Hey just wondering if the grounding wire kits they sell are worth it....They say that they ground key points to improve a bunch of ignition and shifting characteristics? Can anyone tell me a little more... ? and also can u recommened a good brand that sells a good kit

 

As far as I know. Grounding the TB increases throttle response. So better shifts, less pedal lag, etc..

I don't really know what kits are good though. I'm gonna pull a DIY for mine untill I get a bigger one.

 

The tC is Drive-By-Wire (sensor on gas pedal controls servo on throttle body), so a ground kit may be beneficial. I did a ground wire kit on cad455's tC when he was in town last week. I grounded from the passenger side strut tower, to each coil pack bolts (4), to the head, to the battery, then one of the bolts that was holding the relay box in place (I think...I can't remember). I don't know the gains, but it only set him back him 7 bucks...I had cad455 buy 6' of 8 gauge wire, 16 ring connectors (only used 14), and heatshrink.

 

Good to know Mikochu. Did you notice any better response? I don't think that you get any power gains by grounding, I think it's just response.

 

It wasn't my tC, so I wasn't able to notice a difference. And yes, you probably won't get any substantial power gains. But the throttle response should be quicker and electronics, such as your speakers and headlights, should perform better...

 

These kits are crocks of crap. Your throttle body is made of metal. It's bolted to your engine. Your entire engine is made of metal. Your engine is bolted to your car. You're not going to get any kind of responsiveness out of putting a ground wire on your car. Toyota is one of the best car makers in the world and as such they employ some of the best electrical engineers in the world. I'm sure if doing something as simple as adding a ground wire would improve anything even in the least bit, they would have spent the extra $2 to do so.

These kids are no more beneficial than those jenk intake sensor mods out there. The only thing these kits do well is get your money.

 

Don't waste your money on buying one of these kits, if you really want one you can make it for a couple of bucks.

 

I concur!

 

Well I know of many people who have grounded their TB and felt better throttle response. It could be in all of their heads but I think it's worth the few bucks to at least try it.

And I never suggested buying a kit. I think it's a waste to buy them when you can do it yourself for less.

 

What would grounding the throttle body do? If you look at EWD (electrical wiring diagram) you will see that all sensors that input to the ECM have their own seperate ground wire (white w/ black stripe). The engine grounds to the battery through the transmission case where the neg. battery cable is bolted. There are ground wires to the frame on both sides of the engine. Grounded reel good from the factory!

 

The thing is, it's hard to believe if you can't meaure it. "Feeling better response" could very well be psychological... like when people "feel better response" after they have a fart can welded on.

 

I don't know about the tC, but I had my first ground wire kit on my xA for 6 months or so. Then, I took them out for a week. I noticed the idle was more erratic and the car was shakey. When I put the new ground wires in, it was back to better idle and better throttle response.

 

www.groundfusion.com xA xB tC ground wire kit

shameles plug

 

Do you realize that each metal has different conductivity? Your car is made of iron which do not conduct electricity as good as copper. The reason they connect ground to the car's body is that it is cheap and convenient. Ground wire reduce electrical loss in your car, so you restore some electrical power.

In new Toyota's cars ( 2001 and up ), they do a good job in grounding the car and they puts more grounding point in the engine area, so you will see less effect using additional ground wires. Anyway, puting additional ground wires is helpful but you won't see much improve for new cars because enough groundwires are installed.

 

Thanks for that Kong. I still plan on doing it even if it's the smallest improvement. Throttle lag is really annoying to me.

 

Anyone that says the ground wire setup is of little or no value has never installed one on the xA. I have a ground wire kit I made that make a nice difference in idle, shifting, response, etc...

I read tons of Toyota ist web pages (love babelfish). They have already worked out the minor issuesand have developed the best solutions. From the web pages it seems that 13 point ground wire setup with an extra 6 points under the chassis is teh way to go.

If you want the complete system setup, send me a PM. If you think it is a load of pooh, then have a nice day.

 

Is the ground wire setup the same for the tC as for the xA???

 

And if it's the same could you write up how you installed it and what materials you used? The only write up that I've seen done of a grounding kit was for a Mazda3.

 

I installed a kit on cad455's car a couple of weeks ago. The points were.... from the Passenger strut tower > each coil pack bolt > head bolt (corner) > negative terminal on battery > to a relay box bolt. We used 6' of 8gauge wire, heatshrink, and 14 ring connectors. We didn't take any pics... :?

Use this tutorial...disregard the lengths and ground points... IMPROVISE!
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29261

 

Thanks for clearing that up!