http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/p...ducts_id/13196

 

I think it does nothing

 

look at the first feature listed...

Features

-Cool blue led lights to spice up your engine bay

 

very expensive grounding kit--does look cool.
OD

 

If you really want to do the grounding strap mod, make your own, or buy one off of Ebay. If you make your own it should cost no more than $20. I think Ebay has them for around the same price.

 

you can get about the same results by just get some 2 gauge wire, connecting it from the negative terminal on your car to the body of the car, in the shortest distance possibable, connecting your alternator directly to your positive terminal on your battery with a fuse in between, and grounding the engine body to the body of the car... (because it also grounds the alternator, which is bolted to the engine)

 

Try eBay - similar thing for about $25

 

A "voltage stabilizer". I like that. It's funny. How in the world do they expect that to stop spikes in the system when every electrical system in the car doesn't run through it?

 

haha ... i figured it wouldnt be worth the money but i figured i'd you guys. thanks for the input.

 

sadly it does nothing for our cars..

 

If we take a look at the claims made by Buddy Club for this product I would have to say as an electrician of 40+ years experience that it all looks very suspect. They also show a graph with a 6BHP gain. I would like to see that or similar gains being substantiated on an RX-8. It is not clear as to what are the exact specifications of this device other than the below quoted claims. It appears to be a capacitor combined with a grounding kit. Maybe Buddy Club or some other reader can explain its correct function as opposed to the claims advertised on VividRacing.com. It may be that this is a bit more than a capacitor and a star grounding kit? Anyhow, based on what I have read on this product these are my thoughts on the subject.

“Features

-Cool blue led lights to spice up your engine bay
-2 in 1 designed off both Grounding and Stabilize voltage
-Improve Horse power and torque
-Improve Fuel Economy
-Smooth idling with improve engine response
-Improve all electrical component performance
-Improve battery life”


Of these seven “features” claimed by Buddy Club I believe that only two of them are definitely true, namely “Cool blue led lights” and the “2 in 1 design”.

A capacitor (or condenser), Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor, connected across the battery terminals may help with power surges and spikes, I believe that to be true and Buddy Club also claim this for their product. Having said that, I also state that a capacitor will have no effect on engine performance or battery life. The need for a capacitor as an electrical smoothing device is not really necessary, but no harm either, as the battery itself will also help to prevent voltage peaks and troughs. On the other hand a capacitor will absorb electrical spikes helping to eliminate any possible electrical damage to electrically sensitive devices. This is called a “snubber” or suppressor.
The capacitor would need; (1) to be correctly sized for this purpose (correct Microfarads).
(2) Is best connected across the source of the interference, e.g., alternator or starter motor etc. The capacitor supplied with this kit is normally connected across the battery terminals which is probably the next best thing.
But then again most electronic devices fitted to cars are already protected against harmful spikes and also against electrical noise. E.g. The ECU/PCM could not survive in a car without this sort of protection, both EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) and RFI (Radio Frequency Interference). Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro...c_interference is abundant under the hood of the average car mainly caused by the ignition system. In the context of this product a capacitor does not eliminate EMI or RFI. Buddy Club claim to “stabilize electrical “noise”” I cannot see what stabilizing of electrical noise is supposed to mean. Why would anybody want to stabilize “electrical noise” I can see a need to eliminate or reduce electrical noise for some sensitive electronic components, is that what they mean?
I believe most people here are familiar with the use of a large capacitor (1 or 2 farad etc) when installing ICE (In Car Entertainment), so no need to explain the difference between the ICE capacitor and the capacitor used as a suppressor or one used as a smoothing capacitor and so on.
As regards the grounding cables supplied by this kit I can only say that good grounding is already a feature of the RX-8. Obviously any improvement is welcome (and I have done so on my RX—8) but I find it hard to warrant spending $140 on a few copper wires and a capacitor with blue leds. If you check with the ICE guys they will put you right on the correct grounding for the RX-8, (if needed), or check the “Audio and Electronics” section of this forum.

So in conclusion, don’t waste your money on this kit unless you really want those “cool blue leds” under your bonnet, oops I mean hood.

 

If you guys want a little secret of how to change your dyno numbers, it's very easy. Most people don't even realize this. Do your runs with different amounts of pressure in your tires. On the second run, add 10 psi over rated on the tires and see what happens. It's easy to cheat!

This comment of course brings up a point that anyone doing dyno runs needs to also check the air pressure in their tires. That affects consistency in a very big way when comparing to other cars. Some people have too little air and others get it right. Other cars will have a variance between them.