Jimbo(TM) Brand High-Speed Air Intake Panels

[gerryvz]

Today I picked up my pair of rare, limited edition Jimbo™ brand air intake panels from the painter. I had them painted 199 (gray-blue metallic).

Sorry for the crappy photos. I will install them on the car soon and will then run some butt-dyno tests to determine their effectiveness, with their "ram-jet" air venturi effect.

A true E500E high-performance modification if there ever was one....

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gsxr]

It's a little known fact that these panels are highly magnetic but only attract rocks and stones (rather than metallic objects) which ding up the paint in a nice random pattern. I should take some photos to highlight this effect.

Tip: Apply 12 mil or 20 mil Lamin-X film to the panels after the paint has cured for at least 30-60 days. This will keep them looking pristine for many, many moons. It will be a bit more work to Xacto the slots, compared to plain-jane non-slotted panels.

 

[szvook]

Let's hope the butt-dyno can tell a difference at all speeds.

 

[Jim]

To maximise the Ram Air effect I wonder if some time and effort should be spent sealing around the head light plenums. Presently they just slide in and so what ever precious dynamic head is created just spills away.

I always feel my car feels better after cleaning out the filters, I do it quite often, not sure if it is imagination but improvements on the inlet sideof the M119 "5.0 liter air pump" seem like time well spent.

 

[Jimbo]

Nothing says 'I'm the man' better than a set of these suckers...

I ,in fact, have 2 sets; one for wipers and one without....that would make me 2x 'the man' perhaps (?) wink, wink

Enjoy the attention you'll get from the ladies...

 

[195910]

Hi Jimbo,

I need a set of panels, do you have pics (with/without wipers)? prices?

could probably get more orders if you have more of them.

 

[T-500]

It's a little known fact that these panels are highly magnetic but only attract rocks and stones (rather than metallic objects) which ding up the paint in a nice random pattern. I should take some photos to highlight this effect.

Tip: Apply 12 mil or 20 mil Lamin-X film to the panels after the paint has cured for at least 30-60 days. This will keep them looking pristine for many, many moons. It will be a bit more work to Xacto the slots, compared to plain-jane non-slotted panels.

I am quite sure they are "Chick Magnets" also.

Not sure if Laminex will offer appropriate protection, esp. with holes in it.

 

[gerryvz]

I am quite sure they are "Chick Magnets" also.

Weeeellll ... contrary to the conventional wisdom here, these are not really going to help anyone with the chicks. The reason being is that they are a very subtle thing, difficult for even the most eagle-eyed chicks to spot. They're not sparkly, and they really have no "bling" factor. Now ... if they had a line of diamonds or cubic zirconium along them, it would be a totally different story in terms of increasing your ability to be a "butt-magnet." But as the Jimbo-branded panels stand, stock .... not a big sex-life-enhancer.

HOWEVER ... and this is generally even more important ... per my original post ... these are a great performance upgrade and will definitely make your car rock and roll. This is why I put the original post in the "High Performance Modifications" sub-forum. So while they may not be a "butt-magnet" they will definitely help stimulate your "butt dyno" (as the Vookster alluded to) !!

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[szvook]

Damn straight....I'm thinking of taking the "butt dyno" testing to a whole new level.

 

[gerryvz]

ROTFLMMFGDAO !!!

 

[Jimbo]

That's too friggen' funny Steve...where do I send my check?

I 'could' get more of these panels made to order; in different ways too (bigger holes, $$ signs or your name in bling script)

PM me if anyone is seriously interested in another run of these.

 

[gerryvz]

I'm actually getting ready to publish a "How-To" on fitting the Jimbo(TM) branded panels.

Perhaps I can combine it with a before and after butt-dyno test.....

 

[Ron500E]

My Wife, Girlfriend and Mother just left me after seeing those panels. Maybe they do work.

R

 

[2phast]

I am selling my original vented panels. If there is any interest, PM me.

$75.00

 

[gerryvz]

My Wife, Girlfriend and Mother just left me after seeing those panels.

I'm hoping against hope that these females you allude to, are not one and the same....

 

[gsxr]

Rik, just curious, what are you replacing them with?

 

[2phast]

Rik, just curious, what are you replacing them with?

Sold the old ones a while back.

 

[gsxr]

Ooooo. The new panels & color-matched wipers look niiiiiiiice.

 

[2phast]

Ooooo. The new panels & color-matched wipers look niiiiiiiice.

I think so as well. Just for cosmetics though as I did not hook them up (plumbed and wired, just not plugged in). Just note sur how well they would perform over the Laminx or if they would peel or damage the Laminx.

 

[gsxr]

I've got Lamin-X on my wife's E420, which gets driven year-round. So far, no problems with peeling or damage. Only oddity I noticed was the Lamin-X on my E500 lights turned darker color where the wiper blade was resting on it... not visible with the wipers parked so it doesn't bother me, and it may clean off with appropriate solvents (haven't tried yet). But if you don't need the wiper functionality, I wouldn't worry about it. The E420 gets driven in snow here so we need the wipers working.

 

[Jimbo]

Dave, you can cleaner wax the brown spots off the Lamin-x...try it. I used Mequirs 'heavy cut' cleaner. Mine did the same thing; the rubber wiper leaches out/degrades not unlike the windshield wipers after a while. Chris (the owner @ Lamin-x) actually recommends waxing the plastic covers. I think somewhere it is written either on his website or install instructions (?)

I am having more panels made up over the winter btw. New machine shop though...might go with a few different designs as well. Stay tooned.

They won't/don't damage the Lamin-x Rik...no worries.

 

[gsxr]

Thanks, Jimbo! On a side note, I also apply Lamin-X to the headlight wiper panels, after they are painted. Wait a good 30-60 days after painting though, to let the paint cure. This keeps the paint from chipping. Works great, and if applied carefully, it's invisible unless you look closely.

 

[2phast]

Dave, you can cleaner wax the brown spots off the Lamin-x...try it. I used Mequirs 'heavy cut' cleaner. Mine did the same thing; the rubber wiper leaches out/degrades not unlike the windshield wipers after a while. Chris (the owner @ Lamin-x) actually recommends waxing the plastic covers. I think somewhere it is written either on his website or install instructions (?)

I am having more panels made up over the winter btw. New machine shop though...might go with a few different designs as well. Stay tooned.

They won't/don't damage the Lamin-x Rik...no worries.

Good to know, I will hook them up the next time I remove the headlights.

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks, Jimbo! On a side note, I also apply Lamin-X to the headlight wiper panels, after they are painted. Wait a good 30-60 days after painting though, to let the paint cure. This keeps the paint from chipping. Works great, and if applied carefully, it's invisible unless you look closely.

What thickness film did you use Dave?

I might have to try that....the panels sure do take licking it seems with sand blasting and pebble hits.

Rik, did you rattle can yours or have a shop spray them? Did you clearcoat them too? They look really well done ...

 

[Jimbo]

e

A true E500E high-performance modification if there ever was one....

Cheers,
Gerry

A 'HANS' device is recommeded with these installed !!

 

[gsxr]

What thickness film did you use Dave? I might have to try that....the panels sure do take licking it seems with sand blasting and pebble hits.

I used 20 mil because it's what I had available, but the thinner stuff (12 mil?) may also work find. Where I live, those panels get pounded terribly with sharp/angular pebbles due to the "chip seal" roads foisted upon us by Idaho DOT (IDOT... hmmm... too close to IDiOT). For those unfamiliar... chip seal is basically gravel dumped on fresh tar which is supposed to glue the gravel to the original road surface. The gravel comes loose over time, chipping the snot out of your paint, dinging your windshield glass, along with making the ride very noisy (regardless of tires), and as a bonus it's a nice, jagged, cheese-grater surface to ensure motorcyclists end up in the skin graft ward if they are in an accident. Absolutely brilliant stuff. The guy responsible for continuing to use this crap in the 21st century (including interstates and state highways, along with all smaller/private roads!) should be tarred & feathered. But I digress: The Lamin-X film works nicely to prevent the chips, wish I could put it on the bumper too.

 

[gerryvz]

But it saves money.....you forgot to mention that.

I'm thankful that they use cement for all roads in my community and for the Interstates here in Texas. Best stuff going.

 

[2phast]

What thickness film did you use Dave?

I might have to try that....the panels sure do take licking it seems with sand blasting and pebble hits.

Rik, did you rattle can yours or have a shop spray them? Did you clearcoat them too? They look really well done ...

Single stage signal red courtesy of Tower Paint and their fancy rattle can.

 

[gsxr]

But it saves money.....you forgot to mention that.

Based on the frequency of the chip seal process (it's repeated on the same roads every few years), I firmly believe it actually costs MORE to do the lame-arse chip seal, than it does to rip out and use proper asphalt in the first place. I'd love to see a class-action lawsuit on this as I suspect it's soaking taxpayers for more money in the long run, but accessing the case studies on road surface longevity, etc would probably be nearly impossible. I really think it's one of those "we've always done it this way, for decades, therefore we'll keep doing it" even though it stopped making sense a long, long time ago.

Thankfully, when they did the major widening project of the I-80 corridor between Nampa and Boise over the last ~2 years, a good chunk was done in concrete, which hopefully will never get chip sealed. The rest is still nice asphalt but it remains to be seen if they destroy that pristine surface with chipseal in the next year or two. I'm pretty confident it will be the latter option. IDiOTs.

 

[500AMM]

Based on the frequency of the chip seal process (it's repeated on the same roads every few years), I firmly believe it actually costs MORE to do the lame-arse chip seal, than it does to rip out and use proper asphalt in the first place. I'd love to see a class-action lawsuit on this as I suspect it's soaking taxpayers for more money in the long run, but accessing the case studies on road surface longevity, etc would probably be nearly impossible. I really think it's one of those "we've always done it this way, for decades, therefore we'll keep doing it" even though it stopped making sense a long, long time ago.

Thankfully, when they did the major widening project of the I-80 corridor between Nampa and Boise over the last ~2 years, a good chunk was done in concrete, which hopefully will never get chip sealed. The rest is still nice asphalt but it remains to be seen if they destroy that pristine surface with chipseal in the next year or two. I'm pretty confident it will be the latter option. IDiOTs.

I think we're familiar with this "tar-chip-self adhesive-make it simple" treatment of the roads over here to. Or we had it, because it was really for a short era - guess it was left back in the 80's. I was a full-time motorbike driver at that time and those roads were really killing conditions. One thing was when the chip was newly applied and we had to slide around in the gravel for some time, and the gravel was shot like a machine gun behind the cars. Then it was good traction but noisy for some time. But the chip didn't endure the winters due to frost action and wear from studded wintertires, and was gone in the ruts and grinded smooth so it became extreme slippery on wet. Especially for two-wheel drivers, but also causing hydroplaning for cars. So it was left and we see it rarely in temporary use on roadworks and bypass roads with low speeds.

Cheers

...off-topics again, sorry...but it's so great...

 

[Ron500E]

If ever there is another run, I'd be interested in a few sets.
But they must be genuine Jimbo, no "Jim's," no "James," no "Jimmy's," no replica's, no aftermarket crap but the real thing. Genuine Jimbo's or nothing !
It isn't Jimbo unless you get them from Jimbo!
You know it's quality if it's from someone with a 249/275 car.

I can use a set for 1992 Euro Headlamps, 1994 Euro Headlamps and a pre facelift set with no wipers.

Thanks,

Ron
124.036 249/275
124.092 249/275

 

[gerryvz]

Jimbo(TM), Jimbonian(TM) or Jimmy'Z(TM) are the only brands to trust.