1) I have searched the forum for info on cold air intakes. but without seeing it in the flesh or being shown what to do i dont wanna do it because 1 never done it before, 2 might stuff something up and 3 i learn by watching and helping rather than reading and still not understanding.
I noticed when i took the snorkel off to clean it, it was gutless as a snail and thought if i tried changing it too much would i loose even more power??
any help and coaching would be appreciated. im in sa :D

2) my rear tail lights look crap! I used to have tinted rear lights on my old TE and TF but have found out recently that if i have a crash i wont be covered because of it. I thought about doing it to my current TL but again if i crash i wanna make sure im fine. can i do it and be covered? if not what else can i do????

3) I am after a body kit in the next couple of months and have searched places i know in adelaide and apparently no one does one for my model.... is that correct? i dont want one that everyone else has but am having no luck right now.

cheers for all your help. Matt :woot:

I noticed when i took the snorkel off to clean it, it was gutless as a snail and thought if i tried changing it too much would i loose even more power??
If you took the snorkel off and went for a drive, you'd be sucking in the very hot engine bay air. You shouldn't lose power on a good cold air intake (assuming you keep the factory filter/airbox), but as I'm sure you saw when you were searching, the gains to be had are insignificant.


2) my rear tail lights look crap! I used to have tinted rear lights on my old TE and TF but have found out recently that if i have a crash i wont be covered because of it. I thought about doing it to my current TL but again if i crash i wanna make sure im fine. can i do it and be covered? if not what else can i do????
Tinting your tail lights is illegal - that's all there is to it. It is a condition of your insurance to keep your car legal, and if someone ran into the back of you (quite possible with all the crappy drivers out there), they (or the police, or the insurance assessors) could raise the argument that the reduced light output from your illegal modification could have contributed to the crash.

The main alternative is the tail lights off a KL/KW Verada. There's also clear/carbon/black tail lights on eBay, but they're designed for TJs, and while they'll fit your TL, they won't quite line up with the boot lid.


3) I am after a body kit in the next couple of months and have searched places i know in adelaide and apparently no one does one for my model.... is that correct? i dont want one that everyone else has but am having no luck right now.
There's a Car Mate bodykit, but it's a bit over the top for me. Your only other option is the factory VR-X kit.

yeah ive had a look round and no where does tl lights that i could find... it might just be me but im havin no luck doin my car up with little mods lately lol

Modding a Magna isn't easy because of a lack of aftermarket parts. Many members add or modify parts off a higher-spec model (eg my suggestion with the KL lights). It doesn't hurt to look around aftermarket, but I would suggest becoming familiar with other Magnas and Veradas to see what parts you may want to nab off them :) This is particularly true of modifications to your exterior and interior.

I believe the TL VRX tail lights came tinted from factory also

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56734&highlight=danstar

Heres another member who had a carmate body kit on tw/tl

hmmm no offence but that kit looks terrible. not my cup of tea. might have to go in and get someone to custom make a kit. cost more but hmmmm

Air intake - if you mean just the snorkel in front of the air box, I've removed mine on my TJ and it makes no noticeable difference to power.
I even tested it at the track - 400m time was the same with or without the snorkel on a hot 26C night and plenty of heat soak from an engine that was idling for 2minutes in the queue for the next run.

In your case, was power noticeably reduced with the removal and did you put the snorkel back on and have power go back to normal immediately?
Or was it not a case of reduced power, but being unable to idle/run properly?

IMO, you'd need to increase intake temps by 40+ degrees C to be able to notice the power loss.


If you work out that cold air induction is for you, then there are (or was before the last crash) some good threads here with many example photos. Search for CAI also, hopefully turn something up.
Some tips are to ensure that the intake is not too low, or that there's a good water trap higher in the intake pipe system. :)

I think RPW (www.rpw.com.au?) also do one, but I can't say that RPW is a recommended company to buy from around these parts.

Cheers!

I did some searching and found a few interesting things.

The link to the Carmate body kitted Magna mentioned in it "Performance mods -"..." had cold air kit but my ecu didn't like it"
Here's one DIY CAI with pics: http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37867&highlight=cai
and http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17978

and CAI is mentioned in the AMC wiki: http://www.wermspowke.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
I didn't know (or had forgotten?) that we had a Wiki!

Air intake - if you mean just the snorkel in front of the air box, I've removed mine on my TJ and it makes no noticeable difference to power.
I even tested it at the track - 400m time was the same with or without the snorkel on a hot 26C night and plenty of heat soak from an engine that was idling for 2minutes in the queue for the next run.

In your case, was power noticeably reduced with the removal and did you put the snorkel back on and have power go back to normal immediately?
Or was it not a case of reduced power, but being unable to idle/run properly?

IMO, you'd need to increase intake temps by 40+ degrees C to be able to notice the power loss.


If you work out that cold air induction is for you, then there are (or was before the last crash) some good threads here with many example photos. Search for CAI also, hopefully turn something up.
Some tips are to ensure that the intake is not too low, or that there's a good water trap higher in the intake pipe system. :)

I think RPW (www.rpw.com.au?) also do one, but I can't say that RPW is a recommended company to buy from around these parts.

Cheers!

yeah when i took it off, i had to pop to the shops to get some stuff and it ran rougher, deep rumble but a fair bit of a loss of power. put it back on and instantly ran smoother and quicker

yeah when i took it off, i had to pop to the shops to get some stuff and it ran rougher, deep rumble but a fair bit of a loss of power. put it back on and instantly ran smoother and quicker

I did the same thing on my TL for shits and giggles. All that happened was the idle being rough for about 10 seconds while it re adjusted and then more induction noise when driving but no noticeable loss in power on a 32c day.

Also, let me know how you go with finding a decent body kit. My TL is screaming for a kit and rims but so far I've only found the Carmate one.

put a VRX kit on. nothing aftermarket will look or fit right. only use genuine OEM parts and in the long run you will be happy you didnt put GASHTLY fibreglass crap all over your car.

and get out to a meet to see what ever one has done to their cars...there is one this Wednesday....

ok i will come this wednesday. time and place?

GO HERE!!! (http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63984&p=972580&viewfull=1#post972580)

im from north can someone post an address? and do u drive from there as it says meet and departure times????

You're better off to post up in the thread GTVi linked to, don't want to drag this one any further off-topic than what it is already.