Chrysler 300M

turtle8081 · May 2002

Has anyone changed the side mirrors on their M to the special mirrors?

I am intersted and wanted to know any tips on wiring the signals.

Also, does anyone know of a good 5* dealer in the northern suburbs of detroit, mi?

dammitjim1 · May 2002

sdmike2: I checked the pricing on the 300M through carsdirect.com before requesting the quote from the dealer. The dealer gave me some nonsense BS that their price was really lower, etc. At this point, I see no benefit to pursuing the Pull Ahead lease program that DC is offering.

km99cobra: When I got those lease numbers back from the dealer, I was shocked at the delta between my current lease price on my '00 300M ($339) vs. the cost on the '02 ($482). I suspected that they were setting the residual low, so I'd be paying more for depreciation cost than I had previously. The dealer told me I'd get $4000 between lease loyalty and rebates. It still winds up being close to a $500/month payment.
I don't know if I love the car that much.

toms99 · May 2002

If you are happy with your 00 300M you may want to consider buying it. Check your residual value and compare to the used car prices on the net. That's what I did. I leased my 99 for 3 years and then researched its value. Since I could buy the car for several thousand less than the estimated street value, and I was happy with the car, I bought it. Since I had been leasing for 3 years I made sure I took great care of the car. It was strange...I was buying a "used" car that I just happened to drive off the showroom floor!!

blonda · May 2002

I also have the aircharger and duals (exactly the same system as SDMike) and just recently put them in after driving stock (except the drop in K&N filter replacement) for over 31K miles with my 99. After about a month of driving with the mods the tranny and computer adjusted to them and I most definitely notice a difference in acceleration and response. Not a major change in gas mileage. Sure sounds good!

splatt · May 2002

I'll be doing the same thing in about 2 years with my 01

Got a lease, but due to job changes putting waaaay to many miles on it. OTOH - I love the car, try to take good care of it, and want to keep it anyway. Now I'm just trying to figure out what warranty to purchase...

videoman1 · May 2002

If you plan on buying the car you've been leasing, does the dealer still penalize you for being over the mileage limit? You know, they charge you 10 cents or whatever per mile over the original lease agreement. Since you're buying the car from them, they don't have to worry about loosing money cause of the higher miles.

kosh_2258 · May 2002

I never paid any attention but I find that hard to believe considering that the LHS is about a foot longer than the 300. Aluminum hood aside, there's more rear structure and that has got to weight more than 20 lbs.

It can't be the autostick because it's the same trans. The autostick is just a feature in the drivetrain computer that's enabled by the shifter and wiring.

bigmike5 · May 2002

Jeff--I sent you a message to you personal e-mail last Thursday looking for the size of the rotors on the non-php 99 M. Did you get it? Do you know the precise size? Let me know if you do as I have an order in for Applied Rotor Tech rotors and want to be sure of the size before they ship them.

splatt · May 2002

No, they won't. The purchase price is what you pay to keep what you've got. It doesn't take into consideration anything else since it's not warrantied/guaranteed from them (the lease holder). They'll just sell you what you've got for the buyout.

Actually, mileage doesn't matter (to a point) if you are trading it in anyway - go to any dealer and ask what they'd give on trade in. If it's higher than the buyoutt, you make money, if it's less, you loose. The only way that mileage/condition plays in (except for trade value in general) is if you just turn it in and walk away.

njdave · May 2002

I am buying a 300m Special tomorrow and was considering leasing. The reason why leasing is such a bad deal right now for most of Chrysler's vehicles is that the company was dumped with many off-lease vehicles last year that proved difficult to sell. Therefore, Chrysler has artificially lowered the residuals on leased cars and, as a result, artifically raised lease payments. The current residuals I was quoted were 39% and 41% - simply rediculous. This is not the time to lease a Chrysler.

toms99 · May 2002

If you buy the car coming off lease there is no milage penalty. In fact, they did not even look at my 99 when I purchased it off lease. When you lease the car the residual value (the price you pay if you want to buy the car) is essentially locked in. I was lucky. I kept the car in tip-top shape, had low miles on it, so it was actually worth more than the residual.

Most of the time buying out right is a better financial decision than a lease. The only reason I leased for the first 3 years is I was afraid of plunking down $30K on first year model platform with many radical design elements....I figured I would let Chyrsler take that risk for the first 3 years.

That should not be an issue now. After 4 years with only minimal changes (even with the Special) I would feel safe buying. Although there have been a few exceptions (aka "Christine"), the long term reliability of this platform has been really outstanding, and most, if not all, of the early bugs have been fixed.

fastdriver · May 2002

toms99-

Poor Christine. ;-((( She was beautiful looking, but........

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned about the new 300's is the tranny shifting. Is it still a "learning" tranny? When slowing up for a red light and then accelerating again before coming to a complete stop, does the tranny still seem 'confused"and then jerk into gear? Same for slowing down when turning a corner and then accelerating.

I think the buyout on my 99 Christine was about $17,000 after 36 months. I could look up the exact figure. I had the balloon payment plan lease from Chrysler. This allowed me to get rid of her after 33 months as long as I made those last 2 payments. It was worth it for me to do it that way.

fastdriver

intrepidspirit · May 2002

You must have had a huge down payment on your current leased M to get payments of $339/month! I'm guessing $5,000 or more.

If current residuals truly are 39-41%, leasing is a poor option. My lease residual value of 54% is close to the residual market value of the car. AT 39-41%, you are paying for 60% of the vehicle over 3 years -- this is roughly equivalent to a 5-year loan schedule. And at that rate, you have equity in the vehicle after 3 years, so you need to buy it at lease end or lose 1,000's of $.

I wouldn't re-lease at those residual rates!

seefive · May 2002

Thanks for the info...I have a '99 M with 38K miles and I was looking to improve the performance.I will do the mods sometime next month. Do you have pics of your M?

99_300m_ric_va · May 2002

I got this from KVR awhile back. It mentions the two brake rotor sizes and some prices for KVR drilled rotors and pads.

Robert, if your car has 282mm front disc'c the front rotors are $104.00
each, front carbon fiber pads $64.00 per axle set, rear rotors $75.00 each,
rear pads $66.00 per axle set. If your car has 297mm front disc's the rotors
are $128.00 each, rear rotors $113.00 each, front and rear pads are the same
price. You can contact me at 800-636-0854 to place your order. Thank you for
your interest in KVR braking products,

Gary

blonda · May 2002

Here you go:

http://community.webshots.com/user/brendalf

I had 40K on my M when I added the mods. (I bought it with 11K off a one year lease turn in).

I'm still trying to get the Bosch Platnium 4+ plugs installed. Ran into a stripped screw and couldn't finish. It appears to be a problem that isn't uncommon.

sdmike2 · May 2002

I think "tried to install the plugs but couldn't" will ultimately end up on your headstone. It just might be your legacy. lol!

tnsc_300m · May 2002

Hi Folks,

The issue of Mopar Action on the News stands now has a indepth article about the new Hemi motors coming to a DC Truck (then Car) near you soon. According to the story the 5.7L Hemi going into the 2003 Dodge Ram 2500/3500 trucks will have 345 BHP and should be available in the 1500 series trucks in Jan 2003.

That story futher states that a 6.1L Hemi will be available in the near future and possibly be an option sometime after (or around) the time the new LX series start hitting the market, and goes further to say the reborn Charger R/T has been given the green light.

Aside from those juicy newsbits the article has mucho hard engine specs and pictures of the new 5.7L Hemi engine. Really good stuff if you're the kind of GearHead who knows things like intake valve sizes of small block Chevy heads and is itching for a motor you will probably be able to buy lots of cool gear for. Although 345 bhp from the factory is plenty of power for most folks. But then we're talking to 300M'ers here.
;-)

The Car and Truck News website also has some related Hemi motor stuff on the Buzz report page.

Check it out if you're one of the inquiring minds who lurk around here.

tnsc300m

pjyoung · May 2002

my '99 apparently has learned very well...no confusion anywhere.

dammitjim1 · May 2002

My down payment was wholly in the form of a trade-in, and yes it was around $5K. The current rebates and lease loyalty $$ DC is offering come to around $4K...not a whole lot less. The difference in the monthly payment appears to come mostly from the lowered residual values they've set. The residual on my original M lease was 19K, now it's $6K lower!

This does not appear to be a good time to lease a Chrysler, and definitely not worth pursuing their "Pull Ahead" lease program. Unfortunately, if things don't change by the time my lease matures, it may be time to consider another vehicle.

300michael · May 2002

The two mods you mentioned are good for about .5 second less in 0-60 times. If you have a light foot it is good for extra gas miliage (about 4).
I have done them plus boring out the TB, adding ram air, plus stickyer tires.

300michael · May 2002

I has allowed me to do things that the leasing compaines would never allow me to do.

300michael · May 2002

When you consider the 3.5L puts out 250 hp (or 71.43hp per a Liter)and the 5.7L puts out 345hp (or 60.53hp per a Liter). If it were possible to bore out the 3.5L to 5.7 you would get over 407 hp for the same displacement. And that is before us moders get a hold of it. Hopefully the torque is much greater to make up for it.

sdmike2 · May 2002

I read that the car will produce over 350 lb/ft of torque. That information is at least 6 months old though.

Here's the mopar action cover. Now if I could just find a way to turn the pages. Nice looking engine at the lower left though. http://www.moparaction.com/Next/img/aug2002.jpg

sdmike2 · May 2002

This document provides preliminary specs on the 5.7 as applied to the Dodge Super8, which is the sister car to the 300N prototype I saw this past summer. It might give us an idea of what DC has planned for this engine in their high performance sedans rather than their trucks. The spec sheet says 353bhp and 395 lb./ft of torque. Man that would be SWEET!

http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/automotive/whitepapers/hemi.pdf

toms99 · May 2002

Before I changed my plugs the first time I used the parts file on sdmike's website and ordered 12 of the tork screws...just in case!

I haven't stripped any of mine, so I have 12 just sitting here. If you send me your address I'll be happy to mail you a couple of them free of charge.

toms99
tsokol5@comcast.net

toms99 · May 2002

I never had any problem with my 99's tranny. I believe the learning feature is still present in all of the current models (I don't think they changed anything with it.)

As far as confusion, I'm confused about:

"When slowing up for a red light and then accelerating again before coming to a complete stop..."

Ahhh...I'm not sure why you would want to accelerate toward a red light....That would probably confuse the tranny...!

lonestarsled · May 2002

I believe that the bump start syndrome is actually a conspiracy between the DOT and DC to give the people that roll through stop signs fits with their cars!!!!! LOL;) I can FORCE my car to bump shift, but knowing what causes it allows me to drive around the "problem."

easyrider300m · May 2002

I eventually will go with the Bosch plugs. Someone here said there is a spacer on the screw that needs to be reinstalled or replaced when reinstalling the screws. Did you have any problem with these spacers. Any trick on not stripping the screws. Would spraying them with wd40 or silicone help to loosen them?

dkrhardy · May 2002

I have an R/T, your "poor" cousin, and I have done the TB, Lister intake, K&N drop-in, Dynomax single exhaust, and I've recorded 0-60 as good as 7.22, worst 7.54 for an overall average of 7.4 after quite a few runs. Not so many 1/4 mile runs, but showing 15.78 @ 92.4 ! For very little investment a good increase in performance. We share the same mechanicals, so good for one is good for all.

toms99 · May 2002

I had no trouble with the tork screws. I think the key is having a good fitting tork bit and use of a small ratchet rather than a bit driver. I don't think spraying any lubricant will help...the bit will just slip out and make things worse. I suggest cleaning out any dirt or dust out of the tork screw so the bit fits good and snug.

As far as the spacers go, that's a good question. I assumed the screws would come with them! I have a set of 12 screws on hand but never had to replace any. If I did have to replace them, I'm not at all sure the spacers can be removed from the old screw without destroying them...

firebird69 · May 2002

What is the best radar/laser for the money? I was convinced the Valentine 1 was the best, but now I hear about the Passport 8500 and others. Is the V-1 worth the money? What are the pro's/con's of the V-1?

denverm · May 2002

check out http://www.radartest.com/ - their "World's Best Radar Detector" article. They are not high on the Valentine, preferring the Passport 8500 and Bel 980. I have the Bel (costs quite a bit less than the Passport) and have been pleased with it. A few more false alarms than I would like, but it's saved me more than once. I'm not sure that any detector will do much for instant-on laser, but there are still a lot of radar units in use, at least here in CO.

blonda · May 2002

Still only a 4 speed autostick?

blonda · May 2002

There is a plastic clamp that goes around the screw that makes it look difficult to change out without replacing the entire cover piece. I only have one stripped screw and may be able to get it removed by making it a slotted head and hopefully reuse it. I will definitely keep you in mind though if I need a new one. Thanks for the offer.

blonda · May 2002

I'm going to get those plugs changed if it kills me (pun intended)

sdmike2 · May 2002

I saw that too. I think it would be great. I'm not interested in a manual transmission, and I like the pseudo-manual capabilities that the autostick gives. They'd have to apply autostick to the new RWD tranny though, but it shouldn't be that big of a deal since (as someone posted earlier) it's just an electronic switch to tell the computer to shift the car.

wire2 · May 2002

I heard something a while back about us using the Mercedes 5 spd auto down the road, can't remember if it was reliable or not. ( the info, not the tranny

)

scotian · May 2002

Go to: Town Hall Aftermarket & Accessories Radar/Lidar detectors.

If you can afford it, get the V1. If you can't see yourself spending that kind of $$$, get the 8500.

I have used both, and the V1 wins. But it is spendy.

russklass · May 2002

I just traded in my first generation V-1 for the new model and am completely pleased. I think the V-1 has the best combination of features, especially the direction arrows.

blonda · May 2002

I like the autostick too, but would be nice to have at least a 5th gear.

(I love driving stick shifts but not practical in the daily stop and go traffic).

fuzzywuzzy · May 2002

I have both, & use both. The 8500 is hardwired in my Explorer, the V1 is hardwired into my CL-S.

I really don't see any performance difference between the 2. They both work about the same to me. The V1 has the arrows though which are nice.

splatt · May 2002

how do you plan on making it a slotted? I couldn't get anything in there well enough w/o risking other problems...

blonda · May 2002

Once you remove the ignition wire/cover you have open access to the screw. With a dremel tool you can tap the head of the screw to make it slotted -- easier I think if the engine is warm.

tsnc_300M -- I'm drawing a blank...wasn't that you who told me it worked for you?

splatt · May 2002

Blonda - if you use a dremel and it works, let me know. I generally have issues with power tools around the engine

But it would be a good way to go.

As for the Valentine1 - it is the best. The directional is a very beneficial thing as you know where the signal is coming from. Radartest.com didn't like the V1 primarily because they didn't know it could be programmed. The programming is not in the manual - it's on the website.

blonda · May 2002

If you can go back to post #16321 on 4/23 you can see tsnc300's post about how he did it. Pretty helpful. I'm not real enthusiastic about taking a dremel tool to it myself (that's why I haven't yet!

muskateer3 · May 2002

My 00 M is in today having the axle seal (transaxle to driveshaft) replaced and the TSB performed on the homelink antenna.

I discovered the leak while doing tire rotation last weekend. I mention this as I have 30.5K miles on the clock, and it is something those of you approaching the end of your warranty may want to check for.

sdmike2 · May 2002

I've had the axle seal replaced FIVE times on my wife's Grand Caravan over the last 4 months. Each subsequent time the dealer did the work for free and gave me a rental, so I can't complain *too* much. However, we're at the point where more has to be done. The dealer now thinks there is something internal, like the bushings, that are going bad and damaging the new seals. The reason I'm saying this is that you'll want to check your axle seal carefully over the next 5.5k miles you still have left on the warranty to make sure the fix is a good one and more isn't required.

mikeyjohn · May 2002

Could you fill me in on the TSB on the homelink antenna? I have had problems with mine since I bought this car a 01 M, and I use my homelink with my home security system and the range is lousy. I do not see a TSB regarding homelink. Is this new? Thxs.

denverm · May 2002

I don't have the TSB #, but I had this done on my M, without much noticeable improvement. I'm not suggesting you not have it done if you're leaving your car at the shop for other work, but I certainly wouldn't make a special trip to the dealer for it.

Chrysler 300M

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