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Just wanted to show off my build so far. I would describe my mods as OEM+ type build. I’m happy with my progress so far, and I’m very close to being done. I’m the second owner and bought it at 65k miles earlier this year. I need to get some body work (curb rash on the bumpers) done to the car, so no pics of the outside yet. My next project is to add OEM park assist. A project for the back burner is to add dynamic cruise control.
Current mods done so far:
-Replaced all incandescent bulbs with LED (super easy since most of the bulbs were LED anyway)
-2IS steering wheel with paddle shifters
-2IS chrome shifter ****
-Prius start button (for white backlighting) with red TRD style button
-Replaced all base speakers with aftermarket JBL speakers. I used OEM Mark Levinson speakers for the corner dash speakers
-Replaced the OEM Pioneer amp with a OEM Toyota JBL amp from a Sienna/Avalon
This sounds cool. Going to look forward to following this.
I am doing a mid-life refurbishment on an 09 awd right now - I bought it from a family member when it hit the point it needed brakes/shocks/axles, some exterior cosmetic work, etc. It should be quite nice when I’m done - and I’m looking at finding small improvements to make. It sounds like you know what you are doing.
2IS steering wheel with paddle shifters
Are they functional? Because that would be neat. I do not like the stick auto-manual function. I was driving a 23 ES UL hard a week ago and liked the paddles.
These mods you are doing should make your car really quite neat.
Are they functional? Because that would be neat. I do not like the stick auto-manual function. I was driving a 23 ES UL hard a week ago and liked the paddles.
Yes, the paddle shifters are functional. I followed another thread on CL to wire them. Rather than splice into the existing shifter cables, I went to my local salvage yard and acquired a male and female connector for the shifter assembly and basically extended the existing harness in my car. If you’re not happy with shifting in sport mode with the shift ****, you probably won’t want to install the paddle shifters.
Yes, the paddle shifters are functional. I followed another thread on CL to wire them. Rather than splice into the existing shifter cables, I went to my local salvage yard and acquired a male and female connector for the shifter assembly and basically extended the existing harness in my car. If you’re not happy with shifting in sport mode with the shift ****, you probably won’t want to install the paddle shifters.
Got it. I just found this old thread, probably what you referenced.
Interesting and I’m going to study it. I see the point re: it won’t do any more wrt performance and shift logic than the existing shifter.
Yep. That’s the one. But I found that the shifter cables are extremely thin and difficult to tap into. I didn’t want to cut them either, so that’s why I extended the harness. An interesting thing about the 2IS steering wheel is that it’s 0.5 inches smaller in diameter overall. I actually prefer it over the original one.
Yep. That’s the one. But I found that the shifter cables are extremely thin and difficult to tap into. I didn’t want to cut them either, so that’s why I extended the harness. An interesting thing about the 2IS steering wheel is that it’s 0.5 inches smaller in diameter overall. I actually prefer it over the original one.
I actually thought it looked a little smaller. Which agreed, is not a bad thing on this car. I LOVE the wood wheel, but a slightly smaller diameter would be desirable. I’ve got to give this some thought. I have a bunch of work still to do, but I’m putting this down on the spreadsheet/punch list to investigate more in the future.
Just got the front and rear bumpers repainted. I decided to do the front plate delete. Exterior mods include new emblems, new grill, 3IS wheels, aftermarket tail lights, and LEDs everywhere. For those considering doing the park assist sensors mod for the 06-07 3GS, DON’T DO IT! Only the refreshed 08+ came pre-wired with the park assist.
Super clean! Are those replaced headlights or recently polished? I can kinda see a cutoff on the wall in front of you and wondering if thats from yours or another car there. What all kind of bulbs are you running in the headlights, brights and fogs? Looks really good!
Super clean! Are those replaced headlights or recently polished? I can kinda see a cutoff on the wall in front of you and wondering if thats from yours or another car there. What all kind of bulbs are you running in the headlights, brights and fogs? Looks really good!
Thanks! The headlights have neither been replaced or polished. I bought the car with 65k miles, and it has always been garaged. The headlight lens do have scratches and have developed a slight yellow tint. They’re fine to drive for now, but I’m debating whether I want to replace the lenses or go aftermarket down the road. The cutoff in the pics is from my car.
I’m running LEDs in the brights and fogs. For the low beams, I’m just using a cheap pair of 6000k HIDs from Amazon.
My 07 GS350 Build
