I dont have any real answer for you, but I started researching the same thing. Theres a great company called Elemental Designs that sell the Big 3 as a universal kit. This is exactly what Im going to pick up.

http://www.edesignaudio.com/index.php?cPath=1_76_28_56[/b]

Don't buy thos kits from them. You can buy the wire by the foot off eBay, for less than $10 total, and the terminals are even cheaper than that. You can get that "$100" 0 Gauge kit for about $15.

 

Don't buy thos kits from them. You can buy the wire by the foot off eBay, for less than $10 total, and the terminals are even cheaper than that. You can get that "$100" 0 Gauge kit for about $15.[/b]

Where are you shopping? Please provide link!

Ebay 15ft $77 with shipping that doesn't include your terminal rings. I think you can save some money doing it your self but for $100 and you don't have to drive around town or deal with ebay might be worth it for some. I don't think you can do any part of this kit for $15.

--Edit--
Ebay also sells it by the foot 2.97/foot+shipping.
The link above is selling a total of 15ft I don't know how much it would really take.

 

The project would take around 15ft to be safe.. And even on ebay which is probably the cheapest you'll find you'll still be paying atleast 2.50 to 3.50 a foot for for 1/0 wire..

Im not going the heavy of gauge, Im actually going with 4 gauge and I purchased it from KnuKonceptz for 15ft at $25 shipped and thats not included any ring terminals.. After buying all those my final cost is gonna be $32 for the whole DIY kit. And this wire is better than the wire in the kit offered by the site earlier posted in this Post..


If your finding 1/0 wire for less that $15 then your not getting Car Audio grade cable, your probably getting some cheap low grade welding cable..

 

Oh and for those that have done this,, how much of difference did you notice from doing it?[/b]

Just what is this supposed to do? What difference do you expect to notice?

 

The reason for doing this is to better your electrical systerm.. Your car comes from the factory wtih either 10 or 12 gauge wiring which is perfectly fine for the avg driver. But if you have any kind of stereo set up then your putting more strain on your electrical system ie. the battery and Alternator. And in turn when you putting that extra stain on those compents you'll notice at night that your headlights as well as your interior lights will dim with every hit of bass..

With doing this Mod, you are upgrading the wiring to a larger gauge wire and therefore allowing your battery and Alternator to work less hard to produce the power needed to run all your compents and I dont just mean your Car stereo Im also talking about everything from the heater to your power windows. When using bigger wires your allowing the electricity to flow easier through the wire cause its a larger wire. In the laws of physics, electricity will take the path of less resitance and if there is more wire for it to travel on then it will produce more power.

If your using cheap cheap wire then your not really doing anything to help you upgrade.. Reason the wire is cheap is cause it doesnt have that many strands of wire in it.. The higher grade wire will have way higher wire count than the cheap stuff and the more wires the better the electricity will flow..

 

The reason for doing this is to better your electrical systerm.. Your car comes from the factory wtih either 10 or 12 gauge wiring which is perfectly fine for the avg driver. But if you have any kind of stereo set up then your putting more strain on your electrical system ie. the battery and Alternator. And in turn when you putting that extra stain on those compents you'll notice at night that your headlights as well as your interior lights will dim with every hit of bass..

With doing this Mod, you are upgrading the wiring to a larger gauge wire and therefore allowing your battery and Alternator to work less hard to produce the power needed to run all your compents and I dont just mean your Car stereo Im also talking about everything from the heater to your power windows. When using bigger wires your allowing the electricity to flow easier through the wire cause its a larger wire. In the laws of physics, electricity will take the path of less resitance and if there is more wire for it to travel on then it will produce more power.

If your using cheap cheap wire then your not really doing anything to help you upgrade.. Reason the wire is cheap is cause it doesnt have that many strands of wire in it.. The higher grade wire will have way higher wire count than the cheap stuff and the more wires the better the electricity will flow..[/b]

Sorry, but I don't buy it. I don't see how this mod is going to help a darn thing. It is based on myths and misconceptions such as your reasoning that a higher strand count wire flows electricity better. It just is not true.

For a DC circuit, such as the automotive electrical system, electricity flow is based upon the resistance of the circuit path. Thicker wire will have a low resistance and is therefore capable of more current flow, but do you need it? I think not. The factory wiring is sized correctly for the current capabilities of the cars electrical system.

And where do you find information that suggests a higher strand count (given the same wire gauge) will flow DC better. In fact, for DC, a solid single strand of wire would be just as efficient as your thousand strand super wire. For that matter - the cheap welding cable that was derided before is also just as good. High strand count makes a wire more flexible and that is its only purpose.

Electrically, the only thing that will make any difference is the gauge and conductor material. I assume we are talking about copper wire here, right? And, before anyone brings it up, "oxygen free" wire offers no advantage here either, even if it was possible to make, which it isn't.

But, if it makes you happy, I say go for it! You will not be the first or last to be happy giving his money away for something that does nothing. Look at the number of those stupid fuel line magnets that they sell!!

 

Sorry, but I don't buy it. I don't see how this mod is going to help a darn thing. It is based on myths and misconceptions such as your reasoning that a higher strand count wire flows electricity better. It just is not true.

For a DC circuit, such as the automotive electrical system, electricity flow is based upon the resistance of the circuit path. Thicker wire will have a low resistance and is therefore capable of more current flow, but do you need it? I think not. The factory wiring is sized correctly for the current capabilities of the cars electrical system.

And where do you find information that suggests a higher strand count (given the same wire gauge) will flow DC better. In fact, for DC, a solid single strand of wire would be just as efficient as your thousand strand super wire. For that matter - the cheap welding cable that was derided before is also just as good. High strand count makes a wire more flexible and that is its only purpose.

Electrically, the only thing that will make any difference is the gauge and conductor material. I assume we are talking about copper wire here, right? And, before anyone brings it up, "oxygen free" wire offers no advantage here either, even if it was possible to make, which it isn't.

But, if it makes you happy, I say go for it! You will not be the first or last to be happy giving his money away for something that does nothing. Look at the number of those stupid fuel line magnets that they sell!![/b]

I just wanted to chime in on this. I did this on my car and before I did the ground my lights were dimming with every large bass note from the subs. Once I did the grounding I have never once had issues with lights dimming or even a slight flicker. To me it's totally worth it and I talk from experience. If you have a sounds system, left over wire and time then by all means do it.

I did my setup from -ve terminal to throttle body, -ve terminal to chassis (multiple spots) and then -ve terminal to engine block.

 

Anyone have a pic of the positve terminal on the alternator? Just trying to figure out what size ring terminal I need before I get into it. I've also heard it's supposed to be fused at the battery, but the OE positive off the battery is only fused at the main fuse box with a 120A main fuse.

 

is the alternator/throttle body/power steerin' the same location for 6i and speed6?

cuz i made one for the speed6, but dont' see any significant improvements......

fuel - seems the same w/ and w/o the kit
throttle response - can't feel difference, cuz when i floor it, turbo comes out already
electric wise - i have OEM sub, no big amps, so lights didn't dim b4.
transmission - seems to shift smoother from 1-2 and 2-3

since it doesnt' give much benifits (except smoother shift) i might j/ take it out of my car and sell it to ppl that has a 6i.

btw, i used 4ga copper wires + gold plated terminals. and i definitely spent less than $20 on materials....

 

Sorry, but I don't buy it. I don't see how this mod is going to help a darn thing. It is based on myths and misconceptions such as your reasoning that a higher strand count wire flows electricity better. It just is not true. For a DC circuit, such as the automotive electrical system, electricity flow is based upon the resistance of the circuit path. Thicker wire will have a low resistance and is therefore capable of more current flow, but do you need it? I think not. The factory wiring is sized correctly for the current capabilities of the cars electrical system. And where do you find information that suggests a higher strand count (given the same wire gauge) will flow DC better. In fact, for DC, a solid single strand of wire would be just as efficient as your thousand strand super wire. For that matter - the cheap welding cable that was derided before is also just as good. High strand count makes a wire more flexible and that is its only purpose.Electrically, the only thing that will make any difference is the gauge and conductor material. I assume we are talking about copper wire here, right? And, before anyone brings it up, "oxygen free" wire offers no advantage here either, even if it was possible to make, which it isn't.But, if it makes you happy, I say go for it! You will not be the first or last to be happy giving his money away for something that does nothing. Look at the number of those stupid fuel line magnets that they sell!![/b]

OK I see your points, but you do know that electricity doesnt flow through the copper wire, it flows on the outside of the wire? Therefore the more strands of wire you have the more electricity you have flowing, if you have just ONE big wire then all you have is the AREA coverage of that one piece of wire compaired to the AREA coverage of thousands of wires. Look at it this way for example, take an ICE CUBE, if you place an WHOLE ice cube on the counter and let it melt it will melt slowly cause only the outside surface area is being exposed to heat, now that an ICE CUBE of the same size and smash it up in to small peieces, Which will melt quicker? The one that is smashed cause there is more surface area exposed to the heat,, Same thing applies here to the wire.. More surface area for electricity to travel on that just one BIG wire.. So YES wire count does have something to do with it.. Next, this MOD is better for your car mainly if you have a Stereo in it.. Its going to increase your grounding points and make it so your car is better grounded to complete the electrical loop.. Read these two articles and you'll understand better why its beneifical to do this mod.. Articile OneArticle TWO

is the alternator/throttle body/power steerin' the same location for 6i and speed6?cuz i made one for the speed6, but dont' see any significant improvements......fuel - seems the same w/ and w/o the kitthrottle response - can't feel difference, cuz when i floor it, turbo comes out alreadyelectric wise - i have OEM sub, no big amps, so lights didn't dim b4.transmission - seems to shift smoother from 1-2 and 2-3since it doesnt' give much benifits (except smoother shift) i might j/ take it out of my car and sell it to ppl that has a 6i.btw, i used 4ga copper wires + gold plated terminals. and i definitely spent less than $20 on materials....[/b]

Ya you can do this whole set up for around the price you did pay for.. I'd say depending on what wire you got, you would avg $20-$30 for the whole thing. And like I stated before, its mainly for the ones that have a Higher Output Stereo that demands alot of power.. Those are the people who will benefit from this mod more than anything.

 

Has anyone actually tested this theory yet? I would like to know if its enough difference to go ahead and convert my wires over. Someone should actually see how much electricity is allowed through within a certain amount of time with the thinner and thicker gauge wire. just my .02 cents.

 

Has anyone actually tested this theory yet? I would like to know if its enough difference to go ahead and convert my wires over. Someone should actually see how much electricity is allowed through within a certain amount of time with the thinner and thicker gauge wire. just my .02 cents.[/b]

Considering the fact that my lights stopped dimming with the grounding I would call that enough evidence to do it. I highly recommend it to people with aftermarket amps and subs. The ground works well for me and I enjoy now dimming on hard bass notes.

 

And like I stated before, its mainly for the ones that have a Higher Output Stereo that demands alot of power.. Those are the people who will benefit from this mod more than anything.[/b]

I guess so....i'm currently sellin' a kit in the FS forum....
FS: 4ga DIY Ground Wire Kit - $20!

 

the number of strands doesn't matter, its the surface area that provides the less amount of resistance that does. The type of metal also plays a big factor.

 

the number of strands doesn't matter, its the surface area that provides the less amount of resistance that does. The type of metal also plays a big factor.[/b]

um, read what you just wrote.. you pretty much just self corrected yourself but didnt.... You say that more surface area is needed to allow more electricity to flow,, but strand count doesnt matter? Umm the more strands you have the more surface area you will have so if you only have 500 strands you will have only that small amount of surface area in the wire compaired to 2000 strands which will have much more surface area.. Read what I wrote about the example with the ICE CUBE.. It pretty much works in the exact same way. And yes, the type of wire does have something to do with it,, you wanna use something that conducts electricity good like copper..

 

the number of strands doesn't matter, its the surface area that provides the less amount of resistance that does. The type of metal also plays a big factor.[/b]

I think you meant the cross-sectional area, not the surface area. Surface area becomes a significant factor only at high frequencies due to the "skin effect".