wire, the rediculous strand count is bound to help!).


I hope this helps anyone who is thinking about making their own kit.

Let me know what you all think!

 

[krzy]

They charged for my order on the 11th but I'm still waiting for the parts to arrive. Hopefully, my order is just a 'fluke' but according to their website, it had not yet been processed. I sent an email on Friday morning indicating that I hadnt heard anything from them yet. I'm going to give them until Wednesday to deal with my order or I'm gonna call shinnanigans and cancel the order as fraudulent with my credit card company. Kinda lame for $33.

I'll let you know how they deal with the order, maybe I just slipped through the cracks.

<EDIT>
I feel like an ass. They attempted delivery on 11/18. I had received an email from the USPS which was classified as SPAM and a delivery attempt card that was thrown into a pile of junk mail indicating that I could pick it up. So needless to say, knukonceptz is a reputable dealer. Now I just have to throw all the stuff together, take pics and document it.
</EDIT>

 

[krzy]

Originally posted by phazo@Nov 21 2004, 07:31 AM
So going by the way my kit was made and looking for some high performance parts to build your own kit.  I actually got a little depressed.  It looks like I could actually build a better kit than the one I bought!

 

My kit looks to be mostly aluminum in the places I feel it should be gold plated for the best connection.  I hit up the Car Domain's website (www.cardomain.com) and it looks like they have EVERYTHING you need to create your own kit, it could get a little pricey, but the quality would be pretty solid! 

I'm curious about the grounding points you used. Any chance you could take pics of the termination points?

My parts showed up today and the cable is quite nice. Nice and flexible. I took a peek this evening at potential grounding points but it was too dark to really see where the existing grounding points are.

I managed to strip one end of the cable to check the connector fit and it fit perfectly, then I had to use a pair of channel locks and a hammer to get it crimped tight.

The more information we can gather about grounding points, cables, connectors, etc. the better chance we have of putting together a really good DIY mod for the '05 tC.

Money spent so far:

RT4516BK Gold Plated 4AWG Ring Terminal -Black [email protected] $0.99 $11.88
KOL4BKS Kolossus Kable 4AWG Black/Silver Power Wire 14ft @ $0.99 $13.86

Sub Total: $25.74
Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $7.50
Discount: $0.00
Total: $33.24

Not bad, I don't have a distribution block, I'd like to see if I can get around using one

 

[phazo]

Originally posted by krzy@Nov 23 2004, 01:12 AM
I'm curious about the grounding points you used.  Any chance you could take pics of the termination points? 

Sorry about the delay in replying, I was not by my computer over thanksgiving!
(too weighted down to move)

I have some picts online already. I did four points, still looking for a fifth.

Here are links to some pictures, some are a little difficult to see because of the angle:



I grounded in two spots to the body, either side of the radiator:
http://nlaufosau.photosite.com/myscion/dsc0001712.html


And two spots on/near the engine block:

one was one of the original grounding points its the bolt located close to the center of the picture:
http://nlaufosau.photosite.com/MyScion/DSC0001512.html

And the other was behind a bracket that was bracing two lines, fuel/transmission fluid/oil... not sure, the wire disappears behind the bracket, but is bolted to the left, larger bolt that is holding the bracket in place:

http://nlaufosau.photosite.com/MyScion/DSC0001412.html