I let things go a tad bit too long . I am finally getting my p5 taken care of maintenance wise and all, and now gonna try and clean up the exterior a bit, but it seems the plastic parts are fading grr. I have some nice polishing compound for all the wonderful door ding marks, but should I just try and wax up the plastic parts really well?(the side mirrors, and piece on the hatch) those are whats fading or am I just SOL.
on a different note, does anyone have a link to some pics of CAI's in the p5 engine? the short ones not the ones where you have to move stuff and it goes down below the car. I cant have ones that go down far due to where I live has a tendency to flood.
also let me know if I have this posted in the wrong spot
Thanks for any suggestion

 

I'd try a product like Meguiars PlastX™ Clear Plastic Cleaner & Polish. Try it on hidden spot first. Have not used this one but love Meguirars products and have had good luck with them.

And I would not wax plastic (may give it a milky finish or color).


http://www.meguiars.com/?clear-plast...Cleaner-Polish

 

The intake you speak of is called a 'Short Ram' intake, if you're looking around.

Usually, these intakes don't have quite the same power in the midrange as a true CAI, but some have reported they are quicker to respond as the pipe is shorter.

AEM makes a short ram, and I know www.protegegarage.com stocks them. Ken is one of our forum vendors and has always been great.

You should also PM Kargoboy, he sells some great Simota products. I'm just not sure if they are all CAIs, or if they are available as short rams.

 

Oh, and sorry about not having any pics. I don't know anyone who has a short ram, only have pics of the longer CAIs.

I'm sure someone should have a pic for you.

 

cool thanks guys, Ill give that a shot, of course now its supposed to rain for the next week here lol, though I have to say I like rain more than the 100+ days.

I used to have a short ram intake on my last car, but I was lucky enough that the cone fit right on the stock intake hose, on the p5 though there is that weird sensor that goes into the air box, and I dont know what it is or how to do anything with it, without getting a kit with the intake pipe made for the car. out of interest how far down does a CAI go and would I do all of the long ones require moving the reservoir?

 

The "weird sensor" you speak of is the IAT sensor (Intake Air Temp.) and most aftermarket intakes (both CAI and Short Ram) have a hole drilled out for you to plug it in. So you can't just slap on a cone filter on the P5 and call it a short ram, cuz the stock rubber pipes don't have a place for the IAT sensor.

 

true enough, I try to go the cheap routes when possible(student budget is tough to live on sometimes lol) that and I am kinda iffy on going for the full pipe that makes me move that reservoir. wonder why they couldnt just attach that temp sensor onto mass air sensor stuff

 

To be considered a CAI, the filter has to be located outside the engine bay. On our cars, the best place for that is in the hole in the fender just under the coolant recovery tank (reservoir). If you are going to use that hole for your CAI, then yes, you must move the reservoir. And all aftermarket CAI's use that hole for the filter placement.

 

Exactly, and if you're wondering how far down it goes; the filter sits right in front of the tire, inside the wheel well.

Now, if you are constantly driving on flooded roads, might be a bad idea. If it just rains alot, splashes should not hurt it. You could even buy a hydro shield pre-filter for it for added protection.

Also, most CAIs come with some sort of bracket or 'thingy' to relocate the reservoir without having it just sitting loose.

 

The CAI filter starts over 8" from the ground if you're at stock ride height, so you'd really have to try hard to hydrolock. It won't even really get wet from splashes and crap like that, as it's pretty well covered on all sides by the wheel well lining.

 

ah cool, ya it just depends on where I am driving, the drains where I live are constantly clogged but I have lived here long enough I know what roads to avoid in most cases. I was just worried is all. If worse comes to worse I drive down the center lane and play chicken with all the pickups with another 12" of height compared to mine. sounds like I should be fine then, I may look into the hydroshield option just to be certain.
now darn tropical storm erin is making it very difficult to clean my car. 100+ degrees all week and now pouring rain, no middle ground lol.