Chrysler 300M

lonestarsled

WD40 as well as gasoline breaks down petroleum products such as rubber, plastic.....and oh yes, rubber weatherstripping!!! ARGH!! Yet another abuse of WD40.

sdmike2

Try some silicon spray, available at any auto parts store.

dkrhardy

dkrhardy

Hate it when I hit the wrong button! nc300m, if you will, Email me at dkrhardy@guam.net I have some specific questions about how you did your duals. I have a '01 R/T, the stepsister to your 300M. Thanks
Don

fastdriver

To all-

WHY is DC spending money on this when they should be looking at improving what they currently have?

http://www.detnews.com/2002/insiders/0203/06/b01-432278.htm

Does it make sense considering this article?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0203050266mar05.story?coll=chi-business-hed
fastdriver

kosh_2258

Why?

Two names:

Volkswagen(RR), and BMW(Bentley).

Keeping up with the Jones' don't ya know.

achance

I didn't mean that I put gasoline on the seals. I just burn a lot of gas warming up the car and don't bother with the seals.

drpixel

Whew!...I thought maybe the US mail was irradiating, xraying, examining and otherwise sanitizing the package extra exra good for your protection! How'd you like the custom mailing address label?!
Sorry for the 'handmade' box, though. Never the right size box around when you need one, right? Figured you could use the wipercards -- hey?..why not card the entire lot full of 300m's?!
blonda: was reading about your stock option score.....are you a dabbler in the Black Art of Investing? My S.O. Linda has been quite successful with a little stock called Ariba--perhaps you've heard of them? Last year, she scored $25k with Ariba, also bought eBay and scored on that, and is AGAIN on the Ariba bandwagon. Several major analysts have recently upgraded the stock from a hold to market-outperform with an average target price of $7.75. Linda bought in at $4.51, and is currently ahead about $7k. Would like to see pic of your tip(s)...can you email/post pic?

Doc

drpixel

Being mechanically-challenged, is it easy to replace the standard 'brushed aluminum' tips that the 30m comes with? Haven't actually crawled under eMily's rear-end, so are the stock ones bolted/super-glued/welded(?) to something under there? No laughing, now ..be kind to the doctor.....
Also, sdmike2: whats the head count to date for the Bad Carlsbad Southern Cali-forn-i-ay 300m Rendezvous Meet?

Doc, again..

glennbp

Well, Francesca has her 1st problem; a minor one, but annoying. Several times while driving, the fuel gauge will suddenly drop to "E" and the fuel warning light comes on. A few seconds later it pops back to the correct fuel level and the warning light goes out. It's happened a few times over the past couple of days. There is a TSB out for this problem (08-007-01). I found it on the Alldata website under the 2001 model year. Anyone else had this problem?

wire2

>...standard 'brushed aluminum' tips...

Are actually chrome plated steel. They're Mig welded to the flanged end of the resonator. To change them and still use the resonator, (to prevent the annoying drone at 1800 - 2k rpm), you'd have to cut the stock ones off and weld or clamp something else on.
FWIW, I plan to replace them with a single 3¼" stainless tube, then add another on the right side with a second resonator. Also plan to modify the mousehole cutout in the fascia to an appropriate profile, similar to a Special.

sdmike2

I have 12 "Yes" responses, a handful of "No", and more than 30 no responses. My guess is that I'll have about 10 cars unless I start to hear from the others. If anyone here is on the bubble, it's good odds that you'll win a door prize! I think I have about 10 of them.

sdmike2

Big Red hasn't done it yet, but my wife's Grand Caravan had that problem for a while. It went away by itself before I could take it in. The annoying part wasn't the gauge dropping, it was the annoying "BING" of the low fuel indicator. Then again, with a billion watt stereo it may not be a big problem.

sdmike2

interested? know of a place?

glennbp

I'd be interested if it weren't too much hassle. I don't know anywhere it can be done around here, but then again I haven't checked. I suppose a good performance shop would be able to tell us.

nc300m

Here is a good picture of the tips I used, picture them on a 300M not the GTP. I will have pictures of mine on my website as soon as I get my digital camera or fix my scanner.

http://www.southfloridapulleyhq.com/products_ractive_tips.htm#

blonda

Thanks for your post on the tips. I spent about an hour yesterday looking at tips and those were the only ones I found that I like. My current tips (on the single, standard exhaust) are a little longer than most and are chrome. I think the length sticking out a little bit makes the rear end look more aggressive. Tell me, they describe the finish as mirror like -- would you say they look close enough like chrome? The shine just looks so nice with the deep slate color.

Saw a newer Porsche Turbo 911 this a.m. that had cool tips -- sorta similar. They probably charge an arm and a leg for them though.

bigmike5

Dr --Did you see my post on the Wyckoff Chrysler site for the Borla set up?

NC300M--There is a product I found at Lowes Home Center that is a silicon spray that dries instantly rather than staying greasy on the sprayed surface. It comes in a tall can and I use it regularly on the seals, tracks, and then wipe the window edges. And always clean and wipe the edges of the glass if you go thru a car wash that has the spray wax cycle. That stuff dries like glue. Also, if the sticking persists go to the dealer for the TSB correction on the window problem.

blonda

I have found that I'm just not very good at stock dabbling -- if I sell then it's guaranteed to go up right after. If I buy and don't sell in time, it will tank. The $$ I made this week was on stock options from my employer-- which is doing very well this week. But of course, it went $2 higher since I sold. Oh well -- hindsight.

re: my tips -- still deciding for the duals, but as you can see above I may go with the ractives that mc300m used. Currently I have add-ons from Kragen which are the single straight tips (but if you have a 2001 it has chrome already).

blonda

I'm going to go with the Magnaflow collector. (Hey, it kinda sounds like I know what I'm talking about).

btw - it appears they were able to put in the plug to eliminate the oil leaking with the 2nd try. I still smell it burning after driving the car. It appears they somehow managed to spill the stuff all over the place.

blonda

http://www.cecwheels.com/showcase/display.cfm?item_id=43

kosh_2258

For anyone who might be interested, the T622 tip is a dead ringer for the Special exhaust tips.

http://www.truckaddons.com/Catalog/subpages/toucan_tips01.htm

drpixel

thanks all for pix posting regards tips....here I thought it would be easy to get rid of the stock stainless (sorry...) tips. I do like the Ractive look, though; but also like the yellow Borla (?) ala 300Michael's 300m. Do/does the Borla ones come in another color--or is yellow the only color? I would guess that it would get kind of dirty with exhaust coming out...

For the record, chatroom session tonight in the best little 300m website west of Europe, so be there or be  .

to sdmike2: 10 is three more than the First Annual Wall Stadium, etc... had.

 [strains of Kung Fu tv series theme song plays here....]

 ...Remember, grasshopper....a 300m Meet begins with 10 fellow 300m owners.... (music up, and fade out.... go to Chrysler 300R commercial)....

da Doc

blonda

Ordered one yesterday...arrives today. Yep, they are definitely shipping out of San Diego. Good thing they gave me free shipping on my order.

sdmike2

what did the trim cost you? did you call tnem or order from the website?

ottowrkr

Kosh , I asked a few people about the levels missing on the Special lights , nobody I asked knows. They said they will try to find out. Sorry

scotian

We don't need no steenking levels!

blonda

I paid $240 (yikes). I ordered directly off their website.

sdmike2

Do you have the rosewood interior or the real burlwood? If you have the burlwood (luxury group) I'd like to come by and see the kit before you install it. I've been on the fence about this because of the mismatch of the sample piece sent to me.

If I *DO* take the plunge I'm likely to have several pieces left over. I plan only to cover the black plastic pieces and the window switches. I'll likely make pieces available to this group.

M

blonda

I have the "fake" wood that was the only thing available on the 99-00's. I wish I had the burlwood though -- very nice looking. I'll let you know though how this "factory match" looks. I didn't check, but don't they allow returns if you're not satisified with the match?

blonda

Just got back from Poway Muffler. Bill wasn't there but the guy I spoke with (I'm drawing a blank on his name) said you had told them you might have some friends with M's coming by. I gave him the diagram of SDMike's install. He's going to have Bill call me, but he said I'd be better off with a "quieter" flowmaster and maybe some resonators. Said I'd get more HP and better gas mileage than the Dynomax.

sdmike2

quieter flowmaster? Interesting concept. I have a picture somewhere of some muffler guts, including the flowmaster. If I find it I'll post it. True that there will be more airflow, but I can guarantee you that the dynomax is a heck of a lot better than stock as well. My *guess* is that the flowmaster will make no more than a 5% difference compared to the dynomax (or rhino others have used). That's 5% of the 1 or 2 mpg and/or 5-10 hp change. So, you're really talking about a negligible difference. I think once you rip out the stock system and go with high flow mufflers like the magnaflow, flowmaster, rhino, dynomax etc. your biggest deciding factor should be sound and price. Whatever you get for the back make sure you replace the front collector. I've seen the insides and it's built for sound deadening, not air flow. I think glenn might have short changed himself by keeping the stock collector with that system. My 2 pennies.

sdmike2

ok, here is the picture of some different mufflers. The left one is a typical muffler built for sound deadening, except that it has a straight pipe. Most stock mufflers have a redirected pipe plus deadening material. The small holes allow the air to vent into the supression material. The second from the right is a dynomax. The curve and holes are used to supress some of the sound, but the lack of packing material increases flow substantially. The one on the right is a flowmaster. If you looked at a cross section from the side (instead of straight on) you'd see that the air is channeled non only from edge to edge, but also from top to bottom (it has gaps between the outer case and the "air dam" walls). The air basically travels straight through, only slightly compressed and redirected on its way through.

http://www.ritchiefamily.com/car/exhaust/lineup.jpg

blonda

Thanks. It all seems so simple on paper. This guy has left me a message to call him back. I'll consult with you guys before I make a decision because this muffler stuff is still all "greek" to me. Maybe the best way to settle this is a friendly drag race between you and Glenn?!?!

sdmike2

heh...I think I'd win by a hair. He's carrying about an extra 50lbs of stereo amplifiers and speakers. lol

sdmike2

The important things are that you increase the airflow, like the sound, and have nice tips. It's 100% a decision of personal preferance because you won't notice a huge performance difference.

triffner

It's still not fixed (Iknow, I know, Fastdriver)
I'm done. Retaining attorney as we speak. Will let ya know how it ends.

sdmike2

If it's not fixed, why did you take it back? I always insist on taking a test drive after major repairs before I pay the bill. They never like it, but I got sick and tired of driving home only to find that the problem wasn't fixed.

99_300m_ric_va

I just got back from the dealer asking about parts and prices for the 2002 Special HIDs.

The part numbers I got are for the lamp assemblies (4805914-AA and 4805915-AA) at $364.87 each side. They could not find specific numbers for the ballasts and bulbs. We don't know if those include the whole assembly as wire2 shows in his very detailed pictures.

Anyway, while we were discussing this, one of the technicians walked up and said someone asked their body shop to switch them over to the HIDs. They got the parts in and hooked everything up and it wouldn't work. Said the computer was spitting out codes for bad lamps since something about the resistance was different. They said don't bother to try since electrically they are not compatable.

Otto, wire, can you guys confirm any of this and fill in the missing part numbers? Please?

I looked at the Special they had in the lot. It was black and very nice. I really like that 150mph speedo. I probably shouldn't even think about if that can be retrofitted. Too many calibration issues I assume. I mean if a silly lamp ballast can connect to the car.....

beach15

All I can say is good luck and I hope you are reimbursed fairly. I know from experiance that when you get a bad 300M, you get a really bad one, and when you get a good 300M, you get a really great one. Lately, I would have to say ours is in between. Still a little too much rattling and there's a vibration (uh oh!) in the front passenger's side that's worsening everyday.

You hit 50mph+, and you just feel yourself shaking up and down if your sitting in the front passenger seat. If driving, you both feel and see the steering wheel vibrating noticably. The queen (300M owner) knows about it but is tired of having stuff fixed so when I tell her, I always get "Don't worry about it." I've tried to tell my 5* dealer like father (he explained the crown in the road to me was what was making the car pull itself quickly to the left!) and he just says, "All you have to do is let some air out of the tires." I don't mean to be rude and he does now a lot about fixing cars and the mechanics of things, but sometimes, he can be a bit thick. The tires are all about 33-34 psi and he thinks that's overflated. But then again, he also thinks the tires on it are good because they're Goodyears (he only ever buys whatever's cheapest, those weird no-name tires). He also says that the car's so quiet and that's why we hear all the rattles! But, that it's noisier than his 69' Malibu on the road. What a nut!

Anyway, good luck triffner! Any idea what you'll be looking at next in terms of a new car?

glennbp

Here is how I see it (for what it's worth). It's true that the more air you can push in and the more air you can push out results in an overall increase in power. The limiting factor here with the M's exhaust system is not what happens after the catalytic convertor, but before it. Since we're not really talking about a true dual system, the air flow equation after the stifling effect of the catalytic convertor isn't going to make a "significant" change no matter what you do. Blonda is correct in that what it really comes down to is sound and appearance; so go with what makes you happy in those areas and try not to worry about power.

What I would really like to see is the 3.5L engine with exhaust headers, no convertors, and a free flowing system! I'm sure that would require some serious ECU tuning among other things, but wouldn't that be a gas? (No pun intended).

sdmike2

At one point I was surfing and found aftermarket headers for the Prowler that would likey fit our cars (if we could overcome the space issue). I agree...that or a Paxton supercharger would be a real blast. Regardless, the engine already produces at least 1 hp per cubic inch, which I believe is the highest for any production car. It's a great power plant. It just happens to be pushing a sherman tank with luxury car gearing.

blonda

It's the Goodyears causing your vibrations. I developed the same problem after about 20K miles. Changing to a different tire took care of it. If your parents won't change the tires, you're just going to have to live with it.

fastdriver

triffner-

Good luck. Maybe you should look at their new $100,000 perfect car they're coming out with that is referenced in an article from the Detroit News several messages up that I posted this morning. Wonder if it'll have Goodyears? ;-))

fastdriver

sdmike2

Two disturbing things. The 300N base model prototype that I saw and the Dodge Super 8 from the SD car show both had Goodyears. However, the 300N Hemi prototype had Z-rated Michelins. I'm not sure what the Hemi C had.

nc300m

The t815's I used are made of T-304 stainless steel (no rust) and they are indeed very shinny and mirror like.

nc300m

check it out!!!!!http://www.cecwheels.com/tuners/vehicle.cfm?item_id=45&tuner_brand_id=2&type=vehicle&brand=lorinser

nc300m

http://www.cecwheels.com/tuners/vehicle.cfm?item_id=45&tuner_brand_id=2&type=vehicle&brand=lorinser

specialm

Wow! Nice car! I wouldn't mind one of those roof wings on my Special! I wonder if they're available as a seperate purchase?

lonestarsled

99_300m_ric_va,

After splitting a gut after reading your post (in dis-belief), I looked at the headlight wiring diagrams for the 2000 LH cars. There are no resistance measuring circuits illustrated in the headlight wiring. It is a simple circuit that is controlled by the body control module. The body control module controls a relay found in the power distribution center (the box labeled "FUSE & RELAY CENTER" located on the driver side of engine compartment. When the relay coil is energized power is routed to the lamps through the relay contacts, relay not energized the contacts are open and no power gets to the lamps. Thats it!!

Also, why didn't you ask the technician for the part numbers. Somebody would have had to pull these parts to give to the tech, possibly in boxes w/part nos.