Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Thursday March 28, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
NASIOC
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC Technical > Normally Aspirated Powertrain

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-03-2003, 02:51 AM   #1
watcher in the sky
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 3513
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NC
Vehicle:
1997 Legacy Outback
White

Talking Did the grounding mod.. finally

I used 12 gauge wire, and just scrapped the paint off of the stock ground.. i only had one.. behind the drivers side light. THen i added two new ones, the strut tower one, and the one on the engine. I reset the ecu. Went for a drive, and thought, hmm I dont notice a thing... not even under full throttle. Wellllll... the next time i "gave it some stick", haha, I was greated with a no nonsense throttle response ! I was holding the rpms at 4k in second, and gunned her... and none of that "wait I dont wanna go yet".. it felt like it USED to in first when you'd do that. I have not gotten to really drive her around yet, but just from that, I am thoroughly Imprezed.

Justin
53k miles and still looking forward to waking up in the mornings to drive.
watcher in the sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2003, 09:33 AM   #2
kickin_81
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 16679
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: MN
Vehicle:
2004 Forester XT

Default

Yup, the grounding mod is a mod that I think everyone should do. It makes the car so much more fun for daily driving. I've done it on my car, my three brother's '91 CRX si, '93 Prelude si, and '95 240sx. They all said that their car drives a lot better with little hesitation when they would step on the gas and their aftermarket exhausts are somehow quieter. I did three gounds on all our cars with 10 gauge wire. Somehow, I did it on my friend's '86 Celica (automatic), and he did not feel any difference. It could be that he needs to maintain his car first, because he's not a big car guy yet... not on his '86. Overall, great mod.
kickin_81 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2003, 02:51 PM   #3
cvalle-sd
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 420
Join Date: Oct 1999
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: The LBC, CA, USA
Vehicle:
2001 Cr-V
Silver

Default

hopefully the legend of the ground mod will make it's way back to the SOJ wizards, and become a feature of the engineering design of future Subarus. As cool as it is to get a significant change in performance/reaction with minimal outlay of time and money, it's something we should have never had to do.
cvalle-sd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2003, 03:53 PM   #4
watcher in the sky
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 3513
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NC
Vehicle:
1997 Legacy Outback
White

Default

Of course this is the case with all performance mods, but there is one downside to all of this....

I drive her harder than i used to
watcher in the sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2003, 08:33 PM   #5
Mirage
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 155
Join Date: Aug 1999
Chapter/Region: VIC
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada
Vehicle:
01 RS Coupe/Silver
00 SiR/06 ZX-6R

Default

Any pics?
Mirage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2003, 10:01 PM   #6
watcher in the sky
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 3513
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NC
Vehicle:
1997 Legacy Outback
White

Default

sure, i will get some tommorrow!
watcher in the sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2003, 02:40 PM   #7
soobyfan
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 31803
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: PA
Vehicle:
2002 VW GTI 1.8T
matchstick red

Default

very interested in this......someone should post pics and do a write up
soobyfan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2003, 03:52 PM   #8
AJ711
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 6178
Join Date: Apr 2001
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Singletracks
Vehicle:
98 GM67
2 whls > 4 whls

Default

Write ups have been done. Search for it, and ye shall find.

Until I get the pocket logger and can really see what is going on in there, I'm not convinced this does any real good. Resetting the ECU will make things run smoother for a while, which might be the solution that you've come to.

Not to rain on the parade, but I'm just skeptical.
AJ711 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2003, 04:22 PM   #9
slim speedy
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 2254
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Chantilly, VA
Vehicle:
1992 Sentra SE-R
1999 Infiniti G20

Default

I'm with you midnx, very skeptical of any performance gains from adding grounds. Does anyone have hard data to back this up?
slim speedy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2003, 04:45 PM   #10
watcher in the sky
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 3513
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NC
Vehicle:
1997 Legacy Outback
White

Default

ok, um, dont know if you noticed, but i have 50k+ miles on the car. I have done ecu resets many more times than you can imagine. I have never had the hesitation problem at all it seems... well, you can slightly feel it, but it wasnt like others describe it. There aren't "gains" atleast not to my knowledge... Here is what i have experienced so far...

1. My car would cut off on first crank in the winter alot, and i replaced the o2 sensor TWICE and every winter, it came back.. well, now, when i crank the car, it does so smoothly, with no signs of giving out. So it wasnt the o2 sensor, for one, i found out that the o2 sensor isnt even doing anything on startup.. i think.. so here.. if you have read ALL the other threads, is a sign that it might just have something to do with fuel air mixture and how the ecu corresponds to the grounding. I have no clue myself.

2. Seeing as how i have reset the ecu MANY times, I know what and when and how it does things upon resetting.. and never before has there been a change like this. We arent talking "whoa my car will do wheelies now!!" more like, better feel in half throttle around town manuevering, way more responsive throttle.. oh, and here is how you prove that to yourself.. go out in your crappily grounded car, and hold the rpms at 3700, and stomp on it. Now, ground the car like it should've been at the factory, go out, and do the same thing at 3700 and you'll definately feel the difference. The car doesnt wait, even for a millisecond, not that it was that bad to begin with, but it would get this "jumpy" feeling soon as you floor it.. now it just erupts.

pics up in a moment
watcher in the sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2003, 05:11 PM   #11
watcher in the sky
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 3513
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NC
Vehicle:
1997 Legacy Outback
White

Default



watcher in the sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2003, 05:11 PM   #12
DanzBorin
Subaru Bounty Hunter
Moderator
 
Member#: 7131
Join Date: Jun 2001
Chapter/Region: TXIC
Location: Houston - Downtown Julie Brown
Vehicle:
2015 Outback - Croc
Dundee Edition Ice Silver

Default

Quote:
Originally posted by midnx03
Write ups have been done. Search for it, and ye shall find.

Until I get the pocket logger and can really see what is going on in there, I'm not convinced this does any real good. Resetting the ECU will make things run smoother for a while, which might be the solution that you've come to.

Not to rain on the parade, but I'm just skeptical.
I am in the same boat... I did the mod, and it felt like any other time I've reset the ECU. It only cost a few bucks, so I don't feel cheated, just not sure if it did anything...
DanzBorin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2003, 09:47 PM   #13
AJ711
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 6178
Join Date: Apr 2001
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Singletracks
Vehicle:
98 GM67
2 whls > 4 whls

Default

Quote:
Originally posted by watcher in the sky
ok, um, dont know if you noticed, but i have 50k+ miles on the car. I have done ecu resets many more times than you can imagine. I have never had the hesitation problem at all it seems... well, you can slightly feel it, but it wasnt like others describe it. There aren't "gains" atleast not to my knowledge... Here is what i have experienced so far...

1. My car would cut off on first crank in the winter alot, and i replaced the o2 sensor TWICE and every winter, it came back.. well, now, when i crank the car, it does so smoothly, with no signs of giving out. So it wasnt the o2 sensor, for one, i found out that the o2 sensor isnt even doing anything on startup.. i think.. so here.. if you have read ALL the other threads, is a sign that it might just have something to do with fuel air mixture and how the ecu corresponds to the grounding. I have no clue myself.

2. Seeing as how i have reset the ecu MANY times, I know what and when and how it does things upon resetting.. and never before has there been a change like this. We arent talking "whoa my car will do wheelies now!!" more like, better feel in half throttle around town manuevering, way more responsive throttle.. oh, and here is how you prove that to yourself.. go out in your crappily grounded car, and hold the rpms at 3700, and stomp on it. Now, ground the car like it should've been at the factory, go out, and do the same thing at 3700 and you'll definately feel the difference. The car doesnt wait, even for a millisecond, not that it was that bad to begin with, but it would get this "jumpy" feeling soon as you floor it.. now it just erupts.
Okay, I can't explain the start up thing either, but I'll be making the purchase of a PocketLogger data logging system. Once I get it, I'll take some runs and log what I can with it (anything the ECU sees, this will see).

Then, once I find out the various systems and inputs I can get, I'll make a few controlled runs, and log the responce. Then, return to garage, put a few ground lines on, and repeat the runs. Or better yet, not even travel to a garage to pu the ground lines on. I might just pull over somewhere, connect the wires to the NEG terminal, and make the same runs again to see what actually happens.

This will be a few weeks away as I just purchased the Palm to do this with, and am now waiting on the cash transfer to PayPal so I can pay Digital Tuning . Once I get it all figured out, I'll do the tests.

Sorry to be a dick about all this, it's just the engineer in me wanting to know WHY things are happening. As reliable the butt-dyno is, numbers are worth more in my head.

I'll keep the forum updated.

AJ
MY98 Owner with 64K miles on it, with 'experiance'

Last edited by AJ711; 03-04-2003 at 09:56 PM.
AJ711 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2003, 11:40 PM   #14
watcher in the sky
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 3513
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NC
Vehicle:
1997 Legacy Outback
White

Default

cool, i totally agree with you, I was skeptical as all get out too.. and even when i went to drive it, i was like.. um ok, what, where, how? i didnt feel much, but.. unlike an ecu reset, it is getting better, instead of going back to "normal"

I cant wait to see what the pocket log tells!
watcher in the sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2003, 12:16 PM   #15
IggDawg
Celebrity Guest Star
 
Member#: 10648
Join Date: Sep 2001
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: Sort of Boston, MA
Vehicle:
2008 Acura TL
Wicked Black

Default

Quote:
Originally posted by watcher in the sky


. red grounds . I'd STRONGLY reccommend that you get some dialectric grease for those connections. exposed steel will rist quickly, and will find its way under the contacts. any moist air you've trapped int eh micro-pockets of air between the contact and the body will rust up quick under there. especially since it's an electrical contact. just pick up some bulb grease from auto-zone for 99c and put it between the body and the contact.

this is definitely a worthwhile mod. it's not going to turn your car into a rocket or anything, but it helps a lot with response and smooths out the power/torque curves. I was VERY happy after I did this to my TS. I did it to my SS as well, but she was so badly out of tune when I got her that I didn't notice a significant change.

-IggDawg
IggDawg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2003, 03:09 PM   #16
watcher in the sky
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 3513
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NC
Vehicle:
1997 Legacy Outback
White

Default

yeah, I planned on doing that Saturday, the grease that is.
watcher in the sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2003, 05:04 PM   #17
Fat Tits
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 27046
Join Date: Oct 2002
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: NYC
Default

Yes i did this mod about a week ago using some very nice 8g subwoofer power cable that came on a 25ft roll.

It does seem MUCH better during cold starts, but i havent noticed much as far as hesitation. i plan to do a reset once my tank is almost empty soi can put some 93 in.

i just used the directions on scoobymods for the hot earth grounding mod.

i have a proecm and an afc as well, well see how things are in a few days.


_b


@ the WRX's in the super street i got about 2min ago
JUN wrx, 5zigen wrx, vivid wrx, prodrive wrx and some other guy.. Holy Peanuts Batman!
Fat Tits is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2003, 05:12 PM   #18
SubyBean
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 4367
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Houston,Tx. out in the boonies
Vehicle:
1999 IMPREZA 2.5RS
Black :-( with dings

Default

Quote:
Originally posted by Fat Tits



@ the WRX's in the super street i got about 2min ago
JUN wrx, 5zigen wrx, vivid wrx, prodrive wrx and some other guy.. Holy Peanuts Batman!
that other guy is greg lilly he is in houston
Brian
SubyBean is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2003, 05:43 PM   #19
DanzBorin
Subaru Bounty Hunter
Moderator
 
Member#: 7131
Join Date: Jun 2001
Chapter/Region: TXIC
Location: Houston - Downtown Julie Brown
Vehicle:
2015 Outback - Croc
Dundee Edition Ice Silver

Default

Quote:
Originally posted by SubyBean
that other guy is greg lilly he is in houston
Brian
I was about to say that...

That's the undergroundgrfx.com WRX...

Big wuz up to all the folks using proecm and afc...
DanzBorin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2003, 11:43 PM   #20
Roy
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 32241
Join Date: Jan 2003
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: Morristown, TN 37813
Vehicle:
1998 Impreza L Coupe
white

Default

Gang,

Dielectric grease is an electrical insulator. It is designed to resist/prevent current flow. That is why it is used on the spark plug ceramic to make the boots go on/come off easy.
I think what you want is something like Noalox which is an electrical conductive grease.

Just trying to help.
Roy
Roy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2003, 02:59 PM   #21
pdximpreza
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 17606
Join Date: Apr 2002
Chapter/Region: NWIC
Location: Portland area, OR
Vehicle:
2008 STI hatchback
Silver

Default

Vaseline works just fine.
pdximpreza is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2003, 09:06 PM   #22
windfactory
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 16108
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: CA, Bay area
Vehicle:
02GD Tuned EJ251 NA
Blue Ridge Pearl

Thumbs up Love mine!


windfactory is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2003, 10:58 PM   #23
Dolphin Overton
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 1925
Join Date: Jul 2000
Chapter/Region: RMIC
Location: denver
Vehicle:
01 A4 89 944s2
13 Speed 3R 99 Sprint

Default

I did the "grounding mod". Biggest bunch of crap I have ever done. Did absolutely nothing.
Dolphin Overton is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-07-2003, 12:08 AM   #24
watcher in the sky
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 3513
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NC
Vehicle:
1997 Legacy Outback
White

Default

Thats some beautiful engine bay you have there windfactory!
watcher in the sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-07-2003, 04:15 PM   #25
DJ 9iron
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 11349
Join Date: Oct 2001
Vehicle:
2016 Mustang GT
Blue

Default

I did it today.



Last edited by DJ 9iron; 03-07-2003 at 04:37 PM.
DJ 9iron is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Poll: Did the grounding mod work for you? Rich10 Factory 2.0L Turbo Powertrain (EJ Series Factory 2.0L Turbo) 1 10-14-2002 10:23 AM
i did the grounding mod thingy Endlesshine Mid Atlantic Impreza Club -- MAIC 15 07-13-2002 08:35 PM
did the ground mod this weekend... Prairie Dawg Texas Impreza Club Forum -- TXIC 0 05-13-2002 12:01 PM
so I just did the grounding mod jmott Texas Impreza Club Forum -- TXIC 6 03-03-2002 03:20 AM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:34 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.