Motortrend's IS250 - HIDs Post #23

[motortrend]

So I am making this thread to get some advice and opinions from the GTP community on small mods and things that I will do to my car. Here it is, a desert sage IS250

The first thing I ws thinking about doing is putting a redout tail light since I think it looks better than original, so I would like some feedback from you people. Her is a comparison pic.

I would leave the clear part as is, just like this:

I am also considering window tint since I do like how it looks plus I live in a pretty sunny place but I don't know what percent would be best.

 

[SpartanG]

Looks good. It's not something that anyone else will pick up on so it's purely for your own taste. And i'd suggest to keep tints mild, cause pretty much anything even moderately darked out looks over the top to me.

 

[Thatman]

35% tint. Its dark enough to be noticed but at the same time doesn't increase night driving danger *too* much.

 

[ampire]

I have 35% tint on my Mustang. Its not very dark but its dark enough to offer benefits as in harder to see into at night, helps keep road glare down from the sunlight, and glare from tailgating trucks. It also looks pretty good without being over the top. Most police don't go out of their way to check your tint at 35% the way they will at darker tints like 15%.

 

[motortrend]

Thanks for the input people, I ordered the redout film today and it should be arriving in a few days, will post pics when it gets here. As for tint, I like how 35% looks which is the limit here but I'm wondering how that would be like with the dimming rear view, though I could always turn it off. Does anyone know about how much would be a fair price to tint all 4 side windows and rear in 35%?

 

[Thatman]

$50 to $75 per window is the norm in my area.

 

[motortrend]

So I installed the redouts today, pleased with the result. I hope they stay on and don't form any bubbles or anything. Pics:
before

after

Comparison pic:

Going to check this week to see if I can have tints on by the weekend, almost sure I will be going with 40%

 

[SpartanG]

Looks great. I always wanted to convert my taillights from this to this but it requires dissasembly of the taillight unit and you have to very carefully break plastic parts on this inside. It's supposed to be extremely difficult but the end result would look so good...

 

[motortrend]

Looks great. I always wanted to convert my taillights from this to this but it requires dissasembly of the taillight unit and you have to very carefully break plastic parts on this inside. It's supposed to be extremely difficult but the end result would look so good...

Thanks, and just like you had said people haven't really noticed but when they do notice it's a positive reaction, I am pleased with the outcome. That clear RL tail does look nice, VIP-esque. I say go for it if you have the time and find a good tutorial/instructions.

 

[deba94]

End results looks great! 👍 Is that just a translucent wrap? Sort of like blacking out tail lights? Very clean Lexus btw; nice lint/dirt-free trunk .

 

[motortrend]

End results looks great! 👍 Is that just a translucent wrap? Sort of like blacking out tail lights? Very clean Lexus btw; nice lint/dirt-free trunk .

Thanks, yes it is an "Overlay Vinyl made from high performance transparent colored PVC film" as it says in the listing. The car itself is quite dirty currently since I haven't had time to clean it but I try to keep it as clean as possible. As you may have noticed it has been hit at the back, and I don't know whether it would be worth it to buy a new bumper and repaint it since it might not have the same finish or just leave it and try to cover it up with touch up paint.

 

[motortrend]

It has taken me some time since I have been busy but I finally found a good place and they gave me an estimate of $110 for 40% on the sides and rear, sounds reasonable but sadly the shop closed at 2 so I will have to go next saturday, so next saturday I will post pics of the car with the tints on.

 

[Slick Rick]

Rear lights look good! How did you do it, did you use red tape or red spray??

 

[motortrend]

Thanks, it's a vinyl overlay I bought from ebay.
Here is the user's store, it even comes with a warranty:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/dantegts/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

 

[motortrend]

Put the tints in today:

I am satisfied with the look and I especially like that the car is noticeably cooler inside now. There are a few small bubbles here and there which I hope go with time once it settles

 

[motortrend]

I'm looking to decrease body roll and generally better the car's handling with a budget of around $500, what do you people reccomend?

 

[eSZee]

For $500, sway bars, front and rear.

 

[Punknoodle]

Dollar for dollar, sway bars offer the best handling upgrade. Some nice shocks and lowering springs would be super on top of that but that would blow the budget

 

[motortrend]

Yeah the sway bars were what I was considering until now. I don't know if I should get the f sport ones or hotchkis. The up side of the f sport is the price and ease since they probably have them at the dealer. I do t know much about the hotchkis but they look like they may be stiffer. When I get new tires and wheels I will probably get some lowering springs but until then I think the sway bars are the best choice. Thanks for replies 👍

 

[motortrend]

Been quite a while since I updated and I have done a few things. I wanted to try and refresh the car the most I could during the summer so the first thing I did was clean up the car's interior and give it some maintenance leather conditioner etc.

Then I got to the details like exhaust tips and headlights

I had been wanting to fix the bottom of the bumper which was all scratched up and decided to do it myself and not spend as much. For less that 50 bucks in total (also had some stuff left afterwards), I think it came out quite good

and now finally I had enough cash to fix up the rear bumper that was damaged as can be seen in some of the earlier posts plus got the car polished

Next thing I want to do is fix up the small crack on the windshield and then I'll start thinking about modding a little and changing the wheels with the next set of tires. I am thinking about the enkei rajin in 18 inches

 

[Hollow]

Nice color on the IS, looks pretty neat. 👍

Also, I think putting in the 18 inch rajin's would be awesome. I feel like the rims are the only thing which looks weird in proportion to the rest of the car in case of the IS. I'd wait and see how yours turn up, so I can change mine too.

 

[motortrend]

Thanks. Yeah I agree the wheels looks to normal and small. You'll have to wait for a while to see the wheels since the tires are still pretty fresh

 

[motortrend]

Been a while since my last post, done a few more things on my road to getting the car as new as possible. Took it to the dealer and they replaced the black sort of rubbery interior panels which had a few small holes and were starting to get sticky. They did this for free, even the labor, and my car is out of warranty. Thank you Toyota USA! Anyway, while I was there I might as well adress any other issue so they changed the battery which was about due, changed a brake caliper which was sticking, and changed a strut bushing. The car feels absolutely like it did the day it came out of the dealership. pic of new panels:

Now, onto what I want to do next.
I want some HIDs, I want them to have teh same temperature as My dad's M3, whcih I think is about 4300K I think, I want something white, a bit of blue tint is acceptable, but I think when it looks too blue it is quite questionable. So, what should I get, and how do I install it?
Pic for reference:

Also, I am already looking for some wheels for the next tire change. I really wanted some TE37s but seeing they would cost me about 3K+, I think I will go with some enkeis, any suggestions?

 

[JrDarknes]

Check if you have local jdm shops before buying those rims. I went into one the other day (trumotorsports) and they were selling te37's for 1700-2000 dollars.

Everything else was the same price as the internet except for the wheels and steering wheels for all their items.

 

[motortrend]

Check if you have local jdm shops before buying those rims. I went into one the other day (trumotorsports) and they were selling te37's for 1700-2000 dollars.

Everything else was the same price as the internet except for the wheels and steering wheels for all their items.

I gto a quote for about 3500 for a set of TE37SLs from a local shop, which is about the same a set would cost from vividracing before shipping, I'll have to see what they have in stock and see if I can get a better deal

 

[JrDarknes]

I gto a quote for about 3500 for a set of TE37SLs from a local shop, which is about the same a set would cost from vividracing before shipping, I'll have to see what they have in stock and see if I can get a better deal

Oh, super laps not regular te37's

Also how do you work the paddle shifters. I want to try this on my moms is250. Do you put it in between the + and -? If you do that how do you reverse it? It's all so confusing >_<.

 

[motortrend]

Oh, super laps not regular te37's

Also how do you work the paddle shifters. I want to try this on my moms is250. Do you put it in between the + and -? If you do that how do you reverse it? It's all so confusing >_<.

No I was actually looking for normal TE37s but since the SLs were not much moe expensive from what I saw then I looked for those, Ill have check for normal gunmetal colored TEs
Paddle shifters are not worth it, it's very much easier to simply modulate the accelerator, though it's fun to downshift to 2nd at speed without having to mash the accelerator and hear the revs go up. You have to push it to the side of tha gate and then you can use the paddles. It defaults to 4th and what this does is that it downshifts and upshifts within fourth gear for you and then you have to lower the gears by yourself. What this basically means is that the gear you set with the paddle shifters is the highest gear the transmission will go. For example if you set it at 2 the car will use first and then shift to second by itself and then for example if you go up to 4th with the paddles and you come to a stop the car will downshift through the gears until first by itself. It's definitely not a true paddle shifting system and it gives you very little control of when it shifts up. The car isnt very fast anyway so like I said it's best just to modulate the accelerator and learn how much throttle it takes to downshift X amount of gears.