Hey guys. I need your opinions. First, a little background about my car (which many of you know about, and, if so, skip to the next paragraph). Anyway, 98 GS400 alpine silver. No mods to speak of other than tinted windows. I have stock 17s for the summer and stock 16s for the winter (both sets non-chrome). The previous owner had an aftermarket trunk spoiler on the car that was similar to the stock spoiler, but different enough that it really bugged the cr*p out me every time I looked at it, so I found a 1999 GS400 in alpine silver without a spoiler and swapped trunks.

Anyway, here's the issue. Something is missing. I can't put my finger on it, but I notice it even more now that I have the stock 16s on for the winter. Here are my options:

(1) Remove tint. In my opinion, it takes away from the alpine silver and now that I don't have a spoiler and the stock 16s are on for the winter, it looks kind of silly (kind of like I am some bozo who is trying to make the car something that it's not).

(2) Install OEM spoiler. I hated the old spoiler, but actually like the look of the stock spoiler. For some reason, I think it's more important to have the spoiler on pre-2001 cars (maybe it's because I really like the look of the new 01+ tails). Anyway, new tails are not an option. I want to keep everything as stock as possible.

(3) Dump the 16s, put the 17s back on and just deal with it for the winter. In my opinion, the 17s look so much sportier than the stock 16s. Also, with the 17s on, the tint actually looks okay. Don't ask me why. With the 16s, the tint looks downright silly.

What do you guys think? Should I do one of the above, a combination of them, or nothing. By the way, here's a picture of my car from the summer (i.e., with the stock 17s) after I got the new trunk. I figure if Chuckb's post about swapping embems was good for 600+ page views and 30+ replies, this topic should get at least a few looks/replies.

e-man

 

OK... Heres what you do:

1. Tein coilovers
2. HRE/ iForged wheels
3. Kit of your choice

Haha... just messin with you. I think it looks fine the way it is in the summer. The 17" are nice. Those are my winter wheels. I would keep them on for the winter also if I was you. 17" tires are cheap. As far as the tint goes, dark is nice on some cars but I think a 50% on yours would have looked the best and wont take away from the car.

Oh yea, if you like the 01 tails and OEM spoiler get them. I know you want to keep it stock but unless its for $ sake, it wont hurt the value of the car. Good luck.

 

E-man,

Why are you so quickly dismissing the 01+ tail light upgrade? It's plug and play and you can very easily keep your old ones and sell the new ones pretty fast in our classifieds when you sell the car to put it back to stock. Just a couple of screws.

 

Dave -- that's not a bad point. The new tails will always be worth something. I question whether the new tails will look right on a color that was discontinued in 2000, though (i.e., a color that was discontinued before the new tails were even introduced). svt5150 -- thanks for your thoughts as well about the 17s, spoiler and tails. How much worse could the 17s be in the winter, especially with Pilot Sport A/S's.

Here's what I'm thinking. The first thing that has to go are the stock 16s. They totally change the character of the car and take away a lot of sportiness (especially because I don't have a spoiler). Once the 17s are back on the car, the tint won't look so out of place. In fact, I think the car might look a little weird with the 17s without tint and without a spoiler (I don't think I've ever seen anyone with 17s without a spoiler). As far as the spoiler goes, I'm a little hesitant to bolt one on because there's no turning back once it's on there (unless, of course, I can find another matching spoilerless trunk). I realize this is pretty boring stuff compared to the major mods you guys tackle. But then again, I'm just a simple guy with simple tastes. Although, check out this picture -- it's a little TOO simple:

e-man

 

I see no problem with this. I think many on here have no problems with it either.

 

What's up E-get the 01+ tails. The color thing is a non issue. I can hardly tell Alpine from Millenium Silver anyway and who cares. Only few will know the tails aren't stock, and they are an oem part.

How about an SD grill, then it will really look 2001+

I think it will look clean and nice. The tints are allright if they aren't worn or installed crappy, I like the no tint look too though.

 

Thanks, Chuck. I actually don't mind the look of the pre-01 tails. I just think they need a spoiler to dress them up a bit. So, I guess I view the 01+ tails and a spoiler as mutually exclusive of each other -- I would get the OEM spoiler OR the 01+ tails, but not both. The tint is an independent issue. I'm in your camp on that one. Tint is okay, as long as it's done tastefully (and mine is), but if I had bought the car new, I never would have put it on there. Same thing holds true for the front license plate frame. I never would have drilled into the bumper to put that on (even though it's the law here in Illinois that you must have it). I see a lot of guys driving around with the mounting bracket without the frame, and it looks a little better. I'll let you know what I decide to do. Right now, I'm leaning towards adding the stock trunk spoiler.

 

Looks fine to me, and I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the tint v. no tint issue. Of course, when you add the OEM spoiler, you'll have to lose the original center brake light. My car, identical to yours (except its a 2001) has an OEM spoiler and it looks silly with two center brake lights. I learned to ignore it, though.

 

Thanks, JB. It's funny. Now that I own a GS, you notice things like that a lot (cars that have a 3rd brake light in the window AND in the spoiler). The only ones that don't have the window light are the ones that came from the factory with the spoiler. I would say more than 50% of the cars I've seen have both brake lights. As for getting rid of the one in the window, that wouldn't bother me too much (at least I don't think it will). I assume you still have both brake lights, right?

e-man

 

(2) Install OEM spoiler. I hated the old spoiler, but actually like the look of the stock spoiler. For some reason, I think it's more important to have the spoiler on pre-2001 cars (maybe it's because I really like the look of the new 01+ tails). Anyway, new tails are not an option. I want to keep everything as stock as possible.


thats what it is.

 

You could tint your back windshield darker, and just yank the bulb or cable going to the third brake light on the rear deck and problem solved

 

That bothered me immensely. I undertook four different methods to get rid of it.

1) tint rear window (not enough)

2) Covered the rear brake like with electrical tape underneath the housing so you can't see the light any longer. That worked for a couple of years as you don't have the two bulbs.... but the bump on the back deck still bugged me.

3) Disconnected the electronic sensor that stops the 'brake light warning' dash light from coming on and removed the third brake light bulge entirely. Stereo shop fabricated a cover that went over the deck to hide the big hole that was left.

4) Decided I didn't like the look of the fabicricated cover and bit the bullet and bought a new OEM rear deck (sans 3rd brake light) to replace the whole shooting match.

I know, thats a lot of work for something purely cosmetic. Just has always been something that bugged me on my car (and others I see like that).

 

You do that and a 'bulb out' warning light pops on at your dash that is an even more annoying problem

 

My wife and I both drive 1999 GS400's with 17" wheels and no spoilers. It is an individual thing but I don't think cars with spoilers, look as clean as a car without them.

We both just got the 2001 tail lights this weekend and I think it is a major improvement in the looks of the cars.
Makes them look much newer. .
By the way she has the Alpine Silver color, which I personally prefer to the Millennium Silver.

I've got to agree with you that the 17's look better, but don't get rid of the 16" wheels you can use them in the winter.
Put some snow & ice tires on them.
We've got 17" Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and they are great tires. But they don't go real good in the snow. With 16" snow & ice tires you can drive through almost any winter conditions.

Chuckb also has a good idea with the Sport Design grill check it out.


Good luck
3dog

 

Thanks, 3dog. If it's not too much trouble, could you post some pix of your car and your wife's car? I'm really interested to see your wife's car, especially if the windows aren't tinted. I don't think I've ever seen an alpine silver GS with 17s, no spoiler and non-tinted windows. By the way, I'm with you on alpine silver. I specifically bought a 98 (I would have taken a 99 too), because I strongly preferred alpine silver over milleneum. Also, I thought I preferred the spoilerless look, but once I put the 16s on for the winter, the car really became very plain looking.

By the way, my 17s have Pilot Sport A/S's on them, and I assumed they would be bad in snow, so I bought the 16s for the winter (which have Eagle GT+4s). The GT+4s are fine, but I can't see them being that much better than the Pilot Sport A/S's. I assume when you say "snow and ice" tires, you're talking about buying a set of serious snow tires, and not just all season tires. I would be afraid that they would destroy the ride. I put on a lot of highway miles, and I like the comfort of all season tread.

e-man