What have you done to your CX-5 today?

SRI will suck up too much hot air from inside the engine bay. I did run a CAI on my Scion tC and switched to a K&N performance filter. Just bought a K&N performance filter for the Honda Fit.

Just to let you know, there is no difference in intake temperature between a SRI and a CAI. Once the car is moving, the temperature is the same. There is a difference, however in the tubing length and the amount of turbulence caused by the bends. In that case, an SRI yields slightly smoother performance over a CAI.
 
Just to let you know, there is no difference in intake temperature between a SRI and a CAI. Once the car is moving, the temperature is the same. There is a difference, however in the tubing length and the amount of turbulence caused by the bends. In that case, an SRI yields slightly smoother performance over a CAI.

That is totally wrong. I can say I dyno'ed our cx-5 gt but in my other cars ALWAYS the cai has a huge difference in temps being lower because of radiator. When the air moves and pass through radiator fins and cents it gies out hot or hotter than ambient outside air. All that dyno proven and tested while pro-tuning the car ecu.
 
Washed the CX-5 and liberated what must have been thousands of insect corpses from my front end/windshield/rearview mirrors. It was like modern art before the wash. Driving on California's I-5 at night with heavy winds means your car's front end will turn into an insta-graveyard after about a half hour, let alone a 5-hour drive. Reeeaaaalllly considering cutting out some mesh to secure behind the grilles to catch these little guys and prevent them from clogging up the filters.

You should reeeeaallly consider that. Especially once you peek through the holey grill and see what your rad and AC condenser looks like. I have already done the bug guard, so if you decide to do it I'll guide you through it.
 
Today I received a set of Garax D4S 6000K HID bulbs that I ordered from the only authorized distributor for MTEC and Garax products in the US. They are located in Corona (Inland Empire County) in Southern California. I have been buying MTEC and Garax bulbs and lighting systems from them for the last 7 - 8 years. They always give me good pricing and great customer service! I had the exact Garax bulbs in my 2007 Lexus ES350 UL (took D4S HID bulbs) as well as my 2008 Lexus RX400h AWD (which took D2S HID bulbs). Great output and color! White with a tinge of blue, not like cheap-o HID bulbs in 6000K color where they more blue than anything with very little output (lumens).

Installing the Garax HID bulbs in the CX-5 took less than 5 minutes for the passenger side, start to finish. For the driver side, it took less than 5 minutes to get the OEM HID bulb out, however it took nearly 30 minutes trying to put the Garax HID bulb in at the angle and limited space was really hard to work with. The hardest part was attaching the connector to the back of the bulb and locking in place. I ended having to undo clips and screws to pry back the wheelwell liner. Once I did that, it was a breeze to lock the connector.

Well worth the time and effort!

I also placed an order for a set of four (4) Michelin Latitude Sport tires in 255/45/20 today. I have had these very same tires on my 2012 Toyota Sienna SE on Infiniti M56 Gunmetal OEM alloy wheels. Love the quietness, handling and overall comfort of the tires. Had to treat the new CX-5 to the same luxury of a tire.
 
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Bought a Tanabe front strut bar. If I keep up at my current rate, this vehicle is going to end up as my JDM mobile.
 
Bought a Tanabe front strut bar. If I keep up at my current rate, this vehicle is going to end up as my JDM mobile.

I am interested in buying a strut tower bar as well.

I am considering a few options:

Tanabe Strut Bar - reddish (curious to know how this looks if you could post pics once you receive it and mount it)
Ultra Racing Strut Bar (from Malaysia) - white
Polished Strut Bar (unknown brand from Japan) - polished aluminum
AutoExe Strut Bar (from Japan) - red

The most expensive one is probably the Tanabe Strut Bar or the AutoExe Strut Bar (roughly around $180 - $250, delivered from Japan to San Diego, CA).
 
^^* See Chiefmg's post. Keep in mind a strut brace simply ties the left and right body together to avoid unwanted deflection and twist. Almost any decently designed brace will work for the type of driving a street driver does. So, after that, it just comes down to cosmetic appearance and price.
 
I am interested in buying a strut tower bar as well.

I am considering a few options:

Tanabe Strut Bar - reddish (curious to know how this looks if you could post pics once you receive it and mount it)
Ultra Racing Strut Bar (from Malaysia) - white
Polished Strut Bar (unknown brand from Japan) - polished aluminum
AutoExe Strut Bar (from Japan) - red

The most expensive one is probably the Tanabe Strut Bar or the AutoExe Strut Bar (roughly around $180 - $250, delivered from Japan to San Diego, CA).

AutoEXE parts are orange (I had a couple on my Speed6). I will post pictures, but it might be a while as I don't know when I will be getting home.
 
^^* See Chiefmg's post. Keep in mind a strut brace simply ties the left and right body together to avoid unwanted deflection and twist. Almost any decently designed brace will work for the type of driving a street driver does. So, after that, it just comes down to cosmetic appearance and price.

Yes, thanks. I've had strut tower braces on all my cars since I was the ripe age of 16. They were a lot more expensive in the 80s and 90s. Price has come down a lot since the market is literally flooded with so much aftermarket performance upgrades. My 2007 Lexus ES350 had a factory one in it which was kind of nice to see.
 
AutoEXE parts are orange (I had a couple on my Speed6). I will post pictures, but it might be a while as I don't know when I will be getting home.

Pics would be good when you have a moment. The orange color for AutoEXE parts would be interesting to see.

I might just go with Ultra Racing since 1) they are inexpensive, 2) the white paint will match the color of my CX-5.
 
Swapped Foglight Bulbs

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Had the 9006 version of these bulbs in my Infiniti G35 foglights. I like the contrast they provide with the stock 4300k HID headlights. No issues with them since I installed them over 2 years ago, and up until I sold the car a month ago.

Some pics with them on my new 2015 CX-5:
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Fogs Off/On, about 5 feet away from the garage wall.
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Installed an amp and some bling

I have installed the subwoofer amp under the driver's seat, installed some chrome accessories.
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The phone holder has a qi wireless charger glued in it.
The only thing I don't like about the power port is, that it's always powered and it's not switched off with the key(start button). I may have to re-route the charging to the cubby port.
 
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I:

- washed
- waxed
- took care of the black plastic trim (used turtle wax tire spray, works great)
- vacuumed the seats and carpets
- cleaned out the interior air filter
- did some touch up painting
- installed 5000k license plate LEDs
- installed 5000k fog light LEDs
- installed a 5000k Morimoto HID kit, looks amazing (might start an install thread and review if I have the time)

Busy day!
 
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Nothing right now, but I scheduled:

full wash / wax / polishing with a detailer on 8/8
waiting on LED interior lights & replacement fog lights to arrive this week
waiting on personalized license plates to arrive
 
Purchased from TascaParts.com the OEM Roof Rack Cross Bars, OEM Windshield Sunscreen and a new replacement scuff plate for the driver side threshold (scuffed by the salesman's foot/shoe who sold me the car. I didn't notice it until I spent time detailing the vehicle on day 2 of ownership). I also purchased color-matched bumper plugs (from BumperPlugs.com) to cover the dealer-made holes when they installed their dealer plate on the front bumper. (NOTE: I can't stand the fact that in the State of California, law states that cars must have front license plates)
 
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I installed a sticky pad to the dash to hold my cell phone. These pads are great.
 
Was finally able to hook up my trailer to Evil Em. I only took it for about a 5 mile ride to see how she drove with it, and she accelerated, braked, and handled great. Of course, the trailer was empty with the exception of a 25lb aluminum jack. Good thing I only went about 5 miles too, as I noticed my trailer tire going flat.
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I also purchased color-matched bumper plugs (from BumperPlugs.com) to cover the dealer-made holes when they installed their dealer plate on the front bumper. (NOTE: I can't stand the fact that in the State of California, law states that cars must have front license plates)
How did you mount the license plate? Here's what I did. Hope this helps. :)
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