Okay so here's my DIY on the grounding kit.
Tools needed:
14mm socket
10mm socket
10mm wrench box end
11 feet of 4/0 Guage wire (I used VooDoo 103 degree C resistant power wire, Oxygen free copper core, metalic sliver)
10 gold plated connectors with boots of your color choice
Big pliers
Hammer
Sheet metal shears (to cut the wire into pieces)
razor blade (to strip the plastic coating off the wire easily
****NOTE: all lengths given are before you put connectors on.*****
Here's a picture of the stock ground wire that was running from the intake manifold to underneath the passenger side strut tower bar.
The replacement wire that was used is 13" long. To get to the strut tower end you need to use a 10mm box end wrench. This is the only way to get to the bolt without taking the brace off. If you don't have a brace then it's cake. The bolt that is in the intake manifold is also 10mm. I used a socket and ratchet to get this one off.
To connect the loop connector to the wire you will need to strip about 1/2 an inch of insulation off the end of the wire. To do this, use the razor blade taking care that your fingers aren't in the way. Push the blade into the insulation and then rotate the wire 360 degrees. Then the insulation will just pull off. Insert the wire into the end of the connector. Using the Big *** pliers push one side of the connector down. Then the other on top of that. I then put the connector on the cement floor of my garage and hammered it down till I was sure it wasn't coming off. You can solder the connector on as well but I didn't see the need. Make sure you put the connector boot on the wire before you put the connector wire. If you look at the boots, they have a small end and a large end. I put the large end away from the connector so that the small end would be closer to the connector. Doing this you also will get a tight seal on the wire side. The finished connector should look like the above picture. When you are doing the second side PAY ATTENTION to the rotation of the connector. Decide which way you want it attached based on which connection you are doing.
The next connection I did was from the head to the chassis. I connected it at the head where the lifting loop was attached. I just took the loop off since I don't plan on taking my engine out anytime soon. I used the sandpaper to scuff up the threats on the bolt and the backside of the head of the bolt to make sure that I got a good connection. I did this for all the bolts. I chose to connect the other end on the bolt that holds the radiator support on. Both of these bolts are 14mm. The wire used was 17" long.
I then replaced the stock ground from the neg battery terminal to the chassis. There was a crazy connector to hold the wire to the terminal connector. You have to take the 14mm self-locking nut off the terminal connector to get the wire off. Where it connects to the chassis is underneath the battery tray. If you feel your hand down under the tray on the wall toward the passenger side of the engine compartment you can feel where it is connected. This bolt is 10mm. I used an extention and the socket to get this one off. I ran the wire from the terminal down behind the battery and down to the wall the same way the stock one was. Don't bolt the wire on the terminal back up yet since you have another ground wire to connect. The replacement wire was 24" long.
I then did the negative terminal to the engine. I connected the wire to the engine lift loop just to the right of the CVVT sensor on the head. This bolt is 14mm. Again, don't forget to scuff up the bolt threads and the underside of the bolt head where the gold connector will touch. This replacement wire was 21" long. Now you can put the bolt back on the neg battery terminal holding two wires on. Don't connect the head side yet since you have one more wire to connect there.
The last one I did was from the bolt that adjusts the tension on the belt since it is the highest place on the alternator that has a bolt and it runs through the aluminum case of the alternator on the other side. This bolt is 14mm. Back the bolt out enough to get the connector over the bolt. This end of the wire will have a connector with a section cut out so you can slide it over the bolt. Then the wire runs up onto the top of the radiator going under the passenger side support and all the way to the other side support. Then it jumps over to the head connection where you connected the neg terminal to head wire. Connect the two ends of the wires to the one 14mm bolt to the head and you're done. The replacement wire is 47" long.
Hope this helps someone else do this and save themselves some money. Please use some general safety when doing this. Make sure the engine isn't too hot. I got burned on the exhaust manifold a couple of times. The intake manifold was also pretty hot. Oh yeah, and so are the bolts that come out. Don't try and use the connection at the bottom of the alternator that has a cover on it. It's a hot lead. It didn't like my socket wrench and gave a good spark. For doing this on an Elantra or other car I would just take your wire and mock it up to where you want to run the wire. You are going to have some extra length by doing this that you can just snip off if you don't need it. The actual length of the wire was 122 inches which is just over 10 feet so gave you an extra foot or so to work with. Thanks for tuning in. No pun intended.
To read more on this and to see more pics click here:
DIY Engine Grounding Kit - Kia Forum
DIY Engine Grounding Kit
Linear Mode
