Additional Engine Grounding Qs

[fronton]

I have heard that daisy chain style additional grounding has potential to improve power, economy, and response of any engine. This is not a thread about how true or bogus that may be, it is about how to do it correctly in an e30.

My plan is to connect in a series (each cable end grounding with the next) in this way: Passenger strut tower > neg terminal post > cylinder head > intake plenum (bolt where accel/cruise bracket is) > driver strut tower.

Has anyone done this and is my layout correct? Also, for the negative grounding post, should I use one of the two unused studs that are molded into the plastic post? If not, what is the purpose of those two and where do I connect it?

For reference and more info, this is the thread that prompted me to try it:http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/alp...eleration.html

[jlevie]

If the engine to chassis ground is in good condition, additional grounds won't to anything. When the engine is running the only things that use the engine as a ground that matter are the spark plugs, alternator, and temp sensor for the gauge. Everything else has a wired ground.

So, this is a waste of effort.

[Jaxx_]

You shouldn't daisy chain into a loop, it introduces a whole other issue of ground loops.

With that said, I did this mod on an old car with a few feet of 0 gauge wire. Did I see a difference? Not outside of a placebo effect. There was a thread a while back that prompted me to do it, which was on volvospeed (I had an 850 turbo) and showed a car being dynoed with a 6whp gain from the modification. The reasoning was that the ECU could respond faster to sensor inputs and make better adjustments, improving power. It sounded good back then. Now it sounds like broscience.

[Jaxx_]

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic...grounding-kit/ The first thread, apparently 15whp peak as noted in discussions.

and since it only seems available on the wayback machine...

http://web.archive.org/web/20080430103956/http://www.caraudiomag.com/testreports/0401cae_hyper_ground_system/index.html

Would I waste my time agian? probably not. But if I had nothing better to do, I would replace the factory grounds with high quality stuff.

[bmwguy325is]

I bought one of these way back http://www.getnrg.com/products/engin...tabilizer/feed
I bought it cause this small shop had them for $20.
Seat of the pants dyno it made the mid range feel better.
I had a stereo in the car at the time. When I cranked it up the lights would dim and then go bright and then go dim. They didnt flicker like when I didnt have it.

[sweet6e30]

I always lol'd when i worked on clients cars with a million grounding wires going every where!......
Its pointless and a waste of time and money, One good Engine to Chassis Ground is all you need.

[fronton]

hmmm, perhaps its all placebo then. Presently my engine is grounded from the cylinder head to the battery tray and the main engine ground is from the frame rail to the steel engine mount on the driver side. Maybe I'll just renew that one since it is original and call it good.

[sweet6e30]

^ replace it with a new larger guage and make sure the contacts are clean bare metal. Thats always a good thing!