so, after some research on these "Grounding Kits", i decided to "give it a go" and, of course, make my own wires and perform a little experiment.

Skeptically, i made several wires out of some nice big 8 gauge wire, soldered up some connectors proper, and spent a fair amount of time looking for places on the engine where i can bolt onto (not as easy as it sounds).

after a few hours (i was doing other stuff at the same time), i managed to make 3 additional grounding wires (before i rand out of wire), and attach them to decent places on the engine block.

My 3 current "Grounding Point Attachments are as follows:

• There is a bolt holding your radiator hose up, located right at the front of the engine, just below the intercooler.
• There are 2 bolts holding your Rear Heat Shield to the engine block.

None of these bolts are "vital" in the fact that they dont "do" anything, other than hold stuff in place. They are also decent spots that are connected Right to the engine block.

I was able to ground these points out to the frame, using the original grounding cable, and a few other brackets that hold bits, that are attached to the frame itself (pics soon).

After i was all buttoned up, eventually i went for a test ride....

and ill be D@mned if i dont feel a difference!!!

• the car seems to start easier (sounds, healthier?)

• when i am running the AC, and come to a stop, the cars voltage seems to stay more stable (instead of dropping to say, 12 v, it sticks around 13)
• I could SWEAR that the engine Revs UP Cleaner and smoother
• I could SWEAR the engine Revs DOWN smoother too!
• I feel a "general sense of power" throughout the entire power band, and it seems like the car doesnt hesitate in some RPM spots that used to previously

So, IMO, the experiment is a complete Success!

I plan on adding some more wires (bought some today), hoping that more is better

has anyone else done this and experienced good results? or negative?

I would recommend this "mod" to just about anyone else out there. Its super easy and cheap!

 

Post Pics!!! i have been wanting to do this mod for a while just, could never find the right grounding points

 

Looks like ive found something to do this weekend.

 

could you list the gauge of wires you used? Solid or strands? also x2 on the pics of the locations

 

i just went to Lowes. they have wire you can buy by the foot. I used 8 gauge stranded, as the stranded is easier to bend and solder. that 8 gauge wire is like, 75 cents a foot? i easily used 7 ft on 3 bits of wire.

you will also have to have 2 different sizes of connectors, keyhole style (i think is what theyre called). they look like so: ==O

get one box / bag of the large hole (1/2 inch?) and another box / bag of the slightly smaller ones, (5/8 or so).

I will post pics this weekend!

 

now, by popular demand, a complete Step by Step guide on Grounding your engine!

Ive made a PDF "how to". No idea how this will "post" on this site, as ive never uploaded a pdf before. Hopefully everyone can download it for viewing!

 

error:file is damaged and can not be opened. Could just be my work computer though.

 

Great guide. This needs to be sticky'd ASAP

 

Stranger,

try either updating your re-installing your pdf reader... i have tried to open this file 2x just to be sure, and it opens NP.

otherwise, PM me, and ill be happy to email it to you!

 

Im not worried, on on a govy computer so limited access. ill view tonight

 

you will need 5 1/4 inch circle(ring) connectors and 3 1/2inch the passenger side motor mount bolt and the 2 heat shield bolts are where you will use the 1/2inch ones and those 3 bolts are a 13mm hex head. All the other bolts will use the 1/4inch ring and a 10mm hex head bolt.

Ref: 2005 MINI COOPER S

Notice the fancy red wires?? :D

 

I feel like I am missing the obvious answer here...but what is the advantage of doing this?

 

Better flow of current results in some of the stuff that AstroBlack talked about in post #1. I didn't experience everything that he did, but it doesn't hurt to ground the power more efficiently.

 

i have a friend that has a transmission shop

many dealers in the area send cars to him for repair when their inhouse techs can't fix a problem with these new style computer controlled transmissions

he says many times he fixes strange problems by simply removing, cleaning and replacing the existing ground wires, eliminating corrosion that builds up over time

i am suggesting you did the same thing as you added your extra ground wires to the existing ground points

i work on general aviation aircraft and many times can fix a "weak" charging system and/or strange noise heard over the radios the same way, simply removing, cleaning and reattaching the existing grounds.

checking the condition of both the ground and positive connections is considered normal, routine maintenance in aviation

i do this to all my motor vehicles, especially my 1974 and 1987 bmw motorcycles due to their age

i use a product called ACF50 to protect the connections by spraying the parts lightly before tightening

scott

 

vkash,

your wiring looks great!
added note: that Front wire that goes off to the Right (in the pic), I also added a 2nd wire at the same spot, only going "left", and i attached it right to the stock grounding point. figured one last wire wouldnt hurt

 

really there's differences?
can you disconnect them wires and see if you feel any differences?
if not your mind is playing tricks on you

how you doing on your intake mod, can wait to hear about your project so i can send in mine as we agreed.