I don't have much money right now, but I feel like doing something small with my car. Any ideas guys....maybe something that has added a nice touch here or there? I know this is kind of a general thread, but I'm sure some of you guys have felt the same way. I think I am kind of bored right now too

 

You can do things that dont cost too much. Like clearing out your tail lights. or the headlight mod. You can rewire fog lights to come on with the side markers.

Detail the car. Shampoo the interior. Etc.

 

fog and corner lights already modded

not thinking clear taillights will look too good on my car. I thought of blacking them out, but I didn't get too good of feed back lol

 

Yeah blacking out tail lights is kinda ghey in my opinion. How about painting your calipers?

 

you wouldn't have liked my first car then lol

 

dont black out the tails, make your own SE tails.

anniversary door sills

paint your mud flaps if you have them

those are all things ive done when bored. did the trick for me.

 

I just checked your cardomain page bro and it looks like you did everything that should have been done. I dont know what else to tell you...its looking good though

 

change the color of the ignition ring. Takes about 10 minutes.

 

actually I just saw that on someones cardomain. Have you done it before?

 

How about some LEDs in your speedometer/guages? I just installed mine not too long ago. Cheap and you'll notice it every night.

 

yeah there is a how-to for it in the stickies. There is a green condom over the bulb. Just slip it off. I colored mine with a blue sharpie about 5 times, letting it dry each time. Nice and white at night.

 

I'm in the same boat as you with limited funds. I got yellow fogs (bulbs not capsules), amber corner lights (looks better with the fogs IMO), ordered 194 LED bulbs for everything that takes them (side markers, license plate lights, etc.), chrome gauge rings (probably going to put LEDs in teh gauges when I put those in), looking at a new shift **** and AE scuff plates...I actually saw some Teana scuff plates on ebay that the guy claimed were stock, but they had a weird diamond-plate pattern that i didnt really like.

I'd also like to do the red cellophane over the clock mod, and then the key ring to match it. IMO little stuff is much more satisfying than big stuff because if it doesn't work out quite right, you haven't really lost anything and it's easy to go back.

 

What is that ?


How hard is that? I saw it on a Lexus and I think it looks real good

 

putting red cellophane in the clock makes the display white instead of the stock green color. Just pull up on the clock and it'll come outta the dash. Disconnect the connector to it and disassemble the clock itself. This is very self-explanatory and involves removing a screw on each side of the back of the clock. Put a piece of cellophane (the thinner the better) b/w the clock itself and the black plastic piece you actually see the display through. Reassemble, put back in the car, and turn it on. Your clock will be white.

Like i said, the thinner the cellophane the better. I used red cellophane-ish gift wrap that was too thick and didn't let enough light through.

Very easy and subtle mod. Go for it.

 

where is the best place to get the cellophane? I forgot about that mod and it would look good with the "condom" taken off the key ring which I already did.

 

my guess is that since it's the holidays, places like target/walmart/hobby lobby will have red cellophane. Happy hunting.

 

oh yeah, another thing you can do that's not really a mod per se but will make you feel better about the car is clean the engine. Take some degreaser after it and use a water hose and rag to get everything black again. 20 minutes and you'll feel good about it.

You could add a 4th brake light. I rigged mine up in the headliner in the back window. 30 bucks off ebay. I'd post pics but my comp is at school. Not a bad mod.

I have a 'maxima' emblem on the dash in front of the passenger seat. Looks good imo.

Again, not a mod but it will make you smile... clean your floor mats.

chrome blinker bulbs?

 

Spend $31.00 for some Fiamm "Freeway Blasters" off Amazon.com.

They sound great! Now...you're not embarrassed with minivans try to cut you off (twice this week). Really wakes them up! Course, they are brain dead and continue to cut you off....but now...they "earned" it with your harrassment.

Yes....I do live in Joisey.

Vic

 

Is the easiest way to have chrome blinker bulbs is to paint them with silver paint? does that work?

 

I have never heard of people painting their own. Mine are not chrome. Rather, i have the silverstar turn signals. Makes the heads and tails look much cleaner imo. I got mine on the internet, 20 bucks for all 4 signals. Just shop around. Chrome bulbs can be found a ton of places online.

 

I just put some of the white Superstar LEDs in my license plate lights, and it looks totally awesome (also washed the plastic lenses since they had gotten really dirty). If you ever see a 3rd gen Lexus GS, the license plate bulbs look blue, and that's how these look, only they seem even brighter. Also, alot of the light reaches the ground and it contrasts really well with my yellow fogs. If you go to autolumination.com, the bulbs and shipping is probably < $15, so it's definitely worthwhile.

 

You know I noticed this on the new Lexus IS also. The other night I was driving behind one and the license plate lights are extra white almost like mini HID's inside. I like the look of it and I think I am thinking of doing that mod too.

 

You know I noticed this on the new Lexus IS also. The other night I was driving behind one and the license plate lights are extra white almost like mini HID's inside. I like the look of it and I think I am thinking of doing that mod too.

 

 

yes
i painted my front and rear blinker bulbs.
just a light layer so the color still shows through when lit.

 

i was also going to mention the licence plate bulbs. i have PIAAs in mine for a whiter look. i also have them in the door lights. FYI, they are the same bulbs.

 

Sorry I can't put up any pictures of the license plate lights just yet. I did do the cellophane mod on both my clock and the stock radio display, and then did the ignition ring to match. In all, it took between 20-30 minutes to do all three.

The clock mod is very straightforward, all you need is red cellophane (get as thin as possible or else the display will end up too dim) and a phillips screwdriver.

1. There are three V-shaped tabs holding the entire clock assembly into the dashboard (one directly under the display, two towards the back). These are fairly brittle, so don't pull too hard or fast. You should be able to pry it out with only your hands.

2. On the back you will see that the clock is held into the surrounding trim with two screws and two plastic tabs (there are too other screws farther out to the edges of the trim, but you don't need to mess with them). After you've unscrewed the clock itself, it simply pulls away from the trim.

3. Set the trim aside and pry the tinted cover off of the front of the clock (it's held on by four tabs, two top, two bottom). You can unplug the wiring harness if you need more room, but I was able to get the cover off without doing that. OF NOTE: the reset buttons will come loose when you remove the cover. These consist of two tiny pieces (the plastic button that you see next to the clock and a rubber plunger) that will easily get lost if you don't secure them. Without the four total pieces, you won't be able to reset the clock.

4. Once you have the cover loose, look through the back of it. You will notice there is a rectangular tinted piece glued to the inside of the cover. I tried the mod with and without that piece and the clock is brighter without it, so apparently it serves no other purpose than to make the clock dimmer. Pry that off, leaving as much adhesive as possible. Then use it as a template to cut a piece of cellophane. Use the leftover adhesive to secure the cellophane, along with tape or glue.

5. Snap the cover back on and turn on the ignition. Your clock display will be white!

6. Reinstall is the reverse of steps 1-3

Enjoy!

 

you can make the clock brighter (it wont dim with headlights on)

 

How do you do that? My clock dims whenever the lights are on. If i slide the dimmer switch all the way to the right, the radio display won't dim with the lights, but the clock still does.

 

cut the red wire
also nice when you have the fog light rewire and use them during the day.

 

hey oldmanshirt, where did you find the cellophane? Did you get saran wrap type stuff or gift wrap type stuff. I looked at target yesterday and they had blue and violet, but no red.

I'll prolly cut the red wire to disable the dimmer when i find the red cellophane. why the heck not.

 

I found the cellophane at Gibsons in Kerrville, TX. It was the gift wrapping kind, although saran wrap would probably be a bit more ideal thickness-wise. I guess you could always try taking the clear stuff and running a red sharpie over it, lol.

 

Thanks for the tip. It actually looks pretty bright without that extra piece of plastic, so I'll wait until tonight to see if like the brightness with the lights on.

 

i didnt use cellophane when i did it on my 00.
i used the clear plastic used for overhead slides. i colored it blue with a sharpie. i also did the radio and climate control displays

 

pix?

10 characters

 

How about the Mag-Lite mod. I use mine all the time.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/224200/19

 

how to do it? dont have any
how it looks? dont have those pics on my cardomain anymore but the display lights up blue instead of the greenish

 

Here's a pic of the license plate lights. They look a bit whiter in person.

 

That is teh HAWTNESS

I'm gonna do that....need to find me some bulbs. Anywhere other then online to get some good bulbs and i'm guessing they are the same part number as the stock part number

 

Great ideas!!

Im painting the trim on my 90 max. Also im putting some black pinstriping on it too. This will give it a clean/new[er] look.