Modding ideas for an 03 ES300 (4th gen?)
07-22-11, 11:20 AM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: WA
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Modding ideas for an 03 ES300 (4th gen?)
I've heard all too often that this is considered a grandma car. You know what, whatever. It's a great car (on the inside). On the outside, it's a bit too round and bland for my liking.
It looks exactly like this, same color too:
The LAST thing I want to do is make it look like a stupid ricer with awkwardly put modifications. Rather, I want to subtly improve it - make the outside maybe a LITTLE bit less bland / more sporty while keeping the luxury on the inside.
I've seen pictures of some amazing 02-04 ES300s that look as classy as many high-tier Mercedes models, for example. I saw this one on this site, for example:
Minus the color (out of my price range) and the rims (I don't think BBS rims fit very well on these, but it still looks good), that's a great example of something that I'd want my car to look like.
I have ideas on what to do, but first I'd like to see if anyone else has any suggestions on how to IMPROVE the car. Then I'll write out the stuff that I had in mind.
PS. At the moment I'd prefer to have mods that aren't 100% permanent. OR, if they are permanent, something that won't lower the resale value of the car (example: window tint doesn't lower the value).
It looks exactly like this, same color too:
The LAST thing I want to do is make it look like a stupid ricer with awkwardly put modifications. Rather, I want to subtly improve it - make the outside maybe a LITTLE bit less bland / more sporty while keeping the luxury on the inside.
I've seen pictures of some amazing 02-04 ES300s that look as classy as many high-tier Mercedes models, for example. I saw this one on this site, for example:
Minus the color (out of my price range) and the rims (I don't think BBS rims fit very well on these, but it still looks good), that's a great example of something that I'd want my car to look like.
I have ideas on what to do, but first I'd like to see if anyone else has any suggestions on how to IMPROVE the car. Then I'll write out the stuff that I had in mind.
PS. At the moment I'd prefer to have mods that aren't 100% permanent. OR, if they are permanent, something that won't lower the resale value of the car (example: window tint doesn't lower the value).
07-22-11, 01:16 PM
#2
Welcome to the forums!
In that picture you are looking at a Toyota Windom MCV30.
In Japan they are fortunate to have easy access to the lip kit on it, the side mirrors, etc.
You should check out my vehicle threads and youtube channel.
Here are a few things you can do:
HID's
Window Tint
LED Conversion
Clear Corner Lights
2006 ES330 Headlights and Taillights
Lip Kit
Rims
In that picture you are looking at a Toyota Windom MCV30.
In Japan they are fortunate to have easy access to the lip kit on it, the side mirrors, etc.
You should check out my vehicle threads and youtube channel.
Here are a few things you can do:
HID's
Window Tint
LED Conversion
Clear Corner Lights
2006 ES330 Headlights and Taillights
Lip Kit
Rims
07-23-11, 07:22 PM
#3
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: WA
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Alright, here are my ideas.
I'm a teenager working two part time jobs but some of the stuff out there is too expensive for me. Rims and a paint job would be in the thousands of dollars. I wish the car was painted black but it ain't worth the money it would take to make it look good.
Rims are very hit and miss for me. Some look good, the majority look awful (those chrome 20 inch ones that I see in so many pictures...man, what were they thinking). BBS rims would be cool but, again, a bit too expensive. I'd just stick with the ones I have, they're not bad at all.
These come on the newer ES330's, and they're not too bad, but I haven't looked up the prices on them.
Anyways, here are the things I can do, and I'd like to hear people's input on them.
Window tint - probably the next thing I'm gonna do, about 35% on all the windows. I see you did that on yours, Megafast - is the visibility still okay at night? That's really the only thing I was wondering about.
Smoking out the tail lights - I know this looks awful on some cars but my car's gray/silver, and I've found that darkened tail lights look great on white, black, and everything in between cars. It wouldn't be expensive at all, either, and it's not permanent. I'm sure it'd lower the resale value a bit, but the film can be easily taken off.
The clear corner lights I was thinking about, but I was actually thinking of getting blue tinted ones and do the same for my headlights and fog lights. Now, I know that technically blue headlights are illegal, but I wasn't going to do extreme stupid blue, just a light tint. My neighbors have this on their Mercedes and it looks great at night AND during the day. If I did this, the car would have a silver gray / black / blue color scheme and I think that'd look good.
HIDs would achieve this effect too but I haven't thought about those too much yet.
What's different about the ES330 headlights and tail lights compared to the 02-04 ES300s?
And the lip kit - yes, it's been at the back of my mind this whole time - it's the most expensive of all the mods that I'm willing to do, but still not too expensive - about $500 for the front/rear lips and side skirts, not counting the installation cost. I wanted to see if anyone else on CL has done this - I think it looks DAMN good, way better than ES300s without the lips, but I wanted to know some details first. Does taking it off leave any permanent marks? The one I found was a DuraFlex Vip kit, if that helps.
I'm a teenager working two part time jobs but some of the stuff out there is too expensive for me. Rims and a paint job would be in the thousands of dollars. I wish the car was painted black but it ain't worth the money it would take to make it look good.
Rims are very hit and miss for me. Some look good, the majority look awful (those chrome 20 inch ones that I see in so many pictures...man, what were they thinking). BBS rims would be cool but, again, a bit too expensive. I'd just stick with the ones I have, they're not bad at all.
These come on the newer ES330's, and they're not too bad, but I haven't looked up the prices on them.
Anyways, here are the things I can do, and I'd like to hear people's input on them.
Window tint - probably the next thing I'm gonna do, about 35% on all the windows. I see you did that on yours, Megafast - is the visibility still okay at night? That's really the only thing I was wondering about.
Smoking out the tail lights - I know this looks awful on some cars but my car's gray/silver, and I've found that darkened tail lights look great on white, black, and everything in between cars. It wouldn't be expensive at all, either, and it's not permanent. I'm sure it'd lower the resale value a bit, but the film can be easily taken off.
The clear corner lights I was thinking about, but I was actually thinking of getting blue tinted ones and do the same for my headlights and fog lights. Now, I know that technically blue headlights are illegal, but I wasn't going to do extreme stupid blue, just a light tint. My neighbors have this on their Mercedes and it looks great at night AND during the day. If I did this, the car would have a silver gray / black / blue color scheme and I think that'd look good.
HIDs would achieve this effect too but I haven't thought about those too much yet.
What's different about the ES330 headlights and tail lights compared to the 02-04 ES300s?
And the lip kit - yes, it's been at the back of my mind this whole time - it's the most expensive of all the mods that I'm willing to do, but still not too expensive - about $500 for the front/rear lips and side skirts, not counting the installation cost. I wanted to see if anyone else on CL has done this - I think it looks DAMN good, way better than ES300s without the lips, but I wanted to know some details first. Does taking it off leave any permanent marks? The one I found was a DuraFlex Vip kit, if that helps.
07-24-11, 01:21 AM
#4
Hey,
I am/was in the same exact situation you are. I got my ES when I was 16. Had many things I wanted to do to it in my mind, but at the time the parts seem like a lot of money. Just be patient and do it little by little like I did. I'm 18 now and still love the car, and plan on having it for a long time.
As for Rims and paint job... Put those at the bottom of your list. Lexus Paint is unique and amazing. No need to mess with that. As for rims, I personally like and prefer our stock rims over the 2006 model's.
I went with 35%. It depends on the film brand. With tan interior it does look pretty light when looking at it directly, and it is more tolerable/easier to see at night than my dad's car with 20%.
I think "smoking" the taillights would look decent, but don't black them out. I would personally prefer the 2006 ES taillights, which is what I now have.
For the clear corners, you are already breaking the law by going clear because every car is supposed to have a reflector on the side. Rich LED Amber color gives 6k HID Blue a really nice contrast. "6k" is the term you call blue tint. I would just go clear with amber, but 6k bulbs from v-leds.com would look good too I suppose.
The 02-04 ES' have reflector style headlights. The 05-06 ES' have Projector headlights. It's a huge difference in light output and design. The taillights on the newer model just look SO much more modern and luxurious. You can afford these through ebay. Search around and look for totaled cars that will sell them at good prices.
I'm just now thinking about my Lip kit and exhaust. I would make that last on your list too, since paint is required. Plus it's the most non-functional of the mods available to you. You'd be amazed though to see the difference window tint can make to a car!
So with that said, I recommend you do a full LED light conversion on your interior, by yourself an HID kit and Projector headlights. If you don't have a Double DIN NAV system you could throw that in there too.
I am/was in the same exact situation you are. I got my ES when I was 16. Had many things I wanted to do to it in my mind, but at the time the parts seem like a lot of money. Just be patient and do it little by little like I did. I'm 18 now and still love the car, and plan on having it for a long time.
As for Rims and paint job... Put those at the bottom of your list. Lexus Paint is unique and amazing. No need to mess with that. As for rims, I personally like and prefer our stock rims over the 2006 model's.
I went with 35%. It depends on the film brand. With tan interior it does look pretty light when looking at it directly, and it is more tolerable/easier to see at night than my dad's car with 20%.
I think "smoking" the taillights would look decent, but don't black them out. I would personally prefer the 2006 ES taillights, which is what I now have.
For the clear corners, you are already breaking the law by going clear because every car is supposed to have a reflector on the side. Rich LED Amber color gives 6k HID Blue a really nice contrast. "6k" is the term you call blue tint. I would just go clear with amber, but 6k bulbs from v-leds.com would look good too I suppose.
The 02-04 ES' have reflector style headlights. The 05-06 ES' have Projector headlights. It's a huge difference in light output and design. The taillights on the newer model just look SO much more modern and luxurious. You can afford these through ebay. Search around and look for totaled cars that will sell them at good prices.
I'm just now thinking about my Lip kit and exhaust. I would make that last on your list too, since paint is required. Plus it's the most non-functional of the mods available to you. You'd be amazed though to see the difference window tint can make to a car!
So with that said, I recommend you do a full LED light conversion on your interior, by yourself an HID kit and Projector headlights. If you don't have a Double DIN NAV system you could throw that in there too.
07-25-11, 12:24 PM
#5
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: WA
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm intrigued - what's the biggest visual difference between the 02-04 ES300 tail lights and the 2006 ES330 tail lights? I've noticed something subtly different when I drive behind ES330s on the road, I think they have chrome edges around their headlights and tail lights. Is that what you mean when you say they're more modern and luxurious?
And yeah, I think I'm gonna get an HID kit after tinting the windows and maybe trying to darken the tail lights. They're not too expensive. Probably gonna go for the Xenon 6000k ones, they look very good as far as visibility (and of course, the coolness factor) goes.
A result like this would be pretty sweet:
Just to clarify, when you say go clear with amber, you mean replace the yellow reflectors with clear reflectors and put LED amber lights inside, or what? I haven't spent too much time researching mods on cars, I'm still trying to keep up with the terms here.
I'd put my lip kit above rims/paint on my list of priorities, but then again I wasn't sure if the cost to paint the front/rear lip spoilers would be high or not. I mean, it's not like they're painting the entire car, it's just a small addition to it, it requires much less time and paint.
And I don't know if I mentioned this here or not (I thought I did, but I guess not) I was considering getting the exhaust done on my car. I mean, it's a 3-liter V6, it'll sound pretty good, and this guy at work had it done to his Audi A4 and it sounds amazing and he said he could hook me up. The only thing keeping me back is that, even though it's not irreversible, it might ruin or degrade the luxury aspect of my car, since the car is very nice and quiet from the inside whenever I start it up or drive it. If I get the exhaust done, it'll sound awesome on the outside, but it won't be quiet and luxurious on the inside anymore. I guess it's a personal choice at that point. Like I said, the good news is that it's not permanent at all, it can easily be reversed.
And last of all - the LED interior conversion. What exactly is that? Is it when the dome lights and stuff are replaced by white or colored LEDs? Like this?
Or does that also include converting stuff on the dashboard and on the speedometer display and stuff? Like this:
Because if I could do that with blue LEDs, it'd be amazing.
I've actually attempted to do something similar to that. It was a cheap $20 addition to the car, but the result was pretty cool. I basically just bought four million-color LED interior lighting tubes and attached them to the bottoms of the front seats, on the front and back. It basically lights up the footwells of the car's front and back seats in any color I want - I keep them on blue, or light-green to match the color of the radio LED display. They look like this, basically, and they're totally optional - but at night, they look awesome.
Anyways, yeah, sorry for the long post, but I'm really interested in what people like you have done to your cars and what you'd recommend. The car is already luxurious, but if I can improve it and make it even better, then I might as well do so.
And yeah, I think I'm gonna get an HID kit after tinting the windows and maybe trying to darken the tail lights. They're not too expensive. Probably gonna go for the Xenon 6000k ones, they look very good as far as visibility (and of course, the coolness factor) goes.
A result like this would be pretty sweet:
Just to clarify, when you say go clear with amber, you mean replace the yellow reflectors with clear reflectors and put LED amber lights inside, or what? I haven't spent too much time researching mods on cars, I'm still trying to keep up with the terms here.
I'd put my lip kit above rims/paint on my list of priorities, but then again I wasn't sure if the cost to paint the front/rear lip spoilers would be high or not. I mean, it's not like they're painting the entire car, it's just a small addition to it, it requires much less time and paint.
And I don't know if I mentioned this here or not (I thought I did, but I guess not) I was considering getting the exhaust done on my car. I mean, it's a 3-liter V6, it'll sound pretty good, and this guy at work had it done to his Audi A4 and it sounds amazing and he said he could hook me up. The only thing keeping me back is that, even though it's not irreversible, it might ruin or degrade the luxury aspect of my car, since the car is very nice and quiet from the inside whenever I start it up or drive it. If I get the exhaust done, it'll sound awesome on the outside, but it won't be quiet and luxurious on the inside anymore. I guess it's a personal choice at that point. Like I said, the good news is that it's not permanent at all, it can easily be reversed.
And last of all - the LED interior conversion. What exactly is that? Is it when the dome lights and stuff are replaced by white or colored LEDs? Like this?
Or does that also include converting stuff on the dashboard and on the speedometer display and stuff? Like this:
Because if I could do that with blue LEDs, it'd be amazing.
I've actually attempted to do something similar to that. It was a cheap $20 addition to the car, but the result was pretty cool. I basically just bought four million-color LED interior lighting tubes and attached them to the bottoms of the front seats, on the front and back. It basically lights up the footwells of the car's front and back seats in any color I want - I keep them on blue, or light-green to match the color of the radio LED display. They look like this, basically, and they're totally optional - but at night, they look awesome.
Anyways, yeah, sorry for the long post, but I'm really interested in what people like you have done to your cars and what you'd recommend. The car is already luxurious, but if I can improve it and make it even better, then I might as well do so.
07-25-11, 08:20 PM
#6
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MO
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
With tinting I'm from MO and I did 35% in the front and 15% in the back and rear windows which is totally legal, you will love it after tinting
The LED conversion is basically switching from the bulbs to LEDs in the dome etc, but you can also replace the dash lights. In my 97 es300 I can only replace the symbols (door ajar etc) lights because I think there is a small flourescent type tube lighting the speedometer etc, but yours may be different. I've also installed both 6k LEDs in my car and blue (not sure temp) LEDS in my brother's impala, kind of wish I did blue for my interior too but the 6k still gives off a blue-ish color
I only replaced footwell and dome in my brothers but in mine have replaced all bulbs and got a nice license plate frame since it now had decent illumination.
Also after looking at the headlight shade you're going for the 6k might be best because it will be a similar blue-ish white
EDIT: got a link to the tubes you used for footwell? I've been looking into doing that
The LED conversion is basically switching from the bulbs to LEDs in the dome etc, but you can also replace the dash lights. In my 97 es300 I can only replace the symbols (door ajar etc) lights because I think there is a small flourescent type tube lighting the speedometer etc, but yours may be different. I've also installed both 6k LEDs in my car and blue (not sure temp) LEDS in my brother's impala, kind of wish I did blue for my interior too but the 6k still gives off a blue-ish color
I only replaced footwell and dome in my brothers but in mine have replaced all bulbs and got a nice license plate frame since it now had decent illumination.
Also after looking at the headlight shade you're going for the 6k might be best because it will be a similar blue-ish white
EDIT: got a link to the tubes you used for footwell? I've been looking into doing that
07-25-11, 09:27 PM
#7
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: WA
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I bought them from this guy on Ebay, sells them for half the store price, delivered in about 2 days, great experience overall.
They come with a bit of a clusterf***k of wires. You attach it to a 12v outlet (I have mine in the armrest compartment between the two front seats). But I also know it's possible to splice it into the car battery so that it's permanently powered by the car turning on.
It comes with a little remote that lets you turn it on/off, switch between 7 colors (green, blue, red, cyan, light green, purple, white) and fading between all 7 colors. And it lets you choose from like ten different color flashing/fading patterns that I personally don't use (too distracting) but it's fun to have.
It definitely looks really sick at night, I've gotten compliments for it which is funny because it takes almost 0 effort to install. They come with little adhesive double sided tape things but they don't work too well in my car. So I velcro-ed the ones in the back and ghetto-taped the ones in the front (they're not even visible, they just provide a really nice blue light.
They come with a bit of a clusterf***k of wires. You attach it to a 12v outlet (I have mine in the armrest compartment between the two front seats). But I also know it's possible to splice it into the car battery so that it's permanently powered by the car turning on.
It comes with a little remote that lets you turn it on/off, switch between 7 colors (green, blue, red, cyan, light green, purple, white) and fading between all 7 colors. And it lets you choose from like ten different color flashing/fading patterns that I personally don't use (too distracting) but it's fun to have.
It definitely looks really sick at night, I've gotten compliments for it which is funny because it takes almost 0 effort to install. They come with little adhesive double sided tape things but they don't work too well in my car. So I velcro-ed the ones in the back and ghetto-taped the ones in the front (they're not even visible, they just provide a really nice blue light.
Trending Topics
07-25-11, 10:11 PM
#8
Pole Position
In all honesty, there is not very much in the 'mod' dept one can do to an ES...however & for example, check out my photo gallery, I added a high quality tint, changed the wheels (both winter & summer - kept them factory OE mind you). Those two mods make HUGE difference in the cars appearance. A good friend of mine on this forum (and Lexusownersclub.com) also added a spoiler to his 2002 which looked very nice as well. It's completely ones individual choice.
My suggestion however, keep the changes subtle & at the same time making it 'your own'.
Should you try to find aftermarket appearance & performance upgrades online, you will not have much reliable success.
Good luck!
My suggestion however, keep the changes subtle & at the same time making it 'your own'.
Should you try to find aftermarket appearance & performance upgrades online, you will not have much reliable success.
Good luck!
07-25-11, 11:13 PM
#9
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: WA
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I feel like that depends on your definition of modding. Yeah, it's not TOO customizable, but I think there's quite a lot of options out there to make it look like - and be - a much higher-tier luxury car than it originally was. Subtle things like the headlights and tail lights.
Tint looks very nice, by the way. It's good to see a picture of what my car would look like with tinted windows because mine basically does look like that except for the rims. What % is that? 35?
Tint looks very nice, by the way. It's good to see a picture of what my car would look like with tinted windows because mine basically does look like that except for the rims. What % is that? 35?
09-15-20, 05:31 PM
#13
Lexus Champion
Edit: no need to reply to a dead thread that’s been bumped up to the top
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
2001ES300
ES - 1st to 4th Gen (1990-2006)
17
03-21-06 07:59 PM
