I'm running 0 gauge wire for my big three. I didn't notice any increase in MPG but I did it for the audio system.

 

Sorry for My ignorance but...what is the big 3!?


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What are you talking about???

 

The "Big Three" is changing the wires out from the small stock ones to a heavier gauge wire. The wire from the alternator to the battery, the wires from the negative side of the battery to the body grounding point and the engine block. The larger gauge wire allows for more voltage to pass through the wire. It's always a good idea to grind off the paint from the body ground point as well to allow for better conductivity.

This page has the information, you'll see it if you scroll down a little... http://www.iq-forums.com/forums/appearance-body-modifications/1710-haolebuilt-ii-thread-6.html

 

this is

http://www.glasswolf.net/papers/big3.jpg

 

Spent the weekend on the road again, drove to Athens, Ga. and back home. 400 plus miles round trip. Ave 48.5 mpg! No, I am not driving 70 mph, but I do try to drive between 55 & 60. Give it a try!

 

do u have some pics of the job....

 

Sorry, no photos for now. Buy it's very easy to do. This is what I did. Go from the neg (-) post of the battery to the top of the shock absorber, while you have that nut off, connect another jumper to the ground on the trans or bolt it on to the small loop on the front of the trans. Tighten all the connections. Now you have grounded the motor/trans to the body back to the battery.

If you want to run the third "leg", it's from the positive (+) post of the battery to the positive (+) bolt on the front of the alternator. I did mine with #8 wire and cable tied it to the original cable run (not replacing it, just adding to it).

My car performed better with doing the grounds only. Unless you are installing a stereo amp, you will not need the positive run. I did it because my son gave me the cable.

This is a fun project, if it helps, wonderful, if not, you will have a strong ground for that new system Santa is bring you!
Just ask the elf on the shelf.

 

Some pics of the job...

The + terminal on the alternator...

The body ground location...

The engine block location...

0 gauge from the alternator to the battery...

0 gauge at the body ground location ( I changed the location to get a better grounding point, remove the paint before attaching ring)...

Both of the new 0 gauge ground wires connect to the negative side of the battery...

 

Sorry to break it to you, I'm justsaying this so others don't waste time and money with this mod, but upgrading your ground wire isn't the reason you're seeing an increase in mileage. The ground wire doesn't really make a difference, stock gauge is fine, it's the connection points that are important, they need to be clean and rust free.

I've seen this happen time and time again, people buy "fuel saving" gadgets or do mods to their cars, but they subconsciously and temporarily change their driving style in order for the mod to work, so they truly see an increase in mpg, but its not the modification but their more cautious driving style that caused the increase in mileage. Another note, if putting 0 gauge ground wire increase mpg by over 10% why wouldn't everyone be doing it instead of screwing with hybrid, diesel and electric technology?

As for 48mpg, I've gotten 58.8MPG on three full tanks of pure highway/country roads (hand calculated, two passengers). I still average 37mpg in regular city driving though.

 

I was wondering about that....I mean, the car is brand new...how much cleaner and rust-free can the connections be?

Joe

 

I believe a few facts:

1) The factory ground wire system is only adequate, at best. (That's why they call "The Big 3" an upgrade!)
2) Did not mind spending the $20 and my time on the "upgrade"
3) After the upgrade, my car performs better!
4) I took time to post my findings to help the group, not to brag on my car.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

1) the factory grounding system is more than fine. The "big 3" is an upgrade for people looking to upgrade tow serious sound system
2) that's fine by me, but claiming that it bumps mpg by over 10% is false and will lead to people spending time and money to do such a mod, which will be of no use
3) if this is the case I would look into the possibility of your car having flood damage before you purchased it, there's no reason for a two year old completely stock 94hp car to perform better due to a thicker gauge wire
4) I admire your good intentions, but it's not true that a grounding wire kit is giving 6-7 more miles per gallon, so I don't know how people are getting helped here. Everyone is just standing to lose 20$ and an afternoon of their time, for zero return.

 

How are you guys getting in the 40's and 50's for MPG!??!??!?! The best I have ever gotten was 37.8MPG, I usually for the most part get 35 MPG a majority of the time, with an occasional 34 and 36.
I would say my Eco Light is on like 90% or more of the time when I am driving.

 

1) Google hypermiling. There is a lot of good reading. I practice only half what they preach and get great mileage.
2) Watch your instant mpg, try to keep it high
3) Cruise control, on long trips it's a blessing, around town, my right foot does a better job.

Hey, you may live in a metro area, like Atlanta, Ga. you'll be lucky to get any MPG to talk about; because you have to drive like heck or get run over. Or if your car has less than 12k, it's still too new to get big mileage. Good luck!

 

don't worry, i get at most 30-31 per tank....but thats because i am doing anywhere between 80 to 100 all the way to work 5 days of the week XD what can i say i love the sound of my exhaust >=D

 

Dubweiser speaks the truth. Good for him. Think about this a bit ladies and gentlemen. Every engineer at Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford, etc is trying to build a car that gets better MPG than the competitor's car. They all want to be the one to say their car gets 40+ MPG on the EPA sticker. Yes, they want to build the car for as little as possible, but at their cost the price to add some heavier gauge wire in these three locations is a pittance. The bragging rights are worth far more than a dollar spent on three feet of heavier wire. Seriously? Do you really think they haven't heard about these miracle cures? Put your thinking caps on and put your conspiracy theories aside. The oil companies are not paying them to build inefficient cars. Thumbs up to Dubweiser.

 

if the manufacturer could claim 48mpg by puttin bigger wires in, in todays mpg driven market, don't you think they already would have exploited that?