Grounding/Earthing kits

[poita]

Whats peoples thoughts on these?

been checking em out on flea bay.

pricing ranging from $50 up to $200

anyone bought one of these kits?

is there another way to do it?

[DirtyHarry]

i really dont see the point for a normal car.

what benefit are you really going to get with the grounding kit??? nothing i say. unless your car is 50 years old and needs new wiring i wouldnt bother.

[guy 27]

its a calibra so yeah it would need new grounding cables.

back on topic. I had to get a set of new ground cables for my old volvo. i just went and got genuine ones as they were cheaper than making a set up.

[gmonkey]

its good to get them if u have a big stereo it stops the whine in ur speakers..

pete u could DIY this pretty easy just buy your own good quality low-gauge wire and re-do them yourself probs only cost ya $20 then

[James T]

I probably wouldn't bother with this unless you have something in there drawing a significant current. There was a fairly significant earth kit in my car before I got it, so I can't really comment on what it was like before it was there, but I would think it would make a bit of a difference when you have big monoblock amps .etc.

I think you should be able to make a pretty good one for well under $200 though, and would probably go as far as to say it would work better. I'm not too sure what the cost of the one in my car would have been, but it's just some low gauge wire and a couple of pieces of metal. I think it looks pretty cool though.

ETA:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2275/2188921964_6dcd51fcae.jpg

I think that should be pretty easy to make.

[poita]

well i will be putting in a decent sice stereo system, amps at roughy 2000w total.

[James T]

Yeah, I'd get one. Probably overkill, but having seen guys melt wires with amps, it seems like a pretty cheap bit of insurance against screwups to me.

I have an 850w amp, and it can dim the headlights if you push it. Thats a 750 CCA battery.

[poita]

ah thats right, you bought the car from Huhness

[gmonkey]

I've got a total of 2400w amps + dvd hu. And I do get a bit of whine with stock cables. I'm just going wire 0 gauge from neg terminal to car body. And increase gauge on alternator wiring.

[SKM_87]

i made one ages ago with old amp cable i had laying around, did nothing. just a good thing to pass the time

[James T]

ah thats right, you bought the car from Huhness

All the blue everywhere gives it away, doesn't it. :cool:

[AfterBurner]

Earth is earth, so long as it can handle the current your pulling from the + side then it's fine... Usually, the body of the car is ground thus shorter cables used... Mainly the + you need to worry bout spesh with hi current situations...

At 2400w lets say... 2400w/12v=200Amps... Factor in a 10% loss ratio, so around 220Amps say...

Can your current wiring handle that all day long??? If not it needs upgrading...

Remember the thicker the cable the lower the volatge drop also... Generally speaking i think 00 gauge wire only loses like 1v/100m or something similar, can't remember off the top of my head atm... My last car i was running 00 gauge (75mm2) & was running 2 amps at roughly 1.5-2kW & that dimmed my headlights still... Even the temp gauge dropped a little with big bass hits... Not te mention the Volts gauge looking more like a vacuum gauge...lol...

[AfterBurner]

oops forgot...

FUSE AT BATTERY... for Justin...

[poita]

oh a sensible answer, thanks mate :)

[James T]

Good point AB. Didn't mention it before, but as you can see, there is some fairly significant wiring going from the positive terminal to the boot. The fuse isn't visible there because it's mounted closer to the firewall. (only mentioned my car because the place that did it have a good reputation, and it's been working fine for around 2 years afaik)

I had a mate burn out some of his trim by using wiring which couldn't handle the current he threw at it.

[hazrd]

well i will be putting in a decent sice stereo system, amps at roughy 2000w total.

damn you.....

[JohnBu]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2275/2188921964_6dcd51fcae.jpg

Not exactly the smartest idea to use the same (colour) cable for both positive and earth.

I can't see the point of getting one, unless your stereo is drawing too much current (as evident by flickering lights), the astra has a fairly good earth strap.

FYI, I have 0g running in my car for a stereo that I've taken out.. i should take the cable out too, prob have about 6-7kg in cable alone.

[poita]

he bought the astra like that john.

and yes the lights do dull and flicker with the stereo.

btw mine isnt an astra ;)

[guy 27]

my lights flicker and my stereo isn't that big. also my revs go up and down with the bass.

[James T]

Black heatshrink is earth, so it's not really a problem. Probably not ideal, but not worth changing.

While I agree that the standard wiring isn't bad, I don't think it hurts to install an earth kit when you are significantly upgrading the battery.

[JohnBu]

my lights flicker and my stereo isn't that big. also my revs go up and down with the bass.

have you tried upgrading the power cable?

[JohnBu]

Black heatshrink is earth, so it's not really a problem. Probably not ideal, but not worth changing.

While I agree that the standard wiring isn't bad, I don't think it hurts to install an earth kit when you are significantly upgrading the battery.

I wouldn't bother changing them either.

but the installer who did definitely choose form over function.

Those ground cables are what, 4 or 2 gauge?

I highly doubt it would work better than a single run of 0 gauge from the battery to a good clean & short connection to the chassis.

[gmonkey]

myn dont flicker or revs jump ( speedo jumps but thats related to vibrations not power ;) )

astra AHs must have pretty good grounds.. im still planning on upgrading myn but