Yo I got a stoopid bolt question

So I was buying 10mm bolts for my ground wire, I saw HD had stainless and brass bolts. I bought both on the chance that you folks would tell me which one would conduct better. I am seeing contradictory results when I google that question.

 

Honestly doesn't matter for ground. I don't think any car mfg uses anything other than steel ever. Dissimilar metals and what not.

In the spirit of answering your question brass is prolly around 3x the conductivity of steel. But for ground purposes it's like trying to make your oil oilyer

 

Stick with stainless. Can't go wrong with stainless

 

yes, but then I see things like this that say brass is 10x better:
https://www.tibtech.com/conductivite.php?lang=en_US

 

Then use brass. I would use stainless.

 

Welp , I would normally always use stainless for anything and everything on a vehicle. But I just saw Madmax response so maybe I'll go with brass, he said brass is 10000x better.

 

Do you have a pretty firm understanding of the principles of electricity?
Honestly not trying to sound like a condescending asshole but it is almost a completely pointless concern.
Is it better? Yes, does it matter for ground? Nope.

 

Lol 10000x better would be like comparing rubber to silver, I only said 3x

 

Well, I work with low-voltage cables on a daily basis. All my cables are 100% copper so I have no idea what happens on non-commercial installs. If I had a copper bolt I would use it, since I don't I was asking about the best alternative.

 

Ok well that kinda makes sense based on your job why you are asking. In the context of your work it would be a far more legitimate concern than grounding of your trucks wiring. Brass is mostly copper so it's better than stainless, but brass still an alloy so it's not nearly as good as copper. But still, stainless will work 100% as effectively as brass for your truck.

 

I would have to find and dustoff my electrical conductivity and materials text book to give you an exact, scientific answer but I am sure you get the idea.

 

I guess I'll try brass because I have them. maybe I'm looking too much into this...

 

You are, but I appreciate overkill myself.....

 

I do know that if you break the head off the brass one it will be a lot easier to drill out than the stainless one…

I am not sure it will make that much difference myself. I am guessing you are bolting a copper ring terminal against the steel body of the truck. It will probably be a little better conductivity with the brass bolt but all of the body grounds I have ever seen on an automobile were steel bolts to steel bodies.

 

But what are you trying to ground to .... a steel or brass frame?