GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Lorin

quote:With no problems?hmmm.... that will narrow down who can respond... There doesn't appear to be much difference between TRD and Injen at first glance. Maybe they're both close to the threshold of triggering a CEL, but the Injen is far enough away it never (or rarely) happens?As with any hobby, s...

Lorin

I'm thinking about doing a set of Hotckis sway bars and maybe going just with a K&N air filter. The air filter probably won't make a noticeable impact on performance... more of a consolation prize than anything.

Lorin

I loved my CAI. It was red-hot (fast) for about 750 miles, then CEL. "Evap emission control". I could reset it by disconnecting the battery for a while, but it would always pop back on after a few weeks. I finally took it off, and now I'm running an experiment to see if it comes back.It wa...

Lorin

Well, isn't this ironic....I took my TRD CAI off last weekend too. I got tired of the CEL. If the CEL stays off for a couple of tank fulls, I'll have a CAI for sale too...cheap. They are implementing an emissions inspection program here in PA in a couple months and I'm not sure having a CEL would pa...

Lorin

I think a lot of people get tired of not being taken seriously when we go to the dealer with a warranty problem. The canned responses like "oh, that's just torque steer" when a car is clearly out of alignment is especially frustrating when you know its not true but you don't have enough te...

Lorin

Ram air looks more OEM. Carbon fiber (unpainted) more like a "serious" racer. Carbon fiber.

Lorin

I would say that the Conti's are a POS, but I gave up swearing a few weeks ago, so they are POJ (Pile of Junk). 8K miles on the Vibe and they are 1/2 gone already. Not bad in snow, but wet pavement is bad news.

Lorin

quote:the harder i work, the more i get paid, the more things start to cost Boy, that sure is true! I've had several windfalls this year - tax refund, unexpected bonus from work, large christmas gifts, moonlight consulting business going like gangbusters.... Has meeting this weekend with the wife to...

Lorin

The key when hill climbing is to not be afraid of the downshift. You have to keep these engines turning! It was the hardest thing for me to get used to, having previously driven engines where the torque is greater at lower rpm's. For some reason my 12 year old daughter thinks its really exciting whe...

Lorin

One of these days I'll have my own "automatic", voice activated car wash: "Girls: Wash daddy's car!" LOL!

Lorin

Awesome link! My game plan is to keep the clock ticking ($$$) as long as possible and just reset the codes until I get home. All I need is to find an adjustable wrench around here somewhere....I'll never leave home w/o one again. For you nostalga types, I'm working in what used to be the engineering...

Lorin

The compartment was pretty wet the last time i forgot and did the underbody wash....but no wetter than it gets when going through a heavy rain at highway speed. But, both situations do get pretty wet.

Lorin

Well, I'm on the road (near Richmond Indiana on Ohio border) and the @#$$% CEL is back! It ran great for the 500 miles over at 80-85 mph cruise, one gas stop (yes, I cranked the dickens out of the gas cap, been 180 miles since fillup....). Light rain for the last 1/3 of the trip. The second time I f...

Lorin

Yeh, some people have commutes that get partially flooded during heavy rains - definately not candidates for a CAI. They would end up with a CWI (Cold WATER Intake)

Lorin

My filter has gotten soaked (not immersed) more than once. I wasn't paying attention and went through a car wash with underbody wash. When I was done I checked it out and there was water all around and on top of the filter. It happened another time when I was on one of my 1,000 mile Indiana road tri...

Lorin

Flex isn't always a bad thing - I think the brace would force the drive train to absorb a lot more of the shock that was previously attenuated (word for the day) by the engine/tranny rocking slightly in their mounts. My next mod will either be sway bars or the flashy engine covers. One is all go and...

Lorin

I had a set of the high end Bosch ones on the Van and they lasted forever. I can't remember if they were the micro-edge or the Teflon ones now....

Lorin

quote:Jeeze......... Get yourself a plug in cooler and a crapper you would live in there.Actually, I have both of those in my conversion van! No more emergency "potty stops" with the girls!

Lorin

It's been so long since I've had a car I could just reach under that I didn't even try. I'm going to save the ramps for the Van from now on!

Lorin

Oh No! you said the "B" word! Now the feds are gonna start monitoring this site.... then they'll get so enthralled with how great Vibes are, they'll start buying them for mail delivery! Picture thousands of Frosty Vibes with a USPS emblem on the door - how's that for a decal!

Lorin

quote:Send it back and ask for a replacement..... it wasn't strong enoughYou're killin' me! (removed)!

Lorin

I think the stripes kind of grow on ya after a while. I think some white decals on the windows for some performance mods would complete the look. Might as well go all out!

Lorin

bong?

Lorin

quote:No fogging here in Cali unless im gettin busy with a girl I never had a fogging problem - but that was back in the days of BIG cars - (74 Impala) plus, the gaskets weren't real good either, so the wind coming accross the Indiana prairie always kept things ventilated - you could feel the cold w...

Lorin

As long as we've mentioned parking, how about curb feelers? I know in Chicago and the inner cities, they are more of a decoration used to go along with the fuzzy-dice and white sidewalls. But in a situation where depth perception prevents one from getting full benefit from the mirrors, I wonder if t...

Lorin

I think it looks pretty good. The carpet looks like a close match. I would like to see that bottom rear corner (towards the hatch) rounded off.Working w/ fiberglass isn't that bad. I watched a guy build the entire body of a "fike" out of fiberglass. (Fike: motorcycle front end with four re...

Lorin

quote:...all you need are the PROPER tools for the job ,patience, and either a good memory or notepad cause most of the time its taking something off and replacing it in reverse order....That is so true! Not just with cars, but with many areas of life. I work in computers, and from time to time some...

Lorin

Is there such a thing as too much of a good thing? I remember some winter mornings where the shifter on the ol' college beater car ( 74 Chevy Impala ) felt more like a spoon moving through honey than a shifter with individual notches. Is there like a proper operating temp for a transmission? Any dan...

Lorin

I think they look slick. The only problem is it doesn't extend far enough to the left side of the engine. I think that stray tubing out there looks unfinished.I'm gonna put a set on my Christmas list though - everybody it seems wants to look under the hood when they hear my exhaust and the sounds of...

Lorin

Wow - I've been away from the site too long and missed a lot of fun! (banter = fun)....We had an expression back in the Midwest (maybe folks everywhere do) that Silver Paint = "Kentucky Chrome"........ The paint was applied evenly and looks nicely done, but I can't get past "Kentuck C...

Lorin

Well, the light is gone! I pulled the battery cable and allowed the codes to reset. I've driven it on 3 separate occasions now, and it seems to be gone. Maybe it WAS the gas cap? The problem with mods is whenever something goes wrong, they become the obvious suspects. For now, the TRD CAI's "go...

Lorin

My CEL is on with my TRD exhaust and TRD CAI. I ran the exhaust for over 1,000 miles before the CAI went on, and ran the CAI for over 1,500 trouble free miles. Then all of a sudden, THAR SHE BLOWES!!! (Sorry, a little nautical humor) The basic plumbing of these things I think would be very similar. ...

Lorin

I am always amazed at how little salesmen seem to know about their products. They don't have THAT many different models, and heck, once they get up to speed, all they have to do is keep abreast of the changes from year to year. You can tell the sales folks who like cars from those who don't. For a l...

Lorin

I'm the one with bad luck here (not really proven yet I suppose) - I voted yes because I strongly suspect that its the CAI, but It could be just a bumb rap. I tore my knees up during an Appalachian trail hike with the Boy Scout troop, so it will be a few more days before I am able to start working o...

Lorin

As an alternative to jacks, you can purchase a set of ramps. The ones I have are rated at 12,000 lbs gross,which is plenty for the Vibe. You can get them at WalMart, Pep Boys, etc. They are some type of plastic material. Supplies:Jacks or RampsDrain pan ( Discount stores carry them)Wrench to remove ...

Lorin

When I was a kid, my neighbor just got his license and was turning the car around in their drive way. He was in reverase with the wheels turned hard right. He smashed into a tree with the left front fender, then, paniced, cranked the wheels hard LEFT and pulled forward! S C R A P E ! The look on his...

Lorin

Have you rotated the tires? They still shouldn't be feathering to that degree, but it can help even it out.

Lorin

You did it in the right order - if you had done an exhaust first, you wouldn't get to hear it so easily!

Lorin

Didn't K&N used to advertise "up to 15 more hp!" ? Of course, the key part is "up to"....

Lorin

Ok - lots of good ideas here I hadn't considered. I do hear the clicking sound. I let the engine idle for about 20 minutes today while I had a cell phone conversation... I heard the vsv clicking like crazy, then silent for a while, then back to clicking like mad. Here in PA, they have a vehicle insp...

Lorin

Congratulations on your first oil change! You'll never have to worry about some lunk-head stripping out your drain plug (like happened to me on my van) or the filter falling off unexpectedly like happened to one of my co-workers - it happened so fast while he was on the highway is seized his engine.

Lorin

You'll never chance getting a check engine light if you buy one (as opposed to a CAI)

Lorin

I went to Autozone today. I'm getting a code 400 and 446. "Evaporative Control Malfunction" and "Vent Control Circuit Malfunction". I checked the gas cap a couple of times - seems ok. I checked all the vacuum hoses from the intake install - all seem ok. Wires all look good.Questi...

Lorin

quote:...So, i figure in September when my student loans come through i will prolly get the system installed ......yogihmmmm.... Good to hear the student loan program is a success!

Lorin

quote:... Just go have them check what the computer thinks the problem is. If they claim it's your intake, then make them prove it by showing you what the computer read-out says. And if it's true that the intake is causing a problem, then tell then not to fix anything, but that you'll take it off yo...

Lorin

Well, after two months and 2 thousand miles with the CAI, I am getting a check engine light. Everything appears to still be securley attached. I'm assuming that its CAI related, but who knows. What happens if I take it to the dealer with the intake still on? Should I return it to stock and see if th...

Lorin

If the bar is "flimsy", then you may not be getting the full benefit of something more rigid. In tension (the tops of the strut bars pulling apart / trying to get wider), then I would expect all bars to be equivalent. It is the compression phase, where the top of the towers try to move clo...

Lorin

TRD's is pretty stout. Its more $ too. I would like to hear from someone who has driven the different brands and could give a comparison.

Lorin

I guess I'm the one contrarian in this thread - I tend to judge space by how much is left over once I have it loaded up. I have a small-biz consulting service that I do "on the side". I was shocked on a recent trip how quickly two servers, two monitors, a box of misc. (keyboards, software,...

Lorin

I've had several cars with and without abs. I was skeptical when I got my first car w/ ABS - 96 s-10 2wd. ABS is really awesome on ice and snow. I've never had any problems. When they activate, you just have to keep your wits about you and not panic and let off.

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