Pierre B
07-24-2011, 07:50 AM
I have a MKII, so I post this question in this forum. In fact, though, this question applies to all of Factory Five's cars. All of us who have completed our builds and are now driving have noticed how fine dust tends to deposit rather uniformly on the body. That of course does not happen when we are at speed, but rather when the cars are parked; likely due to static electricity buildup (I may be wrong about this, but that's part of why I am posting). Would a grounding strap help alleviate this condition, I wonder.
I am old enough (68) to remember the time when many cars had grounding straps on their underside.* These would contact the ground only when the vehicle was stopped, since the airstream under the car held it clear otherwise. I am about to try something like this but, especially with FFR oversight of this forum, I am wondering if they or any other fellow builders have any experience with anything like this. I am thinking of using a woven metal battery grounding strap, with one end secured to the rear lateral 4-inch frame cross tube. I know that these fiberglass bodies are not very conductive electrically, but I also know I can build up a static electricity charge in a plastic tube with a piece of wool. So what do all of you think about this idea?
*That's back in the day when cars drove over air hoses to notify the attendant, and he had to hand-crank the pump to zero out the readings. All of that is gone, but static remains!
I am old enough (68) to remember the time when many cars had grounding straps on their underside.* These would contact the ground only when the vehicle was stopped, since the airstream under the car held it clear otherwise. I am about to try something like this but, especially with FFR oversight of this forum, I am wondering if they or any other fellow builders have any experience with anything like this. I am thinking of using a woven metal battery grounding strap, with one end secured to the rear lateral 4-inch frame cross tube. I know that these fiberglass bodies are not very conductive electrically, but I also know I can build up a static electricity charge in a plastic tube with a piece of wool. So what do all of you think about this idea?
*That's back in the day when cars drove over air hoses to notify the attendant, and he had to hand-crank the pump to zero out the readings. All of that is gone, but static remains!