ep33510

Good Grounding in My Racing Program?

Let’s start with a question for you to consider, are you running more than just one grounding strap from the battery/chassis connection to the engine? The answer should be yes, one for each cylinder head & one for the engine block. Ok now your saying to yourself hey this is bull #!@$ I don't need all that in my racing program it’s a waste of time. Let me take a moment here to try and show you the advantages of going through with this upgrade. With all the different materials used in today’s performance engine programs a good ground connection can become a tough thing to find! You need to go the extra distance to gain access to all the performance your engine builder gave you. To do this you want to make sure each engine cylinder sees the same grounding point to help create the best possible spark event each and every time!

I would like to let you in on a commonly know fact in the world of electronics. Electrical energy is lazy; it takes the easiest path it can each and every time. So with that said, why not make electrical energy work for your racing program not against it. You want to start with a grounding strap running from the chassis to the engine block. Then you need to have a grounding strap running from the chassis to each cylinder head. With this setup you can be sure that those nice aluminum cylinder heads & the engine block are all at the same grounding point.

Now all grounding cable is not created equal, you want ground cabling that is a flat braid type of cable. Let the street cars run the standard style battery cables, they Do Not belong on a High Performance platform. The product should be at least 3/4 inch wide and long enough to reach each mounting point with slack for movement. Any good electrical supply house in any city across the US should carry what we’re looking for here. I usually like to see at least 3 inches of play for any cable I make up, more is always better. Now the end connectors I like to use are the solid copper types so I can fold up the ends of the braided cable. Insert it into the open end of the connector, crush the connector then solder it up for a sealed connection. To finish it off I usually use a good quality heat shrink tubing around the connector.


Now why the braid type of cable? You’re talking basic electrical energy flow here. Common knowledge in electronics states electrical current flows on the outside of each wire in the cable. So if you’re using a braid type of cable Vs a standard battery cable. You will have multiple wire strands to carry the energy Vs just a few strands of wire.( Current flows easier) And an added feature of this product is it’s lighter than standard battery cable or a welding cable solution.

In closing, remember doing this upgrade will allow your racing ignition system to provide top performance across all cylinders. Which allows you to access all the performance your engine builder built into your bullet. At the same time you have just brought your racing program to the next level of performance. All done with a little bit of effort and some cash for parts and supplies. Always keep in mind it is the small things in any racing program adding up together that makes the difference at the track. When you're looking for that winning edge for your racing program it makes sense to take advantage of all possible solutions.

ep33510
E-mail: techwest@techwestracing.com
Website: www.techwestracing.com

spyderman

or you could not put the extra unnessary ground wires in, and the weight you save will make the car perform better.

mark kibort

why would you need grounding straps on the heads, when they are essentially deeply grounded via the head bolts to the block, as well as alignment fiting elements?

mk

dre43

Question, and I'll admit that I know very little about this stuff but wouldn't it be bad to confuse the grounding path in any electrical system? I would think one would end up with arching problems. As far as the cable braiding goes, doesn't that only matter when one is concerned with the inductance and capacitance?

Colvindesign

As somone who has been thouroughly educated in grounding, this guy is mostly right.

If you look at any high profile equipment, be it government, telecommunications, etc, the Grounding is VERY redundant. There are things such as Flow, but it would be nearly impossible to "confuse" the path in an engine.

Flow is kept in the wire by using smooth curves not sharp bends. If there is a sharp bend and that bend is close to a metal surface of higher conductivity it will jump or "Arc".

The weight of a good grounding strap will add less than a pound to your car, but will maximize the spark from the plugs. This is just making the most of your equipment.

However I will disagree on the type of wire. Electricity will flow in the strands with the best connection. In a Large strand cable, you will have better electrical flow, but you will have less flexibility. In a braided cable you have many small threads but the correct connector should be used, or it should be soldered to the connector. Soldering will make up for the smaller wires in the braid, because all of them will have equal potential.

Finally, do not loop or bend the cable sharply, and it should be sleeved if it is close to any other metal surface between the grounding points.

Colvindesign

There is oil, headgaskets, and assembly grease between the head and block. Providing an equal ground to each head (if done right) provides an equal potential for each bank. Also, you can think of electrical flow like water in a pipe, the smaller the pipe, the less water you can get through it. The larger the pipe, the more water. With the spark plug wires you can send a huge amount in, with improper grounding, you are limiting what goes in, because it has no where to go. If it can only go to the block, it will limit the amount it will take in. If it goes through the heads, block, and frame it will allow more in.

Mother

Anyone have pictures of engine grounding wires installed?