Benefit from upgrading just ground wires instead of big 3?

[killeraxemannic 10+ year member]

I am setting up an amp and a couple subs in my friend's little brother's car. I talked with his dad who owns the car and he won't let me upgrade the alternator to + battery wire but he will let me upgrade the grounds as they are right on top of the engine and battery. Will upgrading the ground wires give any benefit or am I wasting my time? I was going to do the - batt to chassis ground and the engine block to chassis ground with 4 gauge wire. It looks like the current wire is 8 or 10 gauge. Car is a 2000 Honda accord.

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[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Yes, there will be a benefit in the form of increased current flow and more stable voltage. I did this to my car. If the alternator cable is adequately sized then replacing it is not going to give much of an improvement. It's usually the ground cables that are undersized, or at least inadequately prepared by connecting a terminal to a painted surface.

Clean up your connections at the battery terminals.

 

[killeraxemannic 10+ year member]

I plan on doing upgraded terminals on positive and negative. Local Auto Zone has some decent looking ones with 2 2/4 gauge inputs and 2 8/12 inputs. The stock alternator wire looks to be around 8 gauge.

 

[bigaudiofanatic 10+ year member]

Sense the ground in a escape is MAYBE 8 gauge where as it's power wire is 4 gauge I am getting ready to try this before doing the big 3. I am having voltage drops and have a feeling the ground isn't helping. Now if I can just remember where I put my Connect battery terminals SMH

 

[killeraxemannic 10+ year member]

Well for an update on this guys I did the 2 ground wires on the car with 4 gauge wire and haven't had any issues with headlights dimming after I installed my subs. I clamp tested the amp and its putting out 843W. I don't know how it would have been before as I did the upgrade before I installed the subs but overall I am happy with the results. Since I am not getting any dimming I am going to guess that I am safe and don't have to worry about doing anything else.