I think I should post this seeing as that I'm actually in a position to be really active on here.
My name is Troy. I'm 21. I'm from the Upper Marlboro/Bowie area. I lived here all my life. I bought my 1997 Lexus es300 on Veteran's Day of 2010. I wanted this body of Lexus for about 7 years now, even before I could drive lol. I bought it with a stock blue and gray two tone paint job from an independent dealer in Fredericksburg, Va. I got it for a little less than 3k and it had about 175k miles on it when I purchased it. It was in an accident on the rear passenger side before I purchased it which just requires a little smoothing out and paint and it needs the roof to be clear coated again and it will be A-ok. I recently got another job as an Assistant Project Manager since I was laid off like a month after I bought the ES, so I haven't had a chance to do much to it, but I have a full list of plans for it.
I plan on
-putting a double din in it for now and hopefully soon upgrading it to a car PC -15" Kicker L5 (or maybe a 12" L7 or JL W7)
-kicker zx 750.1
-35% tints on the front, and privacy glass in the back
-remote start 2 way alarm (most likely viper since they are now smart phone compatible)
-drilled & slotted rotors
-some 19" rims (thinking Giovanna, Asanti, Work or Auto Coutures)
-dropping it to fit the rims
-headrest monitors
-maybe a rear view monitor (biiiig maybe).
I recently was in the automotive customization business like audio, video, paint, bodywork, rims and all that pimp my ride kind of stuff for about 2 years. I worked for a shop that did all of that stuff so I have some knowledge on those things, and I am always willing to give some advice or help someone install something on their car.
I will post pics soon.
Hope to see you all around and become part of the family.

 

Welcome Troy, I'm new also!

Sounds like you love the car, as you should!

Just a couple pieces of advice, Make sure the wheels you get are hub-centric (sounds like you've been around the biz before) stay away from drilled rotors, they look cool but will crack and fail sooner then a solid or slotted rotor. I know this from many years of experience of working at a racing school and racing myself. If you want to improve braking look into changing your brake fluid, pads and see if someone has steel braided lines. I'm not sure what is out there for that gen ES.

GL with all the things you want to do with your ride!

Curtis

 

Welcome pimp I can't wait to see ur wheels when u r finished

 

Welcome Troy. You, as well as many of the newbies, should be able to enjoy your stay with the group. Plenty of good, helpful peeps here.

 

Thank you all for the feedback and Curtis thanks for the heads up. I will stay away from those then lol The rims are going to be a challenging decision because they always tend to get to be very expensive very quick. Last set of rims I got for my mustang cost me over 3k, and then I ended up not even liking them by the time I sold the car lol, so will definitely do some thinking on this one, but I will probably throw on some SC430 rims if I can find some for cheap in the mean time.
EDIT: Also do you guys know of a good exhaust to put on this 97 ES? I really would like to get rid of the stock one and maybe run a y-pipe into something. I want to give it a more modern aggressive look than it currently has. Any and all input is appreciated.