GROUNDING KIT / VOLTAGE STABILIZER

[Larz]

There are plenty of videos showing how to install grounding wires (called the big 3) and a voltage stabilizer. It has me wondering if this is worth doing? I haven't added any electrical items to my car aside from the dash cam. They claim the voltage stabilizer will purify current and remove noise in the electrical system which 'should' improve stereo sound and improve headlamps and all other car lights. The grounding kit also claims to enhance performance and provide better power form the alternator, etc, etc.

I'm wondering if any of this is true or is it slightly a scam (like CAIs and all the false claims) ?

Has anyone installed a grounding kit or voltage stabilizer and is it worth it?

Voltage Stabilizer:

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Big 3 grounding:

[EniGmA1987]

That video of the voltage stabilizer is BS. There are two ways to stabilize voltage in certain DC systems: use enough capacitors that the voltage can be held at the peak under any load conditions, or use a voltage regulator to regulate the voltage down to something smaller that can be maintained from the electrical systems peaks. This device connects between the battery terminals, so it is not doing any sort of regulation on the system at all. I do see some capacitors in there, so they are just trying to add some capacitance and make the voltage more stable that way. That wont work on a car system though, since those capacitors are tiny, they wont do anything. The battery is already basically as massive capacitor, easily 20x what those capacitors could ever add to the system. They wont help at all unless your electrical system is already almost to its limit and drawing nearly as much as the alternator can provide to the car. If thats your situation, you need a bigger alternator more than anything else. Next up, his grounding wire thing he ran goes abolsutely nowhere. Connecting to the radiator cap location? LOL. Do something useful and connect it straight to the ECU or TCU or throttle body. But the radiator? dumbest spot in the whole car.



Actual grounding kits *can* work on some cars. Most electronics return power to the negative side of the battery through the chassis. This is actually a somewhat high impedance path to ground as the distance is not optimized and aluminum is not as good a conductor as copper. You can gain some very small benefits by connecting a copper wire directly from the throttle body, the ECU, and the TCU back to the battery. This provides a more stable and faster ground connection so the voltage will be better and response time can be ever so slightly better on these devices. It is barely measureable, nothing drastic but it is there.

[EniGmA1987]

Just finished watching "the big 3" video now. He does make some good points, but he also doesnt understand some other things he talks about. In many electronics, the ground does not return any power on it. The ground is both a backup in case of a fault wiuth another conductor, and also to provide a proper ground reference which is your sort of "base voltage". The voltage you have in a system is usually referenced to ground, so when we say 12v in a car, that is 12v in reference to the cars ground level. For many DC based electrical systems, ground is tied to negative, so they are effectively the same. You can return power on ground or negative, and in a car they are the same thing. Do not assume that ground is always netgative in other systems though, many I have worked with use both a ground connection and a positive and negative. There are also some other types of sensitive analog electronics that do not want ground in their circuit tied to negative at all.

Anyway. One reason a ground can be small is that it does not need to carry much power. For instance, in the engine with the spark plugs the power goes through a transformer of sorts and gets really high volts, and thus the amperage is extremely low. You dont need a 0 gauge wire to transfer 0.2 amps. You can get away with a 30 gauge wire to transfer that much power in some circumstances, depending on distance. The reason we use higher gauge wire is to allow higher amperage capacity, and/or have less resistance for longer cable runs. If you have a 2 foot run, and your transferring 0.2 amps, you will gain no benefit going from a 16 gauge wire to a 0 gauge wire. Resisatance is already 0 and capacity has not even come close to being reached. So that is why an engine block does not need a large wire for ground return. Alternator to battery (or really, the rectifier)? Sure it could help a little. Battery to chassis? sure. Engine block to battery? Wont do anything unless the car weas designed incorrectly in the first place.

[EdBwoy]

EniGmA, thanks for the breakdown of the principle of automotive electronics and electricity. I knew just enough about circuits to keep my grounds clean and tight, and not to bother with the "big 3 grounding kits".

[Larz]

Thank you! I suspected this was much ado about nothing. Perhaps if you add a bloody huge audio system with a sub woofer that rattles nearby homes, this contraption 'might' help to keep the current steady. But since I only use the toys that came with the car, I doubt I am challenging my alternator, or that I am need of a better ground. I have NEVER noticed any effect on sound or anything else at high speeds or under demand from the engine.
I think these ideas are best filed under "crap'.
Thanks again!

[EniGmA1987]

If anything you would have electreical issues at low speed. When the engine is hard revving the alternator produces the most current since it is driven by the engine belt. At idle RPMs is when the alternator produces very little power.
One way some people gain more HP is by swapping the alternator pulley to a smaller diameter one. The smaller diameter means it doesnt rob as much HP from the engine because the low is loader, but it also produces less power from the alternator because the engine wont spin it as far per revolution. If you have a light electrical load this is a viable thing to do. If you have aftermarket audio, screens, or even the stock 14 speaker Bose audio system then you probably dont want to ever go that route.

EDIT: actually, it isnt the laternator pulley itself that you swap but rather the crankshaft pulley that drives the alternator, among other things. This pulley swap does add around 5-10HP though. Pretty big number for a naturally aspirated engine with such a small, simple swap. How much you gain depends both on what the pulley is made out of (steel or aluminum) and how much underdrive you go for.

diy-stillen-underdrive-pulley-install-f ... 05345.html

Billet Aluminum CNC Machined at STILLEN
OEM Pulley Weight: 6.23 lbs.
STILLEN Pulley Weight: 1.28 lbs.
Approximate Underdrive: 20%
Shorter Belt Required and Sold Separately
(Single Throttle Body Engines)

This Part Fits:

2003-2007 Infiniti FX35
2003-2006 Infiniti G35 - Sedan
2003-2007 Infiniti G35 - Coupe
2003-2006 Nissan 350Z

or:
https://conceptzperformance.com/unortho ... p_1062.php