KaiserSea1

Not to waste anyones time, I have done my diligence and read the old posts, but now that some of you have done these mods any last words of advice. Lucky is going under the knife Thursday.

1. Head Light painting. Damn you SCDROPTOP, your avatar is driving me crazy. The only thing I don't like is the big silver eyes. I have a guy that promises he can open, sand, paint the inside of the lens with temp resistant paint, and reseal for $100. Local body shop charging $100 to remove the lights, and re-install (I don't want to drop my bumper). Anyone have any advice of what I should be looking for. I would love to go the Lonsdale route, but don't know what parts to buy, any ideas.
Do you think I should leave the chrome around the bulb, or go for complete blackout?

Should look like this...



How the heck do I do this....



2. JDM ECU

A friend picked me up a replacement ECU from a high end shop in Japan. He got a deal on it because it was flashed for a car with US spec steering wheel. The car will no longer pass emissions (no inspection in Florida) but will shift much faster and said to produce 40HP. Do I really want to mess with this?

3. Bulbs

Is this the favored setup? Just for DRL?
Super Bright Xenon White HID Matching 9005 HB3 LED Daytime Running Light Bulbs + DRL Decoder Kit For Lexus IS250 IS350 GS350 SC430 LS460

Do I need one kit or two?

http://store.ijdmtoy.com/ShoppingCart.asp

4. Hood Mod and Stripe

Not for this week, but my shop can recreate this hood, and do the Red Stripe with 3M for $450. Too Loud?




I am going to try to get detailed headlight pics and post by the end of next week. Thanks all.

redliner8

iTrader: (1)

I've read on other forums that painting the entire light slightly reduces the light strength, since there is no reflective chrome surrounding the light. I don't think it poses too much of a problem, but it may be worth considering depending on where you drive. If it were me, I'd paint the entire light (including the chrome around the lens). I think it'd look cleaner.

What type of shop did you contact to paint the headlight housing? I was going to try myself, but may want to go this route instead.

redliner8

iTrader: (1)

Might as well add my thoughts on the other questions...

2. I would leave the ECU as is. Some people have had success with the Blitz controller to get the faster throttle response feeling.

3. These are the LEDs I bought for my DRLs (same as iJDMtoy's) (Props to SCDROPTOP for recommending them): http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...2169&viewitem= . After I installed them, I realized that they blinked very fast, like a strobe (SCDROPTOP didn't have this problem, so I would buy the lights first then the decoder if you need it) so I bought and installed the "Special LED DRL Decoder Wiring Relay Kit for LED Daytime Running Lights R4" (you only need one kit), and this got rid of the blinking.

4. I like the hood because it's unique although I don't really like the racing stripe. Maybe if you painted the 6 vent openings a color.

KaiserSea1

No idea, so far it has all been on the phone. A CL member passed me his number. I will post some pics when done. If it holds up for a few weeks I will pass along contact info.

May do the hood this week after all

redliner8

iTrader: (1)

Bored at work, awaiting the snow storm to hit PA. I'm not too good at Photoshop, but here's a quick effort:

KaiserSea1

Thanks red liner that helps a lot. Makes me think my idea of a train horn and a paint ball gun mounted in the scoop are not too outlandish either (yes they mount paintball guns on cars in Miami).

redliner8

iTrader: (1)

shoot at non-lexus drivers hahah

Pnuge88

iTrader: (1)

i was thinking about using a flat black on the inner housings on my headlights.. just becuase i want to get two dead spiders out of it.. but i've decided to just upgrade my headlights.. the 02-05 headlights look like crap

Lexiss_sc430

iTrader: (2)

if you do not want the ECU please pm me, i will take it off your hands

Viper hood... will not flow with the lines of our cars, save yourself some time and money, but the headlights will look good as long as its done correctly and sealed back up.

GL

KaiserSea1

Ok lucky is under the knife now. Going with the complete black out, ecu, and decided to do the hood. Problem is the shop has the hood and will sell it to me for $450. That price is just parts. To pull the skin off, heat mold it to fit on LB and paint $2000 more. Looks like my bad taste gives way to my budget.

langsdale

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...-all-like.html

here is my link bro. i dont know how much this helps because i dont have all the pics "in the process" posted on here. i have a few videos on my photobucket though if you check it out. go later in the thread.
here is what happened
1. opened the lights and removed the one piece shield. had it painted the same color as the satin on the car to match the stars. really it doesnt matter behind glass i found out. and black resin based paint will work
2. took the cup (left pic) and a dremel (be careful) and opened the opening a little more to receive a slim projector from matt at theretrofitsource.com
3. obviously installed and wired with an HID kit (also from matt) like i would any light, but its bixenon and acts as low and high beam.
4. swapped out existing bulbs to 6000k so they all match in color.
5. painted the bezel as well and snapped/epoxied on. lets face it, if it rattles around etc and shifts or bounces off, i dont want to crack open the lights again.
6. sealed her up, crossed my fingers and lets hope for the best.

now i havent driven her since really. she is finishing the turbos and new engine managment system now. i was going to rip her guts out with new pistons, etc and swap to a GM 4 speed paddle shift tranny, but looking at my calendar i would rather wait till october and when she goes away for the winter do it then, you know? low boost this summer and hope i dont murder my hard work, so wish me luck.
she is about a month or so from being completely buttoned up with the new nitrous kit, etc (thank you DEI), so stay tuned. also im looking for a few magazines to get on board, and really my sponsors want a cover shoot, so get ready...

langsdale

forgot to mention. i put projector glass where the turn signal plastic baffling was. HAHAHHA
there is a orange glow shooting when you hit the signals. its a riot....
but it involves the dremel, epoxy, careful dilligence and most importantly guts. good luck

KaiserSea1

My Eyes! My Eyes



Langsdale thank you so much! I really appreciate everyones input. I am playing with BMW Halo lights and Infiniti projectors. I am testing them to see how much more heat they generate. I have been told the wiring harness is prone to melting. Since I have another ride Lucky will be out of service for a while. The JDM ecu is plug and play but now my engine light is on. So many little problems. I will do my best to document what goes right and wrong...

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

wow...I traveled a little this week and LB is being transformed while I was out!

I'd probably pass on the hood...but maybe a classy scoop or fender vents would look better. I Know there are some nice "real" scoops out there. The viper one is just too aggressive (esp with stripe) for a classy car like LB IMO.

Now the headlights....this is very exciting! Keep us posted.

Question: Why wouldn't you consider this:

http://www.*****************/product...s/sc2/h_lamp1/

A little late, I know. Sorry. I hope this turns out great! Keep us posted

redliner8

iTrader: (1)

Langsdale, I saw your posts previously (btw, great looking SC!) and have been meaning to ask, since it came up again: How did you take the headlight housing apart? I've seen videos of people putting their entire headlight in an oven to loosen the seal and pry it apart, or using a heat gun on the seal.

How did you seal it back on? Just reheat and stick back together? I was thinking about using black gasket maker.