911medic's Minnesota Winter "Ice" Journal

[911medic]

This is my most recent mod (to date), and is the one I like best so far! I ordered and installed a Roto-Fab cold air intake. This mod really made the car come alive.

At idle/low RPM acceleration, you'd never know there was a difference. But once the RPMs climb above ~24-2500, the car begins to growl and sounds amazing! I really love it. Highly recommended!

BTW, I got this from Apex, who price-matched another vendor's sale price. The item shipped directly from Roto-Fab in Arizona.

The system came well-packaged. Though the box sustained some minor shipping damage, the items inside were fine. (Apologies for the blurry pics.)













The oiled filter came in a separate box of its own. It is an S&B brand unit.



Install was pretty simple. The most difficult part was getting the heat shield bottom flush against the frame rail next to the A/C line and clip that runs through the same area. If you're not careful, it would be very easy to get the weather stripping caught on the clip and not get the box fully seated. To be fair, the instructions that came with the unit specifically discuss this concern and have a picture of the clip you need to avoid.

I also was unable to have my MAF wiring circle underneath the MAF tube like the stock configuration. The wiring simply isn't long enough, so I was forced to lay it on top of the air tube.

Before:



After:





At some point, I plan to do the W/W bottle relocate and air scoop mods.

If you are on the fence about a CAI, all I can say is DO IT. It is awesome.

[911medic]

Being my DD, and after hearing stories about rock chips in the gill area, I knew I wanted to do something to try to protect my car from stuff thrown up by the front tires.

I didn't like the look of the large guards available from Chevy, and then I came upon the RPI "Stealth" guards (thread here). I'm not a fan of their rear guards, but the fronts looked promising, so I ordered a set.

They come predrilled with for two of the stock trim screws to hold them in place. To hold the top of the guard, RPI sends a metal clip that you're supposed to attach to the fender lip. Other users have expressed concern about the clip scratching the paint in this area, so I took their advice and bought some 3M moulding adhesive tape instead:



I cut a six-inch piece and ran it from where the top of the guard ended down the edge of the fender. It has held for months now.







One issue with these that I've had is that after a couple of months of use, some sand/gravel collects behind the guard, between the guard and the inner fender liner. This causes the guard to bulge forward, visibly stretching the adhesive tape. I had to loosen the two attachment screws and knock all the stuff out of there to fix this. This will likely have to be done periodically with these guards.

Also, there are threads around describing making your own guards for cheap, and after having these for a while, I think I could have made my own. But for ~$35 they are a decent product.

[911medic]

Yesterday I decided to add some stripes with Plasti-Dip. Eventually I would like the NS-1 stripe kit, but for now (and for cheap) this will do:

[DwRed1LTV6]

Looking good 911Medic

[911medic]

Thank you!

[Night Shades]

Great Job!

[911medic]

Originally Posted by Night Shades

Great Job!

Thanks! Some day I'll be able to afford some NS-1s, but in the meantime this'll do.

[chrome_gurl]

Looks awesome! I have a 2012 SIM LT2 as well and just starting some small mods... Getting black vinyl matte rally stripes this week!

[911medic]

Thanks! I need to update this thread with some mods I have done and a couple of projects I've been working on.

[vroomapunk]

the diy stripes look great. Silver looks great with black accents

[911medic]

Originally Posted by vroomapunk

the diy stripes look great. Silver looks great with black accents

Thanks. I really like the color combo, too. Eventually I hope to get the NS-1 stripe kit, or have them painted.

[SilverSlayer-SS]

looks great man !

[911medic]

Thank you, sir!

[911medic]

I installed my Roto-Fab cold air intake system back in the middle of July, and now had the money to “complete” the project and add a washer bottle relocate system and air scoop.

The two main choices when it comes to w/w relocate kits are the Roto-Fab and the Apex brand. Both appear to be well-made and do the job of getting that bulky stock reservoir out of the airbox so more exterior air can flow to the intake.

I ultimately chose the Roto-Fab w/w relocate kit over the Apex model because I like the way it looks, filling in the space between the airbox and the strut tower, vs. the Apex model’s remote filler neck system. I also like that it has more capacity than the Apex, which is a big deal for a DD like mine, driven in rain or shine or salty/snowy roads. I have run the reservoirs dry on my cars a number of times over the years. I didn't like the fact that you have to modify the fluid pump for the Apex system, too, requiring one to buy a new pump if going back to stock. And finally, I was a bit turned off by the reports that the Apex reservoir causes the fender liner to bulge out, prompting one C5 user to custom make his own bracket to try to reduce the bulging. Admittedly, it’s in an area that is never seen on a routine basis, but it still bothered me that this product had what I consider to be a fitment issue.

What I didn't like so much about the Roto-Fab was the price ($110), compared to the Apex ($70). It is considerably more expensive, but I bit the bullet and paid the extra to get what I wanted.

When it comes to scoops, there are three choices out there. All three share the same basic shape, with a wide, funnel-like front leading to a channel that ends in an angled piece meant to direct the air up toward the air filter. All three require cutting a piece of black plastic near the driver’s side fog light housing, and all three attach to the horn bracket bolt and one of the holes that used to attach the stock washer bottle.

The Apex scoop ($75), which is a very nice product, is all one piece construction, painted black:



There is the Jannetty Racing scoop ($50), which is a riveted scoop. Their web site shows a picture of bare metal, so I’m not sure if that’s the way it comes or if it’s painted:



I definitely wanted mine black, to blend in better with the lower grille. And finally, there is the ADM scoop ($60), which is similar in construction to the Jannetty scoop (riveted), but is black:



I was able to get a good deal on the Roto-Fab reservoir kit and the ADM scoop from Juiced Motorsports, who packaged both together for me for $160, including shipping. Thanks, Juiced!

Next will be the DIY of the install of these parts. Stay tuned…