Chrysler 300M

sdmike2 · April 2002

Where did you get it? Streetbeat? http://store.yahoo.com/streetbeatcustoms/chrys99up30p.html

toms99 · April 2002

I've seen pics of successful installations of the K&N Aircharger intake systems on some 300M's here on this board.

Can anyone tell me the part number for the kit?

When I go to K&N's web site and do a search on products for the 300M, all I get is a part number for the regular K&N filter, not the tube, cone and heat sheild kit.

videoman1 · April 2002

Thanks for everyone's input. Next time I'll try holding the brake while giving it gas to rev up the RPMs. This will be after taking Blonda's advice and letting the computer and tranny learn the Tornado's effect. After thinking about it, I usually don't do jack rabbit starts so my sudden 0-60 trials probably confused the tranny and it didn't know what to do.

Wire2 - According to the Tornado Air people here's what's supposed to happen : "The Tornado Air creates a vortex or swirling effect to the engine. The result is improved airflow into the engine's combustion chamber, causing a more efficient mixture between air and fuel."

videoman1 · April 2002

I got the Joshua peice in the mail the other day. Thank you very much. You're right. The color is an extremely close match and I think that Joshua is the kit to go for. However, the only thing that concerns me is that both you and sdmike had problems with the first shipment and had to get new ones sent. But at least it sounded like Joshua was very easy to work with in that respect.

sdmike2 · April 2002

It's part 63-1029. Best price I found was at Martel Brothers, at http://www.martelbros.com

easyrider300m · April 2002

any word on whether the club is going to offer logoed floor mats for the M? Spring is here and I am in the market for new mats.

300michael · April 2002

Any vortex is lost after the TB and going down the air chanbers to the combustion chamber. Besides the air and fuel is mixed in the combustion chamber anyway. For carb units it may do something. But I doubt it. I made one a year ago no positive effect. You need to have a set and consistant pattern for testing. Like leaving the gear in D and traction control off or on. Along with using the same streach of road and keeping the tand about the same (weight factor here), because most of the additions will only net you a tenth or so.

lonestarsled · April 2002

Howdy,

Just returned from the Houston Auto Show and got some really good pics of the Chrysler Crossfire and the Pontiac Solstice. Seems that these were the only cars that caught my interest. There were too many urban assault vehicles (aka SUV's) and the usual high dollar euro-boxes. I can email these pics to anyone who can put these pics on a server for all to see.

Also had an interesting conversation with the Sylvania rep about HID conversions. To make a long story short, yes HID's can be retrofitted to existing halogen headlight units and be made to work properly, but the legalities are such that these lights would never be considered legal, even with correct beam patterns. The Sylvania Silver Star Halogens looked interesting.

glennbp · April 2002

Hi Mike - Was it you that posted the pic of the billet grill? I know someone did from a place that is selling them. If it's as nice as Art says, well, I may go for it! What do you think? Just got back from 12 hours at Disney CA Adventure with the family. WOW - I'm not as young as I used to be! I'm pooped!!!

Art - Where did you get your billet grill?

uxca300m · April 2002

Calipers look really good. How many coats of paint? Also did you do the lettering on the valve covers that you were thinking about?

Blonda- Your edgy pictures of the M are really neat. I think I'm going to take one of mine, have it blown up and framed and hang it my puter room.

Our local dealer just got a silver 300M special into his stock so of course I had to pull in and take a look at it. Love the tread pattern on the tires but of course up here in the north it would mean spending another $ 1,500.00 or so to buy winter rims and tires. The sticker price on it was $44,000.00 Canadian which is about $28,000.00 U.S.A. plus another $4,200.00 in taxes. Of course my salesmen came out and tried to sell it to me and I could see that Beast, my 2001 Inferno Red 2001 M was starting to look a little nervous. I took him home and soothed him down with a coat of Z-6 all the time assuring him that I wasn't going to trade him in. The wife caught me talking to the car, just shook her head and exited left.

achance · April 2002

I got it from an outfit called Auto-Stock. Someone posted the link on this board. It is made by a company called Trenz and shipped out of Vegas. Its 5:30 am and I'm up because the cat wouldn't leave me alone and my wife was snoring. So much for sleeping in. In a couple of cups of coffee it will be light enough to go out and have a go at putting the grill on, but it is too wet to sand and paint over the holes where the front plate used to live.

sdmike2 · April 2002

I had posted a link to streetbeat, which has a billet grill for about $150 (I think). Here it is again. Problem is, they don't tell you much about it.http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com

Art apparently got his from a company called auto-stock. I dug around and found them at http://www.autostockinc.com/ . They have a couple of different brands, including a full replacment type (Trenz) and apparently one that goes over your old one (Carriage Works). Carriage Works doesn't sell one for the M. The Trenz comes in polished ($162) or satin ($134) finishes.

I hear ya on the "getting worn out". We went to Disneyland a few weeks ago, and the worst part was making the 90 minute drive home exhausted! They should have a starbucks by the exit. By the way, how did you spend 12 hours at CA Adventure? It didn't look that big to me.

kosh_2258 · April 2002

Yeah, I see that the bulb is replacable apart from the projector. That's not how it's characterized in the owners manual.

I haven't had mine apart to look at it.

I can say however that the HID's work GREAT at night. I just had the doubtful priviledge of driving home at 2am on a dark, overcast night and the illumination the HID's provided was exceptional compared to standard halogens.

I met several vehicles in the opposite lane (two lane road) and nobody "flashed" me to indicate my headlights were bothering them.

achance · April 2002

Well, now that it is light, it is also 38 degrees and pouring rain. No grill install or bottom paint unless it stops raining. Where's that TV remote?

BTW, mine is the polished Trenz grill, it think it was $169 plus shipping.

glennbp · April 2002

Thanks for the grill info, I'll check it out. You're right, CA Adventure isn't that big and the 12 hours included the drive there and back so we really spent about 8 at the park. Most of the time was spent waiting to get on the rides and running around getting and using "Fastpasses", and, of course, we had to wait until 8:45pm to see the Electrical Parade. I will say this; there are a few killer rides that are definitely worth going on if you're into that kind of stuff. On the "California Screamer", the 360 degree roller coaster, I was wondering how Francesca would hold up if I could bolt her to the track! Pulling a few "G's" in an M upside down might be fun!

sdmike2 · April 2002

those fastpasses are cool! Makes you feel like you're doing 70 in the car pool lane next to bumper-to-bumper traffic. The people in the traffic give you dirty looks, but there's nothing they can do about it. lol. What kind of plans do you have for today. I'm thinking about hitting some golf balls around 3 or so once my wife gets home.

sdmike2 · April 2002

This morning my wife got in big red and pulled forward to tell me something. In the process she managed to scrape the front right wheel along the curb for about 20 feet. It doesn't appear to have damaged the rim, but the tire is all scraped to hell. I think I'm going to banish her from driving the car until she can show she's more responsible (jeez..sounds like I'm talking about a kid and not a grown woman!), but in the meantime, has anyone found a good way to cover the scrape marks? Will the Zaino tire protectant mask that stuff and turn it black again, or just make the damage shiny?

toms99 · April 2002

Thanks for the part number and link! Just a few more questions:

1)Do you think it was worth the $230?

2) I downloaded the PDF instruction file. Installation *looks* straightforward enough, but I never trust instructions! Did you encounter any problems along the way?

Toms99

sdmike2 · April 2002

1) Depends on priorities and preferences. My goal is to maximize performance at a reasonalble price. Since I saw the mess that air had to go through to get to the throttle body I decided that something simplified, like the aircharger, would help as much as anything. Personally, It was worth it. Will it make your car two seconds faster in the quarter mile? no way. However, I think combined with my other mods it made the car more responsive.

2) It was easy. They provided all the parts (clamps, screws, brackets, etc.) and good instructions. The old system comes out surprisingly easily, and the Aircharger fits like a glove. The only interesting part was the tightening of the clamp under the wiper cowling (holding the aircharger to the throttle body intake) because of the lack of clearance. It won't take you more than 45 minutes to do it. Besides, BLONDA did it, and she's a gurl! You can't let a gurl out-do you! (that breeze you felt was me ducking very, very quickly).

)

achance · April 2002

I just this week contributed $409.00 towards the body shop guy's kid going to Harvard to clean up my wife's little encounter with a snowbank this winter. Thing apparently just jumped out in front of her.

sdmike2 · April 2002

I hear those things are pretty quick and deceptive.

sdmike2 · April 2002

I have posted some pictures on my 300m site, but if you want any more let me know. For example, if you want pictures of the difficult clamp or where some things attach I can grab my digital once my wife gets home and take some shots. I'll be glad to help any way you need. http://www.ritchiefamily.com/300m.htm

Blonda - you know I was kidding, right?

bobspc · April 2002

Any idea if the 63-1029 K and N will fit a 2002 special

blonda · April 2002

Yeah, yeah, I know you were kidding. But actually, I was about to write "if I can do it ANYONE can", but you beat me to it. I didn't, on the other hand, have any trouble with the throttle body clamp like you guys did. Smaller hands do have their benefits. :-)

I'm off to my parents house today to leave my 13-year old for a week (he's off track and gets bored at home) and my father already asked if I wanted the plugs installed -- he loves to do that kind of stuff. I can't wait to see if I can tell the difference on the way home. Unfortunately I'll have my daughter with me so I can't drive too fast :-(. Last time I drove the I-15 near Temecula by myself I caught myself going 115mph up the grade ---oops! (I still had lots of pedal left too). There was a woman in a BMW right behind me trying to keep up (I didn't even know she was there at first, but if she WAS racing me...she was losing!)

glennbp · April 2002

I have a very slight alternator whine coming through my sound system. You can barely hear it, but it's there. Anyway, I've grounded and re-grounded every thing at every place possible but it's still there. I was thinking of using one of those alternator noise filters that hook up in line with the alternator output. My question is: on the M there is an 8 gauge red wire coming from the alternator; is this where the filter connects or is there some hidden wire someplace I don't know about? Maybe wire2 or otto could jump in here.

sdmike2 · April 2002

blonda - just don't try doing 115 through the border patrol check point! You'd get a helluva head start, but as fast as the M is we still can't outrun helocopters.

As for the plugs...from what I hear from folks here that have done their own, there's a bit of risk of stripping the hex screws that hold the plug covers on. You and your dad be careful. If you screw (pun intended) any of them up, the part number is #6505121-AA ($.35 each)

glennbp - drat...you finally found the little electrical noise maker that I installed in your car when you wern't looking.

The inlaws gone? Must be, or you wouldn't be thinking about billet grills instead of gas grills.

beach15 · April 2002

If any of you are interested in a full Mopar 300M bra, email me. I had a deal going with cbwongus, but he seems to have vanished off the face of the earth, and we need to get this bra out of here. We've only used the large, lower part once and the hood part a few times. Both are in new condition and have been treated with leather conditioner.

dkrucelyak@hotmail.com

glennbp · April 2002

Hey, do you remember who posted the detailed instructions on changing plugs? There was some good info there. If you have the post#, can you tell me what it is? Thanks!

no1trust · April 2002

Does it have to do w/using carpool lanes if you're alone or something? If it is, can a frequent SoCal visitor get one, where, & what cost? Blonda... 115 on the I15 by Temecula? You really didn't notice? Whoa.

toms99 · April 2002

The post came from muskateer3. Here it is:

You can do this yourself. Get yourself a set of torx sockets (harborfreight.com), a 5/8" sparkplug socket, a 3/8" ratchet, and a 8" long 3/8" socket extension.

1. At each plug, there is a small connector that you pinch to disconnect the the wire leading to the plug boot. Once the wire is disconnected...

2.Use the appropriate size torx socket to remove the two long screws that hold the spark plug coil/boot in place. Once the screws are loose, a gentle pull on the top of the boot, and it slides up and out of the way. Then...

3.Use the 5/8 spark plug socket to remove the spark plug.

4. Make sure you buy some spark plug anti-seize compound at the auto parts store to put on the plug threads of the new plug. The Bosch+4 plugs do not require gapping.

5. Assembly is the reverse of removal. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN the plug when putting in.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I'll add some tips of my own:

1) when putting in the plugs, put a short piece of rubber hose on the tip and then insert the plug into the hole, starting it in the threads by twisting the hose. The hose acts like a mini universal joint, and if something goes wrong the hose will twist so you don't damage the threads.

2) Torque to 20 lbs.

Toms99

sdmike2 · April 2002

The "fastpass" is a new invention by Disney at their theme parks where you can go up to machines near entrances to popular rides and get a ticket for "special entrance" at a specified time. When you go back to the ride at your designated time there's a special line that bypasses 95% of the regular traffic, cutting a wait to minutes instead of potentially an hour or more. It's cool.

On the other hand, "fasTRAK" is a system employed on some freeways out here (including I15 near my house) where non-carpool people can use the separated car pool lanes for a fee. This fee ranges from a low of $.50 to over $4.00 in my area...which is about 8 or 9 miles of divided car pool lane. What's neat about this car pool lane is that it heads south in the morning and north in the evening, so it helps with the conjestion in both rush hours.

wire2 · April 2002

I'd try an electrolytic capacitor from the + alternator lead and - to ground. Something around 1000 micro farads, 50 volts dc rating shoud be adequate. Clip one on with alligator leads to try it before making it permanent.
Is this an aftermarket system? Might also need some suppression at the + wire of the head unit and amp.

sdmike2 · April 2002

that "whoosh" sound you just heard was that last post flying over my head.

no1trust · April 2002

I've been to Disneyland only once (in the early 90s) and while it was enjoyable I never went back because of the obscene waiting lines (signs marking "1 hour" waiting from this point) - at that rate I figured if I spent 8 hours there I'd only get 8 rides. I'll have to take the boss there now. Where do you get the fastpass, at the admission gate or the individual ride, & is it much more expensive? BTW, I never asked anyone this about carpool lanes in SoCal, but when my wife & I take an M down there & use the lanes (2 people), we are legit in doing so for the 2 or more persons aren't we? Or are we supposed to buy a sticker or something too? I just assumed that as long as you had the minimum # of adults posted in the car you were good to go w/the carpool lane, am I wrong? I love those carpool lanes.

sdmike2 · April 2002

The disney stuff is free. You the passes from machines next to each ride. You insert your entrance ticket and it spits out a pass with a time (actually, a 15-20 minute window) on it. Kind of like an ATM machine with no buttons.

No extra money needed. In CA a car pool is 2 or more riders, so when you and your wife jump into the carpool lane you're fine. I seem to remember seeing a carpool lane somewhere requireing 3 people, but it was a long time ago and I don't remember where it was. Might not even have been in CA.

no1trust · April 2002

on my last trip to Inglewood & Santa Monica. I think it was a westbound I-10 section between I-15 & downtown but I don't remember which part. I'll probably find it again tonight or tomorrow (wife wants to see an antique show). Thanks for the fastpass tips. Hope I can use the old upgrade routine that worked last time to get an M... or may rent an SUV so the wife (who recently expressed interest in possibly her getting one because of the perceived safety) can drive one firsthand.

toms99 · April 2002

I know blonda and sdmike have installed this set-up and I'm definitely considering it. Is this product relatively new? I've been away from the boards for a while and I can remember not too long ago guys here were using dremels, hacksaws, TNT, etc to remove the restrictions in their intakes!!

alta_300m · April 2002

I have noticed on the photos that some people have posted that they have installed custom "300M" rear license plate frames. I would like to get one of these

I have searched the Internet and found a few sites that do make these, but I am not to sure if they are reputable and are of high quality that won't tarnish in any way.

How did everybody who has one get theirs? Any suggestions or links would be great...thanks is advance.

alta_300m · April 2002

As I was driving by my local dealership yesterday I also stopped in to see if they had a special on display. Luckily I was driving my Dakota so I did not feel bad taking "my baby" there to look at another car.

Front and centre was a silver special and those tires are definately the first thing that caught my eye. Very Funky! but I have to agree with you that they would be totally impractical in any climate that has any chance of even a slight dusting of snow. The lowered ride height would also be a concern for me as the entrances and crub heights in this neck of woods would inflict terrible damage and I would feel so guilt every time it scraped. Other than that what a beauty

glennbp · April 2002

The K&N Aircharger is definitely a plus and a breeze to install. No special tools and about 20 minutes. The kit is complete with great instructions as well. Is there a big difference in performance? No, but I feel that with all the "small" mods together, there is an overall increase. BTW - thanks for the spark plug tutorial; I pulled my plugs to check them, it was a lot easier than I thought. The aircharger part# is 63-1029 and

http://www.martelbros.com

has the best price.

wire2 · April 2002

>that "whoosh" sound you just heard was that last post flying over my head.

Sorry. I've written previous posts on the 3000GT/Stealth mailing list with what I considered enough detail to answer all questions that the thread might raise and got back sarcasm for my efforts.
So now I tend to be somewhat brief with explanations.
Anyway, If I can be of help to anyone I'd be happy to answer questions on or off the list.(That's IF I know the answer)

rogor2k · April 2002

Both Summit Racing (summitracing.com) and Jegs (jegs.com) have the K&N Aircharger for $5 less ($224.99) than Martel Brothers. Differences in shipping cost may negate the savings. Summit Racing is currently out of stock, with an expected in-stock date of May 8th.

glennbp · April 2002

I'll pick up a few caps and give it a go. Yes, it is an aftermarket system, Alpine, Rockford-Fosgate, and Kicker. Interestingly, I believe the "whine" is only coming from the Rockford-Fosgate 4 channel amp. The whine does not increase with volume and frankly it's inaudible while any music is playing, but knowing it's there drives me nuts regardless. It's tough being a perfectionist at times. Everyone say "awwwww"!

sdmike2 · April 2002

I wasn't being sarchastic about your explanation, but rather "non-complimentary" of myself and my lack of knowledge in those areas. When I buy the farm, I'm sure it'll be some electrical accident.

sdmike2 · April 2002

Summit has been out of the aircharger since I starting looking at it two months or more ago.

sdmike2 · April 2002

If I remember correctly, there isn't a charge for getting the Fastrak (or at least wasn't originally), only for using it. When you enter a car pool lane and pass their check points you are automatically charged. Not even a need to slow down. The stretch of I-15 between San Diego and Escondido uses it, as does the freeway that bypasses I-5 up near Irvine (I forget the highway number). Not sure who else uses it, but if you find a web site for Fastrak I'm sure they'll have a list of locations.

Mike

added:

Here is a government FAQ page about Fastrak. There might be a link on it to the Fastrak home page. http://www.dot.ca.gov/fastrak/faq.htm

fedlawman · April 2002

RE: Racing helicopters.

VNE on a Jetranger or Hughes 500 is only about 120 kts. Throw in a little headwind and your in the game.

However, don't even think about a BO-109 or Twin Star.

BTW, you'll never outrun a radio!

sdmike2 · April 2002

I seem to remember a B-grade movie....maybe something like a Canonball Run flick...where a helo was chasing a car, and the car started pulling away. Pretty funny.

Get your car yet?

toms99 · April 2002

The power trunk latch suddenly stopped working, both with the remote and the dash button (I have to actually use the KEY...arrgggg!)

I looked at the fuse panel, but there are no references to the trunk (One of them has to protect the trunk circuit...it's probably bundled with other stuff and just not labled??)

Before I start pulling wires and tracing connections from the dash to the trunk with my VOM, does anyone know of any common problems or possible situations that would cause this??

sdmike2 · April 2002

Chrysler 300M

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