i was looking at this closer...

Looks like that cheaper kit daisy chains the points to the battery terminal, while a more expensive kit like R-Magic brings all the cables directly back to the battery terminal. Anyone see a significant advantage either way - or would the cable/connection quality be a more determining factor of how well it works???

 

Nice try on a 'more expensive' theory...but here's a $4.99 multi-cable version that appears to bring it all back to the battery or at least a central place.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MAZDA...spagenameZWDVW

Good question though as to which is better....

 

well, you only get what you pay for in the case of the really cheap thing on e-bay.(i was just calling it the "cheaper" version for lack of a better descriptor)

I thought this over and this would be my gut feel...

A cable usually has a resistance proportional to its length and connections always have a resistance between them. So it would seem to me the compnents at the end of the daisy chain end up going through much more connections and cable length them a direct shot back to the battery - which could be minimized by the quality of the cable and connections obviously.

What i don't happen to have a good feel for is if you have a bunch of points of extreme varying amount of current flowing and daisy chain their grounds together - if this can create an unbalance somewhere or even create more resistance on the lead going to the battery since it has the ground current of multiple objects flowing through instead of just one.

 

Considering the short lengths involved, a much bigger factor is going to be the gauge of the wire, and the number of strands. You may or may not know this but electricity, or more accurately, electrons don't flow through wires, they travel down the outside. So for the same overall thickness of wire, more but skinnier stands will flow better than fewer thicker ones.

The biggest advantage I can think of for a star configuration over a daisy chain is if some some reason you get a break in the chain, everything in the chain is disconnected, vs one leg of a star. But that's not really that likely a scenario.

 

You are mistakenly applying an AC current flow phenomenon. It does not occur w/DC current flow. I think the main advantage of smaller strands is flexibility, and being able to pack more strands in a given diam. of wire.

What you are refereing to is the 'skin effect' where with alternating current (AC), electrons flow more at the outer surface of the wire rather than through the middle. The higher the frequency, the more the skin effect and the greater the resistance. Stranded wire produces less skin effect than solid, because there is more surface area.

 

As a field service engineer I cringe seeing RED wired go to ground! EEEEP, who thought of that dumb idea. Good luck when you take it to a shop.

 

Who's got reds to ground?

Not me, not a good idea.

S

 

Thanks for the info and discussion guys. I was looking into one of these a while back, but then got disinterested and forgot all about it. Make me want to look back into it at this point.

 

Hmm...learn something new every day I guess. I always thought that applied either way.

 

i got my 8 grounded a few days ago...
i think it makes a noticable difference. at the very least, my idling issues have completely gone away. the shifter doesn't vibrate at all like it used to and the car seems to be a bit more responsive to the throttle...

 

I got the maxground kit, it was like 28 bucks. Looks good. the shifter doesnt vibrate as much at idle, the lights dont dim as much, and more responsive (not too much).

 

i wsas wondering if theres a certain order you need to bolt it down to or just anywhere?

 

I just ordered this one. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MAZDA...spagenameZWDVW

It was 28.00 with shipping. I will try it out. Has any one ordered one of these if so how was the quality?

 

That Ebay kit looks too random. They list 5 cars for it, did they ask you what car you needed it for when you bought it? If the wires are premade I bet your gonna runn into so issues where the wires will be to short.


When ever I'm not feeling lazy I'm gonna go down to the store and buy some stuff to make one for me. I know its not gonna realy do anything so I'm in no hurry.

I know the people at mazda3 forums were going on forever about how putting a ground wire to the throttle body makes or doesn't make a big differance . So I'll make sure I add 1 to the throttle body just incase it might need it. After all it is electric and bolted to plastic.

 

Did you have to sand the paint under the ground points, or did you just bolt the wires over the existing points?

Thank you and best regards.

Brett

 

you have to sand down all grounding points from the factory--except the ones on the engine.
olddragger

 

dangit...
i didn't do that... but, i still noticed a difference. gonna have to do this now.
OD, just sand off the paint at contact points, right?
thanks!

 

Will sanding paint in the engine bay cause potential rust issues? That's the only thing I am concerned about.

 

Isn't there something called dielectric (conductive) grease that's put on battery posts that you can apply to bare surfaces, before bolting up connections, to keep the bare parts from oxidizing? Where do you get that?

 

Thanks. You should be able to get that at any auto parts store. I know Kragens has it in small packets at the parts counter.

 

I haven't seen a race car yet that has a grounding kit.

 

I would seriously debate the need to take paint off to get an effective contact . The main electrical connection is supposed to be between the bolt & the internal thread of the connection - not the wire tab onto the body .
But if you feel like making a potential rust spot - who am i to argue.

 

well maybe not a whole kit but.. got this from acompletly seperate conversation with someone today

"Either way I find it interesting that all of our my customers that track their 8's are having no issues other than occasional coils. Mazda is starting to deny coil warranty unless MIL is lit for misfire. Bottom line w/coil failure is grounding. Mine failed, were replaced, I added grounds to coil harness, no more problems. Got that tip from a certain championship winning team that happens to race 8's w/factory backing. They were burning up coils as well and grounds took care of it for good."


so at the least if you are thinking about any autocross work or track work or you have had coil issues- get grounded!! its now next on my list

 

http://www.sromagazine.com/shop/prod...g815-6380.html

woah! that piece linked by team earlier for the coils is over $100! a couple guys need to pitch in to buy one and then just sell a pattern for the metal piece for a buck a piece so the rest of us can make it ourselves.

 

Zoom, I wonder if you have this description (your link) for a solution right ? It doesn't make much sense. Our coils are already mounted on a metal plate that is attached to the engine, so they are pretty grounded, yes? Might attach a separate grnd wire to that, but the plate ...not sure the purpose.

"This kit bolts on top of the ignition coil pack on cars with “Coil over Plug” ignition system. "

This doesn't sound possible, just look at the coils! The bolts are at the bottom at one end, the tops are the coil wires, there is nothing to attach anything to on top.

Anyway, the quote you had, "I added grounds to coil harness, no more problems.", doesn't sound like that plate, but something entirely different. A coil harness is a bundle of wires, not sure how they added a ground to it unless wrapped in a grounding shield. That IS something I've heard of doing, it's a braided shield in the form of a wrap or tube.

Any thoughts?