Bone stock transformation

Tmauer14

Tmauer14

LVC Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2012
Messages
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Location
Minnesota
I have a 04 LS V8 ceramic white with 78k miles.

It is all stock right now,
I have around $2500 to spend on mods!
I am used to doing mods on only trucks so I am new to this whole luxury sport car thing!

I am going to do rims and tires with will be about 1300 so that leaves 1200 on whatever else!

I would appreciate your guys' experience input on what cosmetic and performance modifications I should do, and hopefully make this into a build thread!!

Thank you!

Travis Mauer
 
Check and replace anything that needs to be and get the service record up to date (change fluids) then put the rest away for future repairs. If you must mod and and do stuff, tint it, drop it on some Eibachs, install K&N FIPK, then give her a good buff 'n wax job. Giggity. Or do the '06 conversion to update the look a skosche.
 
I had all of the plugs and coils replaced under warranty a couple months ago (thank god) other than that any recommended maintinence?
 
Transmission, cooling system, brakes.

Those 3 will make or break this vehicle.
 
Thanks for the inputs so far guys, appreciated.

Black,

What can i do to make sure the trans will remain strong?
 
Search 5R55S transmission issues and youll see.
 
So I should do a transmisson flush and filter change while I still can?

I was searching and it looks as the the K&N Typhoon or (57 Series?)is the intake that fits the car?
I also wanted to get magnaflow put on, does anyone know of a good exhaust shop in Minnesota? Also what price have you guys paid for your exhaust?

Sorry guys, I am being the very annoying new guy.
 
and be sure the damn lugs on each wheel stud is not over-torqued !

(I'm real big on that these days, even bought a torque wrench of my own.)
 
Tmauer14 said:
Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

If you want to improve the brake feel, get some braided brake lines for all 4 corners and good pads. I run the Akebono Euro pads and they are awesome. Definitely not the cheapest set as they'll set you back about $150 but they have good bite, aren't noisy, and fairly low dust. If you want to stick to what your auto-parts store carries then just buy the pads right below their "Best" ones. The only pads worth paying premium price for probably aren't going to be in stock at AutoZone/Advance/O'Reilly/etc.

There's also a fairly cost-effective brake upgrade for the fronts to get you up to 12.6" (320mm) rotor or about 3/4" (20mm) more rotor. Thread here: http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=75235

Also a thread on upgrading to 14" rotors from a Jag STR but it's a bit more costly and requires 18+ rims. Thread here: http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=83858

Probably spend $300 or less for the 12.6" upgrade and last time I figured it out (buying reman'd parts) it was around $800 for the STR brakes. I'm too lazy to do that leg work for you so it could be wrong. Neither of those figures included the pricing for the braided stainless brake lines. I wanna say a complete set (front and rears) were $200 or less. Search the board via google and you will find the part numbers for them.
 
Welcome.:) Wheels and lowering are must. Members have already mention a few of the other mods.

Basic appearance mods:
1. BMW lip spoiler off Ebay. Run you about $20-$25 painted.
2. Mustang Mach 1 front lip spoiler. Cost about $100 off any of the Mustang online parts shops. Will fit nicely with some modding.
3. Tint the windows.
4. Angel-eyes with clear corner markers.
5. If you feel like being creative, mod your Lincoln star emblems front grille and rear surround. I painted mine to match my LS.
6. De-chrome it. Paint your rear surround and front grills.

Check Graigslist in your area. Good place to look for Jaguar wheels. I found a great deal on my XCAL tuner and full Magnaflow catback off Graigslist.


BTW If you don't post pictures of your LS, we won't believe you own one.:D
 
Tmauer14 said:
Thanks for the inputs so far guys, appreciated.

Black,

What can i do to make sure the trans will remain strong?
Click to expand...

My .02 on the transmission has been you either have a problematic one or you don't. I say that because I bought my 04at 52K miles and while it did shift "firm" it wasn't what I would call problematic,, I disconnected the battery for a weekend to clear the memory and I drove it very nicely after reconnecting it. It behaved a little better until I went in the Ford dealer,( I prefer my Ford dealer over my local Lincoln dealer) this year at 72K and had the transmission flush service, $150 ish as I remember and I have had NO problems or hints of problems since that time. So I don't believe I had a "bad" transmission even though I thought it wasn't what I would have expected in a luxury car. I,(and I may be a little naive here) feel that if at 70K miles you aren't seeing a what I would call a serious problem, ie. slipping, repeated changing between gears at a constant speed or delay in going in gear,, I would think that at this point proper and quality care and service will keep the boogie man away.

At least that is my hope!!
When I was looking at the LS I was nervous at all the car and driver negative articles, and it wasn't till I joined this forum that I was able to comfortably make my purchase. I loved the look and specs of this car 2 years before I was in a position to buy one, and I have never been sorry for my purchase. Some of the negative posts irritate me a bit, as some of these cars have dropped in price enough to allow younger kids,(sorry, as I don;t meant to insult anyone here) that "typically" drive their car very hard and never put the money back in to the upkeep and service. Proof of that statement is made over and over every year when a new member asks or complains about having to use premium fuel!!

Sorry for the rant, It's been awhile..
 
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