Big 3 Update

[Sentientbydesign]

Hey Guys/Gals. I just wanted to give you a little update on the Big 3 upgrades.

Things are still in the works. I'm working on getting the best price possible and also making sure that the kit is complete (meaning more than just a couple of large wires with instructions)

Due to the cost of 0/1 gauge wire, I'll probably be offering the kit in 2 gauge and 0/1. If you don't have a super extreme audio setup, the 2 gauge should be more than adequate.

Thoughts are welcome. Especially regarding color and visibility.

[dangeris]

Thanks for the heads up Nate! Please keep us inform on the progress. Any notion as to when the Big 3 will be available? Early spring? end of spring?...

Any rate, I already have your kick a$$ grounding kit so please put me down for a big 3 in Red please

[rjdmmfl1]

Goog luck to the 3.5's getting their power--> alternator wire hooked up... its a major PITA due to the awkward angles... the 2.5's are a piece of cake! I didn't do a write up when I installed mine, so that would be a good idea for any of the 3.5s that get the Big 3 upgrade kit.

[Sentientbydesign]

Thanks for the heads up Nate! Please keep us inform on the progress. Any notion as to when the Big 3 will be available? Early spring? end of spring?...

Any rate, I already have your kick a$$ grounding kit so please put me down for a big 3 in Red please

I'd like to have these out by the end of February. Material Suppliers and time will be the biggest contraint. Sometimes, the idea of taking time off from work for these projects has crossed my mind lol.

Robert,

Thanks for the heads up. I'll see if I can't devise something to assist in the installation...Maybe a "loan-a-tool" program with the kit lol.

[BlackNWhite]

Nate, you got my number. Let me know when you're ready.

And yea, take a Thursday off from work. Those are my days off.

[Beak]

i have a question regarding your grounding kits.... do you solder the tips of the connections to make one solid connecting point?

[Sentientbydesign]

i have a question regarding your grounding kits.... do you solder the tips of the connections to make one solid connecting point?

No. The crimps have been tested and are EXTREMELY solid. That and the type of wire I normally use is actually slightly larger than 4 gauge which fills out the terminal very well and forces all of the wire to contact the terminal.

[AppleBonker]

Robert,

Thanks for the heads up. I'll see if I can't devise something to assist in the installation...Maybe a "loan-a-tool" program with the kit lol.

Doc is right on with that. I'm not so sure a tool will help, just some good instructions and someone willing to put the time into connecting the wire. The alternator is buried in the 3.5 (replacing it requires coming from the wheel well I believe).

On a slightly different note, you might want to stress with the alternator cable (either 2.5/3.5) the importance of it not being grounded out to the alternator body. Having that cable accidentally ground while the engine is running will almost certainly lead to a minor fire under the hood. If one is careful, this isn't a problem. But I'm just worried about those who might be a bit too careless with this step and rush it.

And to completely side-track, do you post on Consumerist Sentient? Or am I missing something about where your avatar is from. I'm almost certain I see that exact pic every now and again over there...

[dangeris]

Doc is right on with that. I'm not so sure a tool will help, just some good instructions and someone willing to put the time into connecting the wire. The alternator is buried in the 3.5 (replacing it requires coming from the wheel well I believe).

On a slightly different note, you might want to stress with the alternator cable (either 2.5/3.5) the importance of it not being grounded out to the alternator body. Having that cable accidentally ground while the engine is running will almost certainly lead to a minor fire under the hood. If one is careful, this isn't a problem. But I'm just worried about those who might be a bit too careless with this step and rush it.

And to completely side-track, do you post on Consumerist Sentient? Or am I missing something about where your avatar is from. I'm almost certain I see that exact pic every now and again over there...

For those of you who has don the Big 3 upgrade. did you install the wires with the car on the ground or on a lift? if on the ground, do you think it would have been easier if the car was on a lift? Either way, I'm bringing my car to my friend's garage (the one who installed my BBK) and I'll have him do the install. And all it';; cost me is pizza and beer Of course I always offer to pay him with $$. I WOULD NEVER take advantage of him like that

[Sentientbydesign]

If you've seen my instructions, you'll know that they are VERY thorough. Step by step with pictures all along the way.

My wife found the picture and when I became a Mod, I didn't get my bio in in time and one of the Admins gave me "Gay-ngel" and locked all of the standard avatars. The mean little shih-tzu was the quickest available option and it's stuck.

What's on Consumerist? The only board I'm thinking about joining is a Composite board. Maybe the Altima guys will see some custom CF stuff in the near future

[losenone]

If you've seen my instructions, you'll know that they are VERY thorough. Step by step with pictures all along the way.

My wife found the picture and when I became a Mod, I didn't get my bio in in time and one of the Admins gave me "Gay-ngel" and locked all of the standard avatars. The mean little shih-tzu was the quickest available option and it's stuck.

What's on Consumerist? The only board I'm thinking about joining is a Composite board. Maybe the Altima guys will see some custom CF stuff in the near future

Probably the best pro-consumer website on the net. It was part of the Gawker network until it was recently bought. Pretty much consumers write/email about horror stories in retail stores and they provide solutions on the best way to handle it.

Comcast stories are the best

[AppleBonker]

If you've seen my instructions, you'll know that they are VERY thorough. Step by step with pictures all along the way.

What's on Consumerist?

First, my apologies if it looked like I was questioning your instructions (totally not my intent). I've never ordered from you (I hate being broke...), but based on all the excellent feedback I wouldn't expect anything different. I just wanted to stress the importance of not messing up that specific cable, especially since it's so difficult to install.

And losenone covered the Consumerist quite well. It is an excellent site that I would recommend everyone to browse occasionally for consumer-related tips and info.

[Sentientbydesign]

Oh. No. I didn't take it that way. Just want everybody to know that my instructions are alway dead on.

I think I've had a couple of... dee di dees... that called me half way through their installs (mostly G35s) and asked, where do all of these wires go?

I ask them, did you read through the instructions before starting? "No". Well if you did, you'd see the green print that says "You should have 4 wires that are only half connected. This is ok. Keep going."

Anyhew, gotta get back to looking for terminals.

[rjdmmfl1]

Doc is right on with that. I'm not so sure a tool will help, just some good instructions and someone willing to put the time into connecting the wire. The alternator is buried in the 3.5 (replacing it requires coming from the wheel well I believe).

On a slightly different note, you might want to stress with the alternator cable (either 2.5/3.5) the importance of it not being grounded out to the alternator body. Having that cable accidentally ground while the engine is running will almost certainly lead to a minor fire under the hood. If one is careful, this isn't a problem. But I'm just worried about those who might be a bit too careless with this step and rush it.

And to completely side-track, do you post on Consumerist Sentient? Or am I missing something about where your avatar is from. I'm almost certain I see that exact pic every now and again over there...

I agree.. this is less of a problem with the 2.5's as it will be with the 3.5's.

For those of you who has don the Big 3 upgrade. did you install the wires with the car on the ground or on a lift? if on the ground, do you think it would have been easier if the car was on a lift? Either way, I'm bringing my car to my friend's garage (the one who installed my BBK) and I'll have him do the install. And all it';; cost me is pizza and beer Of course I always offer to pay him with $$. I WOULD NEVER take advantage of him like that

Well, I did mine with the car on the ground, and I didn't go thrpugh the wheel well like Applebonker did. I simply attacked it from the top of the engine. It was ONLY successful becasue I did it at my local audo shop, and they have every tool imaginable. We used this multi angle, pivoting torque wrench to loosen and tighten the bolt holding down the wire. But honestly, the most difficult part was aqueezing my hands down there, and actually getting the washer onto the bolt! You'll see what I mean if you try it my way (which I highly do NOT recommend)

And to keep the grounding issue from happeneing, I simply bent my terminal 90 degrees, and covered the hell out of the crimped wire section with electrical tape. I'll try to draw up a schematic at some point of the angles and why its so hard to get at.

[Beak]

nice... so to order just hit you up via email shown in your profile?

[dangeris]

Hey nate...How's the progress? Where you able to get the terminals yet?

[Sentientbydesign]

Alright. Just found a GREAT supplier, but the supplies are limited, so I need to start preorders on these ASAP.

In order to get great pricing and pass it on to you, I'm going to order a TON of 0/1 in different colors. I think Red, black, blue, silver, and purple are options right now. I haven't been able to measure out any vehicles because I needed the wire and didn't want to spend 2-3x as much on prototypes.

As such, I'm going to take a stab in the dark and set a pre-order price.

Here are some options:

-Red, Black, Blue, Silver, and Purple wire (great quality, but different than grounding kit wire)-Fuse with voltage reading-Fuse without voltage reading-BREAKER switch

Regarding the wire type. I was trying VERY hard to get the same wire that we used for the grounding kits, but they were stupidly expensive. I found a supplier with a really wide selection that is willing to work with me so I can pass on the savings.

I'm working on pricing now...

[BlackNWhite]

*Patiently waiting*

Let me know Nate.

[kuhan]

Hey Guys/Gals. I just wanted to give you a little update on the Big 3 upgrades.

Things are still in the works. I'm working on getting the best price possible and also making sure that the kit is complete (meaning more than just a couple of large wires with instructions)

Due to the cost of 0/1 gauge wire, I'll probably be offering the kit in 2 gauge and 0/1. If you don't have a super extreme audio setup, the 2 gauge should be more than adequate.

Thoughts are welcome. Especially regarding color and visibility.

Sorry for hijacking

Do you have the grounding kit and big 3 upgrade for 08 Z yet or you are still waiting for a test car? Thanks.

[dangeris]

[Sentientbydesign]

Sorry for hijacking

Do you have the grounding kit and big 3 upgrade for 08 Z yet or you are still waiting for a test car? Thanks.

Email me and I'll send you a G35 Sedan kit at discount, then you can tell me what lengths need to be adjusted (The early G and Z were almost identical for lengths).

[Marisha]

Are you going to be using the new supplier for the grounding kits as well from now on after you're done with the current batch of wire or are you going to stick with the two being different? Wouldn't be of help to those who already got a kit, of course.

[Sentientbydesign]

Are you going to be using the new supplier for the grounding kits as well from now on after you're done with the current batch of wire or are you going to stick with the two being different? Wouldn't be of help to those who already got a kit, of course.

Depends on how supply comes along. I can get the same wire for both grounding and Big 3 kits, but I really don't want to charge more.

I'll find some pictures of the new wire and you guys can tell me what you think.

Big 3 kits will probably be starting at $75-$80 and will vary depending on what features you're interested in.

[Sentientbydesign]

Ok. Here's a picture of the wire. As you can see it's hexagonal (I kind of like that). Colors are gorgeous. Let me know what you guys think and I need pre-orders!!! $500+ is a decent chunk of changes (especially considering we're expecting lol).

[dangeris]

That red is hot!

So what do you need for pre-orders? $75 or $80

[Sentientbydesign]

I'd like at least 5 pre-orders to get things rolling.

50% is cool or you can pay for the whole thing up front. I think I've earned trustworthiness from the forums so far, so there really isn't an issue there.

There's a potential for a small discount, mainly on the 2.5s, as my estimates for material cost should be on the high side. I'm going to keep pre-orders at price "A" and later orders will be at price "B". Price "A" will always be lower than price "B".

[alteredbeast]

Soooo... If I already have the Grounding Kit on my 2.5s, this is or is not something I should be looking at getting? Sorry for the NOOB question...

[Sentientbydesign]

Soooo... If I already have the Grounding Kit on my 2.5s, this is or is not something I should be looking at getting? Sorry for the NOOB question...

Disclaimer: I will be shooting myself in the foot on this post. Please look for a time that any other sponsor does this. You WON'T find it lol.

The Big 3 upgrade is mainly for 2 reasons:

1) If you have a big audio/video setup that sucks a lot of juice.

2) If you love seeing HUGE wire and shiny terminals under your hood.

Otherwise, it's not really necessary.

On the flip side, some people swear by this upgrade regardless of your audio components.

The goal here is the move electricity and LOTS of it. Kind of like an exhaust. Most of us don't need a 3" exhaust, but it looks great and will really help if we ever turbo<---equivalent to large audio system

My analogy sucked, because the big 3 won't hurt your electrical performance like a 3" exhaust on an N/A vehicle, but you get the idea.

[AppleBonker]

Wow, I am completely amazed by this response. You are definitely right Sentient, you wont find too many salespeople (let alone sponsors) that would be so honest about a product. Even to the point of jeopardizing potential sales. I seriously commend you for this.

However, I will disagree only slightly. I think anyone running ANY aftermarket system will benefit from this upgrade, especially if you have an external amp somewhere. Reducing resistance on this circuit results in less voltage drop in your car. Since all amplifiers are rated based on voltage, the less voltage drop you have, the more consistent your power output is. So even a 300 watt amp will improve with the big 3 kit. Like everything else though, you'll have to run the cost/benefit analysis yourself before buying.

On a side note, I seriously need to pull together some cash so I can throw a sale your way...

[BlackNWhite]

Oooo, I like the hexagonal shape.

You don't have the grey from the grounding kit though.

My next choice would be black then.