So, I was home a couple weeks ago and shot some photos while I was there. Did some really minor things that I thought I'd get on camera for once. Also thought I'd snap a couple interior shots for those worried about the TDM dash kit not matching the other wood trim.

As the title states, the car is FILTHY. I had just gotten back from Ohio and TN was experiencing some of the frozen stuff so the car = salt city. I did hose some of it off the in 40 degree weather but said screw it and went back inside.

Hence the reason there are no full-car shots today

First shot shows the new and improved M3 style trunk lip spoiler I installed:

By "new and improved," I mean, "cheap and unpainted." I got this one from eBay before the end of last year. It's flat black, feels like it's made out of rubber, and came to me coiled up like a snake. While these may seem undesirable characteristics in a spoiler, those of us who had misadventures with the Paradox version will understand my delight. It's completely flexible and fit the trunk curve just fine. I didn't paint this one this time because A) I didn't feel like wasting another $50, and B) this thing is so flexible that I don't think any amount of flex additive would have kept the paint (had it been applied) from cracking.

And another angle:

 

These next few shots show the 25mm spacers I installed to flush out the rear wheels. Looks great. But don't do it. It rubbed. I rolled the fenders. Dealing with that misadventure right now. Moral of the story: do as I say and not as I do. 20mm should work just fine.









An interior shot of dash kit for those curious about color:

 

Alright, last few pics demonstrate a bit of "MetaOrbit's inner-ricer gone wild."

Some pics of my G2 Gold painted 6th Gen Calipers and Slotted Rotors:














And last but not least: LEDs gone wild!

Those of us with A33s know about the little city light in the low beam reflector. I popped in some of those 5-led refractor bulbs in there thinking it'd be a cool gimmick to show friends (since I never run just parking lights) and that it'd be drowned out when the headlights were on.

Well I was right about one thing. It is a cool gimmick. But even when the headlights are on you can see the VIVID blue cast out at certain angles. White LEDs on the way to replace them...




Last pic shows some of said white LEDs installed in the License plate lights. They're not as bright as the stock incandescant bulbs, but if you think about it, they really don't need to be. It's not a safety issue, and the lights only help at night, and at night, they're perfectly visible. Only during daytime under a garage light would you notice the difference:

 

I love the chrome sport wheels... I bet you have heated seats too. Major contrast to my all black interior.

 

Those blue leds look hawt! I actually like the trunk lip, just want to see how it looks in day light.

 

To light up the license plate better, use 9-LED 921 bulbs.

 

that is nice whoa NICE

 

Nice job Meta! I love the lip spoiler... Just wish I could get one without having to paint. I just dont think a flat black spoiler would work well with the Millenium Jade. haha

When I first read that you got the 25mm spacers I was definitely wondering how those would work out. I've got the 15mm's and totally agree that 20mm spacers would be perfect.

As for the gold calipers...... Bling Bling?... I guess. Naw, I actually think the gold looks kind of nice with the chrome wheels. Silver FTW!

 

lookin good as always Meta. i put red LED's in my headlights they look so evil, and red in the license plate lights. got a few tickets for it, cops say "you can't have red lights illuminating you're license"......................blow me, i paid for the damn car and it ain't hurting no one.
i got a question for anyone who cares to answer. i tried putting blue LED's in the dome light, but they won't turn on. switch back to regular bulbs and the light turns on. i tried different LED's just in case the one i had was DOA, but nothing. its the only thing missing, the entire interior lights up blue when i open the doors. the only thing missing is the blue dome light.
i think i found a way to change the color of our gauges too whatever we want them to be...........................................i think, maybe, we'll see how it goes.

 

did you try turning the LED bulb around. They have a specific orientation.

 

Thanks all.

Newlove - Yes, these 25 mm spacers are turning out to be a pain in the a$$ more than anything, so I would whole-heartedly recommend 20 mm spacers. Much much much less trouble. And yes, I agree on the spoiler, I have a feeling that flat black on Jade wouldn't be the best looking, LOL. Though, if you can find someone who can paint super-flexible rubber type material, you might again have a lip spoiler solution..haha. As for the gold calipers...eh...I like the look of the brembo calipers on the G35 coupes. The color's not the same, but that's what I was going for. If anything, at least, it's different.

n3985 - As for the suggestion on the 921 bulbs - thanks. If these pop I'll get a set of those. For now though, I don't care particularly enough about the brightness on the license plate, LOL.

DieselX - I'll try to grab some more pics of the spoiler in daylight when/if the car is ever clean again

Kings - can't really help there. I'd try Newlove's suggestion. Also try PM'ing n3985, I think he swapped his out to a LED bulb as well.

 

I'd sure like to hear about changing the color of the gauges. Mine seem almost greenish at night. Reminds me of my '87 Maxima from way back.

As far as City Lights, I just took mine out. I hated the yellow stock look, and didn't feel like putting anything else in. Looks great, Stock HID color FTW.

 

MetaOrbit: First of all i want to say that your car is looking very nice! BTW,i have H&R 25mm rear spacers and with rims 18" 7,5J 35ET+ 235/40 my tyres were rubbing as well. Now i have for the winter 17" 7,5 42ET, tyres-225/50 and the problem is gone....
p.s. Does anybody know if i'd go with 245/35/19 and rims-8J 30ET without my spacers,would they fit my car without having rubbing-troubles? Thanks!

 

Well thank you.

As for whether yours would rub, I can kinda speak on it from a wheel point of view.

Folks with OEM G35 wheels here have 8" wide wheels with 30mm offset - just like the 19s you spoke of. So I can say for sure that the wheel won't have any trouble. However, I can't say for sure whether the 245 width tire on a wheel spaced out that far will rub or not.



And kings - I glossed over that whole changing the gauge cluster color. I'd be interested in how you propose doing this. I've thought about it, but after reading that they're EL, and looking at the service manual, it doesn't look as though there are any bulbs to change in the rear of the cluster to change the color.

But...if you're proposing doing it a different way other than bulbs...then that's something different all together.

 

If the Electro-Luminescent assembly is easily disconnected from the cluster housing, I supose a tinted film may work. Though with this I wouldn't be sure of brightness and longevity of the film.

 

Buy a blue 6-LED DE3175 dome light bulb $5 shipped from me.

 

nice headlights! my left one blew today, so i decided to put in a green 9 LED bulb from my door, to see how it looks. Turned out pretty wild. Too bad you can't drive with them.

 

Hyperwhite FTW! White light with a hint of purple/blue....

 

white light with a hint? don't know how colors on your monitor are set, but I see BLUE

 

Yes, it looks blue, but it no where near as blue as a real blue bulb.

 

well i've discovered in my pursuit of not being content with "factory" settings, that these so called 'electro-luminescent" gauges actually still have a single bulb. it's a cold cathode bulb(i think that's the name), that sits at the bottom of the gauge assembly. a piece of plexi glass about 1' thick is placed on top of it and the light travels thru that piece to give the whole thing an even look. i also discovered that my desktop had the same bulb in it, you know that way you can go "ooooooohhhhhh! look it light up from the inside." so the way i figured you just have to replace that bulb with whatever color you want and BAM! you can customise you're gauges to whatever color you want.
this is the type of bulb that is in the bottom of our gauge assemblies.
http://cgi.ebay.com/DUAL-12-BLUE-COL...QQcmdZViewItem

 

Awesome, thanks for the info. Since you've already been in there, do you happen to have measurements, connection types, etc. in regards to what exactly could be purchased as a replacement?

 

the bulb seems to be the 12' version. i did notice that the plugs on the gauge bulb is different than the one on my PC. you should be able to cut and solder the wirer from one plug to another though.

 

Looking nice John. Whats next?

 

New car?

Thanks Oss. As for what's next...maybe some light mods and/or some further re-vamping of the stereo system and I'm probably done.

I'd like a set of headers, but I don't have the means to install them nor do I want to pay someone else $500 for the labor to do it for me.

 

What head unit is that?

 

Kenwood DDX7015

 

These seem a bit large to all be fitting in a cluster that is no larger than about 6"x20"....

Sorry, I've had a few to drink tonight and thought I'd be **** about measurments.

I dont think the 2k-2k1's have this electroluminescent cluster, but our guages are pretty freakin white... I may see if I can easily change the color of my cluster. May just have to break out the old blue sharpie and see what happens. It worked ok on the ignition key ring so who knows.

I hate being in school and having to come up with crap mods just to calm my appetite. lol

 

LOL, you should see my ricer-rific blue LED door lights. I feel so ashamed when I get out of the car at night right now...


::Just have to make it to this weekend...then I get to play with the suspension again::


...and maybe the foglights if I have the time/energy

 

I plan on installing some Cattman G2's this summer. So if you're in Colorado, I dont think it would be too hard to do two sets of headers... You're buying the beer of course

 

Sooo tempting...but I have a sneaking suspicion that the gas required to get there and back + all the beer we'd consume would still make it a losing $ proposition for me...