blazed_cobalt

Are ground wire kits actually useful? do they actually help your car in any way at all?

blissmaster13

bump because im curious

Herndon_High_SS

From what I hear they do their job more on old cars because their wiring is inneficiant compared to new cars. Now on the cobalt I dont see a significant gain or any really. But I would'nt mind be proved wrong.

07cobaltguy

il have to find it, but in one of my old modified mags, they tested a voltage stabilizer on a ss/sc. they actually dyno'd an extra 6+ hp and 4+ ft/lb. i thought it was interesting. but now i cant find the issue it was in, of course.

Switt23

iTrader: (7)

I don't think there is enough gain to add horsepower... however, it might help with the recharging system a little.

SS FREAK

iTrader: (1)

yea the ground wires and voltage wires help alot i have 2 buddies with is and there actually the next mods im doing. they both give horsepower & tourqe gains, eliminates emissions from exaust... well worth it!.. pm me if any questions i can have you talk to the kid that actually have them if you dont believe me.

Red07SSNA

Ground wiring kits are very effective in that they help the manufacturer remove money from your pocket

Seriously, if a grounding kit would provide real world performance gains they would be a big selling item and you'd be reading about them in car magazines.

SpeedJunkies07LS

it will help you ground everything in the car and like ss freak said it can help your horses a little more plus i need one soon because if my car keeps staticaly shockin me ima start snappin haha

JRelly

The thing about ground kits for the cobalt is.....


The battery is in the trunk so the wires dont reach

But if anyone is interested in one I have a groundwire kit i was gonna use for cavy but never got around to it ill let it go for 45 shipped.

SS FREAK

iTrader: (1)

yea its in the trunk but the make different models for it u need the hyper m wires... go to gravannatuning.com the have them on there......

xpod666

i currently have ground wires on my car now i notice very little gain if any at all but there is one true thing it does and that one thing is help sound systems sound alot clearer which back in the old days is what people did it for a nice clean sound for both speaker/subs. Then someone found out that some cars shows gains and some dont. this is true cause car makers did half ass jobs on wiring. But doesnt mean our car has the same problem .I never dyno it because it would just be a waste of money show 1hp or any hp at all at least on 2.2 .So if you decide to do this mod do it for clean sound off your amp/subs . Now the best brand for ground wires is Apex they have a kit for our car. Everyone knows Apex is a well respected company here is the link to the site http://www.apexi-usa.com/ http://www.apexi-usa.com/product_ele...=224&pageNum=1

Mike85220

I installed one kit on a 1989 Dodge Daytona, it did gain some horses, it also had a better idle and more response. Same thing on a 1993 Geo Storm.

I also installed one recently on my wife's 2003 Sunfire, and I was skeptical that a newer car would land no gains.

I was wrong, it made the same difference in up and go and the idle and response is now better.

Everyone can say it does not work all they want, I have been 3 for 3 so far with positive results. There was an independent test done on several ground kits and they all landed gains, one made over 10hp but it had the ground kit plus voltage regulator. That kit is over $200.

The gain is not like a supercharger, but at $25 for the E-bay kit it is very nice.

I never tried a voltage regulator.
If anyone has tried one, let us know the results.

blazed_cobalt

Alright..thanks...I appreciate everyones opinions.

jefferyss

iTrader: (1)

evil autostyle has 1 they dyno'd on a cobalt ,i have the magazine but cant place the add at the moment. it was like 3 or 4 hp constantly and dyno after dyno it was consistent

SS FREAK

iTrader: (1)

they say dyno'd you will see 4-6 hp.... but better throttle response.. eliminat emissions from exaust.. they dyno'd it on an 06 gto ndgined 15.6 whp and 14.7 tq... but you wont see that out of the cobalt but all in all its a decent mod..!

umrdyldo

iTrader: (1)

would someone get a How To on this because I'm not really sure what is done with this. Can't a homebrew kit be thrown together?

Mike85220

I know you can make your own kit at home with 8 guage or 4 guage wire.
All you need is to silver solder some connectors on the ends and use the insulator.
Anyone can replicate the disc that taps the ground wires.
It is easy to do, but I am not sure in the end it will be that much cheaper than what E-bay offers.
I got mine $25 shipped.

I know on the Cobalt the battery is in the trunk, but I would use the negative cable that comes from the battery to the engine compartment and then from there have the ground cables based off of it to the engine, tranny, alternator, strut tower and so on with the 8 or 4 guage wires.

A 3-4 hp gain seems about right, and for $25 off of E-bay I feel it is a steal.

Apexi has a kit that also includes a voltage regulator, and this has been dynoed with the regulator and ground kit at 9hp. They are supposedly using the best conductance materials and the voltage regulator also lands gains.

The thing is, they want over $200 for this kit. I know 9hp for $200 or so is a good deal, but the less expensive kits with just the ground wires alone are 4hp and like I said I paid only $25.

I wonder if I got a voltage regulator it too would give another 4 or 5hp?
They do sell them on E-bay too. I am not saying they are as good as Apexi as they won the contest for the best ground kit and regulator, but even 2 more hp for $25 would be worth it to me.
http://www.apexi-usa.com/news_article.asp?id=2

Switt23

iTrader: (7)

So who wants to explain why having a better ground creates horsepower on our cars. If that works, why not just buy a stronger battery... that would produce less resistance on the charging system, making more power. Hell do a dual alternator swap... that's like 80+ hp right there.

The only thing your gunna gain from this on the cobalts is less resistance to your alternator and battery. If you have subs and your headlights dim under heavy bass, this would help.

If it did, people would be running 00 gauge wire in their cars.

Red07SSNA

It's all about velocity.....better grounding reduces backpressure, makes the electrical circuits flow better electrons per minute (EPM), increasing flow velocity and creating better harmonics throughout the EPM -- wave sines are in harmony. How that increases horsepower is it makes the sparkplugs happier....and we all know....keeping the real workers happy increases output

11secSRT4

I wonder how the Cobalts would respond to a good ground system on the engine? Being the battery ground is on a piece of thin sheet metal that has paint on it.

XM15

Would the effectiveness of a grounding kit be reduced because of the distance of the battery from the engine? Distance= resistance , right? So, would it be worth it even though the battery is in the trunk on the 'balt?

Mike85220

Having the wires sprawl out further due to the battery being in the trunk on the negative/ ground side might not make a difference.

I see it like this, the chassis is grounded, so the grounds are going to be point blank to several electrical devices from all the ground cables.

The positive is the hindrance due to the long cable needing to go into the engine compartment, so it is not as optimal, but having the ground cables is better than not having them.

Do this, take a battery like a 9V and put it to your arm. No sting...
Now take it and ground it better using your saliva by placing it on your tongue.
It is a better ground, this makes the positive side increase and also have a more solid flow of electricity.

Hotter burning spark plugs burn the fuel more thoroughly, and in turn give a little more power per cycle.

The computer having a more consistant flow of electricity runs better therefore no small dips in performance randomly.

The alternator being more well grounded recharges the battery a little better, which means more output electricity wise. Because we all know weaker batteries produce less output, refer to the 9V to tongue test.

The sensors also need a consistant flow of electricity to give accurate data to the computer and any dips in power will give inconsistant data which will give erratic idle and slight loss in power randomly. So expect a smoother idle. The injectors also work better and the fuel pump as they are electrically operated.

In other words a stronger and more consistant flow of electricity will make the car run more consistantly which in turn helps performance.

umrdyldo

iTrader: (1)

I don't disagree with any of those statements. But I personally am not a complete electrical dude yet and would look to no what wires to put where. Hence I think a How-TO would be great. Or just a walk through with a kit someone already has.

redlineblueline

subscribed

xpod666

I have a ground kit but i too was unfamiliar with the install of it that i had a shop do it for me and they only charged 70 bucks for labor of course cost of labor varys in different areas of the usa