What's the scoop on the K&N air filter. Constantly see it advertised on ebay at $36.50. Can anybody let me know if they notice a difference in performance and its reliability. I'm not looking to install one yet since Goldilocks is still under 50 miles on the clock. Trying to find the time to drive her around, maybe this weekend. Put on the first coat of Z2 and was really really satisfied with the results. Won't be able to apply anymore for a few days since weather in NYC will be crapola for a few more days. Sent out payment to Dustin this weekend and my new plates should be here this week. Will do the upgrade asap. Thanks.
Bosh Plugs- I'm going to replace my spark plugs this weekend. With all the mods I have done, I figured it couldn't hurt. Maybe i'll pick up some gains. Anyway, I'm using Bosh Platium +4 plugs. They do not make ones for the 300M, however, any one of them that are gapped to 0.050 will work. That's the spec under my hood.
SPARK PLUGS: STOP, fuzzywuzzy! Don't do it! If they don't make a Bosch Platinum +4 plug for the 300M don't substitute another! ISSUES: HEAT RANGE: Spark plugs are designed to operate at a specific temperature for each engine. Too "hot" ant the electrodes will burn up. Too "cold" and the electrodes will foul. REACH: This determines how far the business end of the plug reaches into the combustion chamber. Too long, and you risk contact with the piston. Too short, and the electrodes are shrouded in the plug hole. The recommended plugs place the electroses in the optimum position for ideal combustion. The likely result of using the wrong plugs could range from degraded performance to severe enging damage not covered under warranty.
don't do it. i've used those in the past, that were made for the car and they didn't work i had to take them out and put in factory plugs. the plugs don't need changing for 100k. i should have changed the plugs in my ram at 30k but i now have 56k and all is fine. if it ain't broke don't fix it.
thill381- if the DRBIII will allow us to change the shift point, program different setting for things like the tilt mirrors (drives me crazy) and remove the speed limiter, we could probably band together via the 300 club and do a group buy. I can't speak for anyone else but at that price point sharing it would be the best solution.
Race-You know you're welcome, I was just curious. My e-mail is on its' way to you. I've got tickets on the front row of a tower (Talladega Tower) for both the Busch and Winston Cup races. If someone sees a deep slate M flying around the track, look for my www.300mclub.org sign on the back!! ;-) Just me and 170,000 of my closest friends!! I love the irony though. I drive 2 miles an hour for 2 hours to get into the track and watch the cars go 190 for 3 hours, then drive 2 miles an hour home!!
joey30m.......I replaced the stock filter with a K&N stock replacement type about 6000 miles ago. I can tell absolutely no difference in performance and (according to my M's computer) I'm getting about 0.1 mpg better that I was previously (i was getting 21.1 mpg, now getting 21.2). Other than the K&N, my car is dead stock. I have heard that the K&N will make more difference if you also change to a free flowing exhaust, but I can't vouch for that from experience.
A word of thanks to all for the good information in this club. I'm going friday to try out the paintless dent repair on my door dings and will let everyone know how it comes out. The dealer seems to think the blinking dash light problem is in the intensity wheel as mentioned above. I would particularly like to thank a poster from a few weeks earlier who mentioned that his dealer did not put ATF4 transmission fluid in his car. His quote of the difference in price of ATF4 vs. ATF3 lead me to check my repair ticket when I had my transmission serviced recently. The ticket only said ATF, so I asked the service manager who said they had put ATF4 in it. I challenged him based on price and, after checking, he agreed that they had put ATF3 in it. They are changing it out today at no cost to me.
Bug Removal--Please, anybody. What is the best way to remove splattered bugs from the front of my M? Will I have to re-do the Dawn/Z1/Z2 process after mechanically scraping the bugs off? They are baked-on hard. Is there any trick to soften 'em up before scrubbing? Thanks in advance.
I am seriously thinking about getting one of those support devices for road trips.
Zaino update: Tried the leather cleaner and leather treatment (Z9 and Z10)and was pleased with the results on the vinyl and leather. The resulting "new" leather smell is quite strong, though.
There are a lot of kerosene-based products out there that will disolve the little suckers, but I like to try less harsh stuff first. Usually soap/Water and (I'm not kidding) pantyhose do the job. The pantyhose is mildly abrasive and won't harm your finish. You might also try Bug Gone by Kit. It's not as harsh as some other items. I've also had luck with a paste made of Baking Soda and water, but it's abrasive and not recommended for nice paint (I've used it on my wife's van). If the pantyhose don't do it, you might want to try an item like this:
I just dropped my 99 300M off this morning for standard free oil change & service. Plus I'm having them look for rotor warpage which I said at my last two visits in Jan & March may be causing steering wheel shake on 40-50mph braking. Also having them check slight drivers seat movement, plus a wheel that feels slightly bent or not turning true causing a very slight low speed shake throughout the whole car.
Also at my request, they are replacing the transmission fluid which was replaced in January. My paper work from Jan says they put in ATF3 and my tranny dipstick says it should be ATF4 (9602), so they're doing that for free. I don't know what was in the tranny for the first 30K miles, but I hope the change to ATF4 smooths out how my tranny shifts.
If you can't trust a 5* dealer service dept to do the right thing, who can you trust?
Yes the unit can change shift points,(needs software to do it), adjusts for tire sizes, and others. It will not remove speed limiter though:( I agree a good dealer my do most of what you want with some convencing, and at a far cheaper price. For the three grand, I would go for a different transmission instead.
If you simply change the air filter you will not get any noticable change to performance or economy. If you just change out the exhaust you will notice a big differance, even with the stock (paper) intake system. Then changing to a filter like a K&N will give you a little more increases. I have three filters, stock paper, K&N stock replacement, and an S&B cone filter. I use each for different reasons The S&B has greater surface area (about 1.5 times the K&N) so if I know I will be higher rev driving I use it in the winter. The K&N is the easiest to work with once installed, you do not need to change anything (air box wise). For the summer dust stormes I use the paper.
I think racefan is in the federal witness protection program, or something:), or having hosting problems. Does your license plate change letters and digits too? aka James Bond.
I had this problem with my 98 Intrepid when it was new. I traced it to the panel switch as well -- if it is not fully engaged in the slot, it moves in and out of contact, causing the flickering. By moving the dial slightly, I was able to eliminate the problem.
Because the problem was so intermittent, it was difficult to find!
I am the one who mentioned that they used atf 3 on my car instead of the atf 4 called for in the manual. I brought it to the dealer for the change just to be sure the right fluid was used and even told them to be sure to use it. My bill stated ATF 4. They are changing it on next visit.
But I am still concerned as they really only do a partial fluid change by dropping the pan. They dont have the equipment to do a complete flush. Some 5* dealer--you may want to ask your dealer if they do just a partial change or a complete flush. Good luck.
Sorry for the delay in getting back with information on this, I have several new dealerships going up and they are all starting to roll at the same time now that the snow has melted. I am not able to answer all of your questions on the DRB III, as I am not a technician. I do know it will not reprogram your "auto reversing mirrors" or any other creature comfort types of systems. It is used as a diagnostic computer to repair electronic systems such as powertrain, body or chassis control modules, and related malfunctions. You would need to purchase the flash programing for the 300M in addition to the DRB III to be able to tell the car to do anything. Not to mention any updates after your purchase. It really is not something that an end user, such as us should be using. It is made to work in conjunction w/ an MDS system (mopar diagnostic system) used by an ASE certified technician. I imagine we could really "confuse" the car if we misprogramed any moduels.
Here's what some used car lots do to "repair," and I use the term loosely, deep scratches and chips. Go to your (grand)kids' crayon box and find a color that matches the car. Rub the crayon over the scratch or chip, filling it with wax. Then buff it. Works, for a little while.
If you have a black, excuse me Deep Slate, car, try black shoe polish on any scratches. Works wonders, temporarily. Lincoln shoe wax is harder (better) than Kiwi. I kept a can of it in the garage to use on my black SHO.
Its bad enough to get dings from strangers in parking lots, but mine got beat up at my wife's school by a coach that parks his SUV next to her. It'a a shame she can no longer drive the 300M to work. I only hope the paintless dent repair works!
These are for the 99 300M, should work in all years.
They work just fine, but only present a minor performance improvement (hardly noticable). They supposedly help burn ALL the fuel and burn it more efficiently, so fuel mileage increases a little .1 or .2.
All mods, +4's, dual exhaust, K&N or S&B intake filters, all add up to noticable performance increases combined, but you get used to them if you do them incrementally.
Case in point, my mom drove my car the other day, she drives a 2000 Concorde with a 3.2L and she noticed how much faster and stronger my car's engine is. I then drove her Concorde. It's nice and smooth but not near as fast!
Bottom line, I'm happy with the plugs, and most of the mods, but it's still not gonna compare to that Hemi V8 300N
Thanks for the tips, guys. I worked on it late this afternoon. The Zaino car wash and a soft brush got almost all the minor stuff; however there were several spots that appear to be permanently stained a gold color. I tried clay bar and Z5 polish with minor improvements. It appears that the gold bug juice chemically bonded to the plastic fascia, dispite a coat of Z1 and 4 coats of Z2. Well, back to new coat of Z1 for the fascia plus Z2. Dang!
All- I went to three of my local chrysler dealers today in hope of finding a 300M shirt, hat, underware, sock, whatever but with no luck. The best I could do was a tie and a lapel pin. No thanks on either. I did, however, get to look through the Mopar apparel catalog and found three items of interest. One is a screened t-shirt, white, with a 300M logo on the left breast and some design on the back. Price is $22. They also had a nice 300M polo shirt, white with a 300M logo embroidered on the left breast. It was $49. Finally, they had a nice desk clock that kind of looked like the interior M clock for $40. These items were from a 99-00 catalog, so I don't know if they still make this stuff or have other items now. The number to call, Roger, is 888-267-2187 for more informatoin.
Silver - Remember, the Zaino products contain no abrasives, so using the Z-1, Z-5 etc are unlikely to help much. I would be inclined to try some simonize or other mild abrasive wax/polish on the spot, then follow-up afterwards with Z-5 to get out any tiny swirls you might have put in there. That is, if the spot was bad enough.
Every so often I cruise over to the Intrepid board and found something of interest. Certain Intrepid owners believe that their cars appear to be superior to M's becasue they see more mentioned on this board than over there. Another thing, several have driven both cars and while they think the 300M has a plusher interior, the Intrepid R/T seems quieter on the highway than the M--a conclusion made after driving a loaded version of each 2001 model over the same area. Kind of strange, isn't it? While the R/T was nice when I was looking for an M and it had a great price, the cheaper interior and more common vehicle (I always see a lot more Intrepids than 300M's) turned me away. It's still interesting though.
Mike, $49.00 for a polo shirt? Thieves! The Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, MI has a nice white 300M baseball cap for about $10.00. Chrysler used to have a store at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN where I bought a polo shirt ($29) fleece pullover ($39) and a great leather 300M jacket ($199). These were made by Gear, but I have not been able to find any of these since. I guess they are collectors items now!
Right, the Zaino is non-abrasive. The Claybar is very tacky, but also non-damaging to the finish as long as you keep a fresh surface working. At this point I am going to wait and see what a hot summer will do to fade out the yellow stains. They are not that prominent-you really have to look hard to see them.
For months, awhile back, we were talking about all these perf parts So Cal was going to have available in Nov 2000. Anyone know where they are with these? There website TODAY, says nothing. I'm quite disappointed.
Got my clock faces from scotian, and they are perfect, there is a link to the pics below. I also added a photo of the dash before the molded wood dash kit goes on tomorrow.
No Flames Please, I know use of anything other than Zaino is like blasphemy in this group, but....
I Zymoled my 99 300M and my Mom did her 2000 Concorde over the Easter holiday weekend. It goes on quick and comes off smooth. Very nice shine.
It might not be a Zaino shine, but it was what I could get locally on short notice of holiday and warm temps. Zymol is highly rated by Consumer Reports and others, then again so is NuFinish. At least it starts with a "Z".
The cars are Platinum and Bright Silver, and I've read comments that Zaino might not have the kind of dramatic shine others are getting on RED and other dark colors.
Anyone use Zaino on Platinum or Silver and have pics to show?
I'm not sure Zaino is worth the price yet, plus the thought of waxing my car multiple times, and I hate the fact I gotta snail mail an order form with a check. Can't Sal get a Visa Machine?!?
here is my pix for the zaino on silver.. i think this was only with a couple of coats
www.sleepy.net/300m
as for the clock face, racefan, it's pretty sharp, where did you get this?
russ, the dealer said that rotors are disposable now a days and that i got more out of my rotor than normal, as they change them often around 12K. what the heck... 12 K.. that's just the first 6 months of my car ownership. LOL... oh well, a friend is going to change it for me along with the brakes. he owns a shop and will do this for free, as long as i pay for the parts, MUCH LATER.
real Zymol is VERY expensive. The $20 blue stuff that you find in autostores is a cheap version of Zymol and is not that good (I think TurtleWax makes it for Zymol)
Yes Zaino returns a great shine on silver, which is a very difficult color to get a deep shine on. As for Zymol in the local auto store, yes its made by Turtle wax and is equal in quality to most over the counter wax. There are many Zaino distributors, I found one in California who has a cart ordering system on his website and takes paypal. If you email or call Sal he can tell you if there is a dist. in your state.
I found a web site, www.chrysler-parts.com that appears to have a lot of chrysler gear and good prices. The hood cover that I got from the 5* for $49 is selling for $39 on this site. Might want to check it out. Still looking for 300M clothes though. No luck finding a web site for GEAR that apparently made a lot of stuff (including the shirts on eBay), and even the Chrysler apparel site only has a 300M tie.
Nice site and good prices. The hood cover looks like a good deal as my 5* wanted $49.00 also. The total front cover seems a little much (Batmobile look-alike) but could be an option.
Comments
Can anybody let me know if they notice a difference in performance and its reliability.
I'm not looking to install one yet since Goldilocks is still under 50 miles on the clock. Trying to find the time to drive her around, maybe this weekend. Put on the first coat of Z2 and was really really satisfied with the results. Won't be able to apply anymore for a few days since weather in NYC will be crapola for a few more days. Sent out payment to Dustin this weekend and my new plates should be here this week. Will do the upgrade asap.
Thanks.
STOP, fuzzywuzzy! Don't do it!
If they don't make a Bosch Platinum +4 plug for the 300M don't substitute another!
ISSUES:
HEAT RANGE: Spark plugs are designed to operate at a specific temperature for each engine. Too "hot" ant the electrodes will burn up. Too "cold" and the electrodes will foul.
REACH: This determines how far the business end of the plug reaches into the combustion chamber. Too long, and you risk contact with the piston. Too short, and the electrodes are shrouded in the plug hole. The recommended plugs place the electroses in the optimum position for ideal combustion.
The likely result of using the wrong plugs could range from degraded performance to severe enging damage not covered under warranty.
am i not welcome among you two??? i consider you both as my friends.
Race
don't do it. i've used those in the past, that were made for the car and they didn't work i had to take them out and put in factory plugs. the plugs don't need changing for 100k. i should have changed the plugs in my ram at 30k but i now have 56k and all is fine. if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Race
Keith
Other than the K&N, my car is dead stock. I have heard that the K&N will make more difference if you also change to a free flowing exhaust, but I can't vouch for that from experience.
Lynn
They are baked-on hard. Is there any trick to soften 'em up before scrubbing? Thanks in advance.
I am seriously thinking about getting one of those support devices for road trips.
Zaino update: Tried the leather cleaner and leather treatment (Z9 and Z10)and was pleased with the results on the vinyl and leather. The resulting "new" leather smell is quite strong, though.
Regards, silver
There are a lot of kerosene-based products out there that will disolve the little suckers, but I like to try less harsh stuff first. Usually soap/Water and (I'm not kidding) pantyhose do the job. The pantyhose is mildly abrasive and won't harm your finish. You might also try Bug Gone by Kit. It's not as harsh as some other items. I've also had luck with a paste made of Baking Soda and water, but it's abrasive and not recommended for nice paint (I've used it on my wife's van). If the pantyhose don't do it, you might want to try an item like this:
http://www.topoftheline.com/bugtarsponge1.html
Hope that helps.
Keith
Also at my request, they are replacing the transmission fluid which was replaced in January. My paper work from Jan says they put in ATF3 and my tranny dipstick says it should be ATF4 (9602), so they're doing that for free. I don't know what was in the tranny for the first 30K miles, but I hope the change to ATF4 smooths out how my tranny shifts.
If you can't trust a 5* dealer service dept to do the right thing, who can you trust?
Rick
I have three filters, stock paper, K&N stock replacement, and an S&B cone filter. I use each for different reasons The S&B has greater surface area (about 1.5 times the K&N) so if I know I will be higher rev driving I use it in the winter. The K&N is the easiest to work with once installed, you do not need to change anything (air box wise). For the summer dust stormes I use the paper.
Because the problem was so intermittent, it was difficult to find!
And the title box is back!
But I am still concerned as they really only do a partial fluid change by dropping the pan. They dont have the equipment to do a complete flush. Some 5* dealer--you may want to ask your dealer if they do just a partial change or a complete flush. Good luck.
I do know it will not reprogram your "auto reversing mirrors" or any other creature comfort types of systems. It is used as a diagnostic computer to repair electronic systems such as powertrain, body or chassis control modules, and related malfunctions.
You would need to purchase the flash programing for the 300M in addition to the DRB III to be able to tell the car to do anything. Not to mention any updates after your purchase. It really is not something that an end user, such as us should be using. It is made to work in conjunction w/ an MDS system (mopar diagnostic system) used by an ASE certified technician. I imagine we could really "confuse" the car if we misprogramed any moduels.
If you have a black, excuse me Deep Slate, car, try black shoe polish on any scratches. Works wonders, temporarily. Lincoln shoe wax is harder (better) than Kiwi. I kept a can of it in the garage to use on my black SHO.
f
These are for the 99 300M, should work in all years.
They work just fine, but only present a minor performance improvement (hardly noticable). They supposedly help burn ALL the fuel and burn it more efficiently, so fuel mileage increases a little .1 or .2.
All mods, +4's, dual exhaust, K&N or S&B intake filters, all add up to noticable performance increases combined, but you get used to them if you do them incrementally.
Case in point, my mom drove my car the other day, she drives a 2000 Concorde with a 3.2L and she noticed how much faster and stronger my car's engine is. I then drove her Concorde. It's nice and smooth but not near as fast!
Bottom line, I'm happy with the plugs, and most of the mods, but it's still not gonna compare to that Hemi V8 300N
I went to three of my local chrysler dealers today in hope of finding a 300M shirt, hat, underware, sock, whatever but with no luck. The best I could do was a tie and a lapel pin. No thanks on either. I did, however, get to look through the Mopar apparel catalog and found three items of interest. One is a screened t-shirt, white, with a 300M logo on the left breast and some design on the back. Price is $22. They also had a nice 300M polo shirt, white with a 300M logo embroidered on the left breast. It was $49. Finally, they had a nice desk clock that kind of looked like the interior M clock for $40. These items were from a 99-00 catalog, so I don't know if they still make this stuff or have other items now. The number to call, Roger, is 888-267-2187 for more informatoin.
Remember, the Zaino products contain no abrasives, so using the Z-1, Z-5 etc are unlikely to help much. I would be inclined to try some simonize or other mild abrasive wax/polish on the spot, then follow-up afterwards with Z-5 to get out any tiny swirls you might have put in there. That is, if the spot was bad enough.
The Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, MI has a nice white 300M baseball cap for about $10.00.
Chrysler used to have a store at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN where I bought a polo shirt ($29) fleece pullover ($39) and a great leather 300M jacket ($199). These were made by Gear, but I have not been able to find any of these since. I guess they are collectors items now!
Thanks for your assistance.
Silver
Anyone got an update?
Race's 300m
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1623482&a=12413329&f=0
Love the Tag Hauer clock face.
Is this a preview of things to come with the German Daimler influence on future designs?
I Zymoled my 99 300M and my Mom did her 2000 Concorde over the Easter holiday weekend. It goes on quick and comes off smooth. Very nice shine.
It might not be a Zaino shine, but it was what I could get locally on short notice of holiday and warm temps. Zymol is highly rated by Consumer Reports and others, then again so is NuFinish. At least it starts with a "Z".
The cars are Platinum and Bright Silver, and I've read comments that Zaino might not have the kind of dramatic shine others are getting on RED and other dark colors.
Anyone use Zaino on Platinum or Silver and have pics to show?
I'm not sure Zaino is worth the price yet, plus the thought of waxing my car multiple times, and I hate the fact I gotta snail mail an order form with a check. Can't Sal get a Visa Machine?!?
www.sleepy.net/300m
as for the clock face, racefan, it's pretty sharp, where did you get this?
russ, the dealer said that rotors are disposable now a days and that i got more out of my rotor than normal, as they change them often around 12K. what the heck... 12 K.. that's just the first 6 months of my car ownership. LOL... oh well, a friend is going to change it for me along with the brakes. he owns a shop and will do this for free, as long as i pay for the parts, MUCH LATER.
Keith
Mike
Mike
Nice site and good prices. The hood cover looks like a good deal as my 5* wanted $49.00
also. The total front cover seems a little much (Batmobile look-alike) but could be an option.
Thanks for sharing this great find.
Joey
Oh well, at least I only paid 11.99.
Guess I'll have to order my Zaino now so I'll have it during my vacation.