E46CT

Thanks to the other thread but it didn't really explain much. At least not in a collective way on the first page. Thanks for that info. So here's my contribution =)


These are the part #s you'll need starting in 6...


Tape off your door and tape some flat head screw drivers up. ALSO tape up the gloss black B pillar trim so you dont scratch it either! Tuck the tape deep as possible. Use two to evenly distribute pressure upwards towards the sky on the chrome trim. Do this SLOW and methodically. Wiggle your screwdrivers slowly. Don't yank. You'll need to lift this to tuck the trim piece tab underneath.


See the round tab sticking out? It tucks naturally into the little cutout under the chrome trim.


Line up the trim to practice where to put it. You simply press the chrome piece back down with your fingers


Before actually installing the trim piece, clean the channel out with some alcohol. Do this multiple times to rid of any grease or wax.


This is how the trim piece looks fully pressed in. Peel the upper strip of tape's backing film away from the piece and slowly press the trim piece against the door. Make sure it's snugly and securely in the channel before you press down on the tape. It should look like this. Then proceed with the lower tape. Note that it presses towards the side of the car vs the top piece which sticks towards the rear of the car. Two separate pieces of tape!


Here it is installed. You'll notice the trim sticks up just ever so slightly on the door. Maybe 1mm or less. You can trim with a razor blade (carefully of course w/ the door fully taped) or you can leave it alone. I chose to leave it alone for now.



Here's another view



And here it is the door closed. Voila! Gives the car a sense of premium.



This is a view of how the trim sticks up ever so slightly. I may trim it in the coming days. I'll see how I feel. Otherwise the trim is a perfect fit. It does look slightly weird where it curves downwards towards the door but it's very very minor. It's a 98.5% fit. Good enough for me!

M1AH3A7

Thank you for this good sir. I appreciate your time and your thoroughness. I just ordered these recently and will be following your steps for my install.

goldengame

Excuse my ignorance, but what's the purpose of changing the weather stripping?

leo877

Originally the IS does not have that. I think mostly that strip will reduce the noise and vibration when you closing front doors.

E46CT

It's just a cool thing to have. That's all. We love our cars and most of us continually find things to do to it. Personally I love retrofitting OEM-grade equipment onto my cars. Did it with my BMW. Retrofitted hvac controls and other goodies from newer models. It's always fun to put something on your car from a different car. I've always liked premium cars having the weather stripping there between the doors. The IS feels and looks a bit economy without it. Like a Civic or Corolla.

RocketG35

Good stuff. I think some that did this before just cut off the tab under the sill since it didn't quite fit. Not sure how important it is to have it tabbed, but I believe the tape was enough.

corradoMR2

Wow, never thought of this enhancement. Nice upgrade and DIY!

Twinair

Love this! Parts ordered. Thanks for sharing

E46CT

Thanks. I thought about cutting it but really it's too easy to lift the chrome trim and just do it properly. nice to have a bit of extra security and the quality of an OEM install. Plus it's kind of fun to tinker with stuff! I thought the chrome trim would be difficult or risky but nope. It lifts straight up and pushes right back down using your fingers. Easy friction fit.

Thanks! I give credit to the other people who have done it before. But I haven't really seen any clear info or pics out there so decided to write this up =)

Glad you found it useful =)

leo877

Same here. I didn't figure out where it should be so I ended up cutting it

CrackerJac

Is it noticeably quieter while closing the door? Looks good!

JDR76

This came on both my Highlander and my GS and I love it. I find that it helps to keep the door jambs clean.

Great idea to add it to the IS!

AndyL

Thanks for the useful pictures. I have bought the same weather strips and made the attempt last year.

Your pictures have given me the assurance that this approach would work. There are many Japanese Lexus owners using this approach for this mod and yet my Japanese technician says he would take off the door panel and remove the chrome trim from inside.

Using your approach, I find that when I lifted the chrome trim up, it actually pressed against a portion of the B-pillar black trim to the point where it actually produced some very minor marring under some lighting.. Most people won't see or won't bother the marring as it is on the portion of the black trim behind the chrome trim. For my IS, the chrome trims are very difficult to remove and I stopped there without proceeding further. (On the other hand, I tried this approach to a loaner car which was also an IS, the chrome trim was much easier to be lifted up. So YMMV)

Maybe I should re-look at the situation again since I still have the weatherstrips laying in my home.

E46CT

No, no difference in sound.

Good idea. I made sure I lifted mine straight up so it didnt scratch the B pillar.. however now that you mention this I'll go ahead and recommend youg uys tape up the B pillar as well. Problem solved =) Appreciate that mention!

387

Interesting, I am going to order this. My car is black and hope this will keep the B pillar area cleaner.

On a related note, a while back I remember seeing someone post about some plastic door hinge covers. Does anyone have a link to that thread?