I lol at you folks with your "ice scrapers" and "block heaters"

 

I'd use a block heater even there in the winter. It's so nice to start your car and immediately have heat

I know the winters there are still cold (relatively) and people use the heat in their cars.. I guess it just isn't needed enough to justify having a plug hanging out of the front of your car?

Best $30 I ever spent on my car.

 

started removing the painted parts for painting.

 

Another body part rant:

I installed my side skirts this past weekend. Everything would have been perfect.
Except, I was rammed by a deer two years ago. Visually my car is straight but on the
side of the car the curvature underneath the door panel is off just enough that a couple of fasteners won't lock into place and there's a gap, which I hate.
The piece won't fall off, but it looks unprofessional.

Any suggestions? Are there longer fasteners available somewhere? They are about 1/4" short and can't be forced into place.

 

I haven't seen any alternative side skirt fasteners. I can't stand the fasteners, so easy to break! I just order a full new set any time I have the skirts off. I'd definitely recommend a little foam between the sideskirt and the body too, it'll chip off all the paint at the back of the sideskirt and your car will rust more there

 

Nice pic....but I see your round tip and raise you one oval tip! hahahaha Out of curiousity, is the round tip a 4" diameter as well?

 

Yeah, yeah....

I will never forget my first winter in Florida. We got 1/4" of snow and they closed school. Imagine my amazement after living in Rochester MN for 3 1/2 years (where school never closed) and Lexington Ky for 2 1/2 years.

 

How do you install those anyway? I want one for this winter ..

 

It's simple but time consuming if you want to make it easy. --gotta take off the intake manifold

here's a pic of it installed.. see the orange plug and power cable?

http://picasaweb.google.com/claureta...67523545319618

You just drain some of the coolant, pop out that freeze plug , insert engine block heater, tighten the bolt on it which seals it to the engine, then plug it in and route the cable. The cable is really long, because the directions have you route it really far away from the belts and other fast moving parts

cherish the memories of last December/January! http://picasaweb.google.com/claureta...67678164142306

 

The 03.5 oval tip looks more contemporary, but I chose the 03 tip since it fits snugly in the bumper cutout.

I measured 3.75" wide and 3.25" tall--it's slightly elliptical.

 

Bleh! I don't like that oval tip at all with the P5's bumper opening!

It doesn't look like it belongs there at all!

Looks great on a bigger car, like my girl's old Grand Prix:

 

I noticed a little surface oxidation on the tops of my side mirrors.

Starting to wonder if the rumors about A3E suffering the same Mazda neglect as HZ are true...

 

I haven't seen anyone confirm that classic red did in fact have a clearcoat.

Hell I've seen blazing yellow mica done as a single stage (at least the base yellow coat, obvious the mica was special) and it matched stock paint o_O

that's depressing. cover your car with a car cover wherever you go??

 

So I want to buy a new set of 17 inch rims, 5 spoke. Light as possible, but under $200 a peice. Also, 4 new tires.

Any suggestions?

 

And so that this page has pics of all three racing beat muffler tips..





I'm not a fan of the tip design from most angles. It looks much more oval than it actually is because the tip is angle cut