Grounding Kit + Vq35 Intake Mod = Win!

[iamhe77]

Dunno what is available at Jaycar...Maybe have a look at their website and see.

I will be looking at one. Will let you know how it goes. You no like, you no have to buy.

Edited July 20, 2009 by iamhe77

[[[d a n n y]]]

stuff it

just ebay it

get a elcheapo

[zei20l]

just remember to crimp the wires not solder them. solder adds resistance and we want to remove that remember

[Jetwreck]

I have looked into it a couple of times and ended up talking to the GroundingGear guys who are in the process of designing a grounding kit specifically for the VQ25DET (needed a few pics of the engine bay). The grounding kit they are designing will incorporate the ECU and trans grounding points as well as the engine, chassis etc.

Should be ready early August.

Let me know the price when you get it....I'll add it onto my gearbox upgrade parts list!!!!

[andy65b]

I made my own kit up about 6 weeks ago and I have found it hard to say that I got a definite improvement. I do recall that that at the time I thought the gear shifts were a little crisper but given the stupid things wrong with my car over the last 6 months it is impossible to know what is good and bad.

Any way, here are some pics of my kit.

Cheers

Andy

[KiwiRS4T]

Don't get me started on oxygen free wires etc.!! Electrical tests as well as listening panels have shown that if you have wiring of an adequate size no $1000 cable will make your stereo sound better ...although some one who has just spent the $1000 has to say that the treble is clearer and the bass gruntier otherwise they have to admit to being conned.

Similarly if there is in fact an earthing problem in your car then the $15 solution followed by chad bob will be just as good as a $250 commercial product!

[chad bob]

Saying that though, if you were to compare the metal quality of an HKS kit's wiring to my JB HIFI special's, I dare say you would see absolutely no difference in conductivity or quality.

[scotty nm35]

Mate if this works, sign me up!! If there's anything I can do to improve shift times or improve the auto trans in general, then I'd jump at the chance!!

Basically it just seems to get slower and slower when waiting for the kickdown. Over the last few weeks its sometimes even at the point where I put my foot down slightly, nothing happens, down some more, nothing, and then it feels like it wants to change but hits a dead spot right before it actually does change, then it revs its guts out because by now my foot is well down on the accelerator...

Its like its not reading the inputs correctly to know when to change gears...I'm not 100% how it all works but presumably the ecu tells the transmission when to change?

If you say that a grounding issue can make this communication between ecu and trans ecu worse gradually over time, then this sounds like the first thing I need to rule out. Other than this there's probably not much else I can do - I had the box serviced only 8-9 months ago with fully synthetic fluid. It changes up gears fine, and the gear changes are as silky smooth as they ever have been. Its on the odd occasion the kick-down seems to take longer than normal. I'm now quite used to the delay but just recently its been noticeably worse. Not to mention the fact that everyone else who has driven my car has commented on the fact that the gearbox is very slow to change down.

iamhe77 - let me know when you find out about the VQ25DET grounding kit. Any idea on price?

This is the problem my gearbox had before the Emanage was installed. Now the torque has doubled, around 3k rpm, it slips in all gears. I have had conversations with a lot of Auto repairers and all concluded that the clutch packs dont have enough pressure on them. This can be overcome with an upgraded valve body (shift kit) from a 350z or Nissan Patrol.

Just in case, I did the earthing, hoping it would improve things and it did seem to make the shifts quicker but it still slips under boost. Apparently this is a common problem with all autos from factory as they dont want them to shift hard, and It protects the drivetrain.

Im booked in on Monday for the upgrade so I will let you know how it goes.

[Jetwreck]

This is the problem my gearbox had before the Emanage was installed. Now the torque has doubled, around 3k rpm, it slips in all gears. I have had conversations with a lot of Auto repairers and all concluded that the clutch packs dont have enough pressure on them. This can be overcome with an upgraded valve body (shift kit) from a 350z or Nissan Patrol.

Just in case, I did the earthing, hoping it would improve things and it did seem to make the shifts quicker but it still slips under boost. Apparently this is a common problem with all autos from factory as they dont want them to shift hard, and It protects the drivetrain.

Im booked in on Monday for the upgrade so I will let you know how it goes.

Do they do a manual valve body? If so how much? Also how much are they charging you for the upgrade?

[zei20l]

+1 on what he said!

[pixel8r]

This is the problem my gearbox had before the Emanage was installed. Now the torque has doubled, around 3k rpm, it slips in all gears. I have had conversations with a lot of Auto repairers and all concluded that the clutch packs dont have enough pressure on them. This can be overcome with an upgraded valve body (shift kit) from a 350z or Nissan Patrol.

Just in case, I did the earthing, hoping it would improve things and it did seem to make the shifts quicker but it still slips under boost. Apparently this is a common problem with all autos from factory as they dont want them to shift hard, and It protects the drivetrain.

Im booked in on Monday for the upgrade so I will let you know how it goes.

hmmm shift kit. I had one on my last stagea and it was hands down the best mod I ever did. The shifts were just perfect and it transformed the car into the best auto I have ever driven.

I thought then that the shift kit strengthened the gearbox but I've heard recently that it actually puts extra strain on it, which one is true?

MV Automatics will do one for our M35's but they need to work on the actual box, and its not cheap ($700?).

I'm keen to hear how yours goes.

Also, chadbob - if you can post some pics of your earthing setup and let me know what product you bought (you mentioned its from jb hifi) that'd be great. I'm very interested in the $15 solution. Mods on a budget - love it!!

[maclarenf1]

I'm sorry, I know that these points of discussion have been covered previously but I had such a successful weekend that I just had to dig it up again.

I have seen details on the yank G35 forums concerning earthing kits for the VQ35, there was some doubt that they would actually work. This weekend I popped into JB HIFI and bought 2 meters of 8gauge amplifier cable and a packet of gold plated terminals, $15 in total spent. Installation took 5 mins, I just anchord the cable on the opposite side of the motor to the factory grounding strip, one terminal on the intake and one on the timing chain cover, then back to the negative battery terminal.

I was not prepared for how great the improvement is, it feels like a totally different car! When I come to an incline, instead of having to change down manually or stomp my foot to get the car to shift down, it does it with the very litest application of throttle, the gearbox feels like it's had a valve body re-build, so responsive, sauch fast changes with none of the delay that it had before.

If you havnt installed a grounding kit on your M35 yet, do it!

The other mod i did this weekend was a VQ35 intake mod, removed the inspection cover on the air box and re-positioned the bonnet seal to create a second intake, theres more induction noise and I detect a slight increase in low end pull, a good mod none the less.

Good weekend.

Can you please put in some pictures of this, i want to do this on my V35 as well

just want to get idea as to where you put the earthing point, hoping it will be preety similar on the V35 as well

[32TAXI]

HA! A skeptic

Nope the negative terminal remained attached through the procedure, I didn't need to reset my dash clock or radio stations.

All I did on the battery was remove the 10mm nut, stick on the terminal then screwed the nut back on, the terminal connection itself didn't move 1mm.

Not a skeptic, just curious!

Ever tested the voltage of your coolant? another good thing to earth is your rad!

[zei20l]

except the radiator tanks are plastic. only the core is metal, and its a little difficult to attach to

[chad bob]

except the radiator tanks are plastic. only the core is metal, and its a little difficult to attach to

Nonsense! Self tapping wood screw!

I will post pics as soon as I have som spare time to pull the engine cover off.

Edited July 21, 2009 by chad bob

[scotty nm35]

hmmm shift kit. I had one on my last stagea and it was hands down the best mod I ever did. The shifts were just perfect and it transformed the car into the best auto I have ever driven.

I thought then that the shift kit strengthened the gearbox but I've heard recently that it actually puts extra strain on it, which one is true?

MV Automatics will do one for our M35's but they need to work on the actual box, and its not cheap ($700?).

I'm keen to hear how yours goes.

Also, chadbob - if you can post some pics of your earthing setup and let me know what product you bought (you mentioned its from jb hifi) that'd be great. I'm very interested in the $15 solution. Mods on a budget - love it!!

MV are too far, I went to a local bloke, Bert Kewish automotive who I was recommended to go to. He had the valve body on the shelf, same price, $700.

The slow changes are from two causes, the ecu and the valve body.

Normally the ecu, when it decides to change, drops back timing, drops fuel and then sends the signal to the solenoid in the box. You will need an aftermarket computer or piggyback to change this.

Once the solenoid is energised it takes a while for the pressure to build on the clutch as the line is too small. With the aftermarket valve body the pressures ramp much faster and then the pressure is increased to handle the power.

Here is a pic of the grounding I did.

[zei20l]

so the emanage can 'manage' the ecu side of it? just the gearbox needs the upgrade?? i could do $700 when they drop my box out to repair it! hmmm i wonder if the place will do it while its out

[iamhe77]

Can you please put in some pictures of this, i want to do this on my V35 as well

just want to get idea as to where you put the earthing point, hoping it will be preety similar on the V35 as well

V35 grounding points are quite different.

There are a couple of threads in the V35 section regarding these, but a G35 grounding kit will fit no problemo.

Not a skeptic, just curious!

Ever tested the voltage of your coolant? another good thing to earth is your rad!

hmmm.... interesting... may need to request an extra lead to go to my radiator top tank mounting pins.

[pixel8r]

hmmm last night i put in a grounding cable between the factory ground on the right hand side of the engine and the negative terminal on the battery.

Haven't really noticed any real difference yet though. I was expecting some improvement just based on the fact the original cable connecting to the negative terminal on the battery just connects straight to the chassis. Normally you'd have a factory one going direct to the engine but mine didn't, which means its grounding through the chassis only. Now with this new cable in place, performance seems strong and all, but then it was before as well (although its a bit off and on). Maybe just not so intermittent now? Is that how it works?

I know a little about electronics, but I'm not familiar with how this whole grounding thing affects so many other components. Is it just the sensors getting/giving a clearer reading?

I may look at grounding some extra stuff like the TB soon, and see how that goes. Is the engine-battery earth enough to improve the transmission or do I need to actually connect an earth wire to the transmission itself? Presumably it already has a good earth there?

I think the problem the M35 suffers is mainly just the fact it uses the chassis as the connection to the negative battery terminal, rather than a direct cable.

[zei20l]

yes indeed! just do both, i did from the battery to the chassis, then the battery to the engine block and intake. ill do another to the gearbox too when i get a chance to jack it up!