My LS' Progress

M4rk

M4rk

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Hello all,

Ive decided to start my own topic to show the progress of my car. I might post some photoshops later on, of what I hope to achieve. Not much more to say apart from that.. so let's get to the good stuff :D

Step 1 - Lighting

Hoen Titanium 4300k 70W halogen bulbs

7:20AM delivery.. ouch.
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Before(Left light)/After(Right light) - Underexposed/Normal
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That's it for now. Any major changes (tint, rims) might happen this summer.
 
Thanks bro. I didn't want HIDs though, there's too much glare with halogen reflectors. I drove in front of some mofo in a Grand Prix with a HID kit one time, and couldn't stand the glare.
 
Step 2 - Tint

Got it done 2 weeks ago locally for less than the price of other name brand films (FormulaOne, Huperoptik, etc.). It's 35% all around, which is more than enough for me, especially with a black interior. No trouble from the cops so far :D Although, seems like the tint guys didn't assemble the front passenger door right.. something rattles on the inside whenever i drive over sh**ty roads. :mad:

Crappy pic - Will take some better ones when i detail the car again.

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I also want some input on what to do with the tails/plate surround.

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Is it even possible to tint the clear part of the lens only? I also thought of getting the LSE tails, but for $400, that seems like an awful waste of money.
 
Paint the surround and use the chrome bulbs for the turn signals.
 
Good progress. What bulbs did you have on before? The ones on the driver side look more white/blue and the passenger look pure white, but on the wall the passenger looks more yellow.

If you're talking about the tails, you can tint the clear part only. Not sure how it would look though
 
Alax, at the time i only changed the driver side bulb, just so i could take some pics to show the difference. I run the Hoens in both. They are very white.

As for the tails, i photoshopped some pics in that post ^
 
So The hoens are the ones on the Driver's side then right?
 
Yes lol. Who "upgrades" to yellower bulbs :shifty:
 
M4rk said:
Yes lol. Who "upgrades" to yellower bulbs :shifty:
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No well when you look at the headlights. he passenger side Lookks super white. Some people like that really clean, oure white look, but the light on walls might look more yellow. The drivers side have more blue but light whiter. I was thinking maybe you bought blue bulbs and weren't happy with them and decided to go with the pure white look but resulted in a yellow light on walls
 
I'm going to get some of the optic blue for my mirrors. You can buy 2 6" x 8" pieces for $20.
 
Oh! I saw that @ the tinting place I went to. Great thinking pete, thanks!

Alax7 said:
No well when you look at the headlights. he passenger side Lookks super white. Some people like that really clean, oure white look, but the light on walls might look more yellow. The drivers side have more blue but light whiter. I was thinking maybe you bought blue bulbs and weren't happy with them and decided to go with the pure white look but resulted in a yellow light on walls
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Well, I suppose that would just be the camera - the Hoens are pure white with a slight hint of blue if anything.
 
You could tape off the red part of the tail light and use spray tint on the clear part.
 
Alax7 said:
The spray on tint made it too dark with just one coat and on a my white ls, it didn't go well.
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If you want it lighter than just wet sand them with some 1200 grit sandpaper. Use complete and even strokes from side to side. When I first sprayed mine, they were too dark and so I sanded it down alittle now they are perfect.

Hey LJ, hids aren't over-rated...I love mine and can see everything at night.
 
I used to have the Hoen bulbs in my LS. I don't think they are bright enough drving down the road. they seem to blend into the darkness. They do reflect very nice on road and street signs. I am very happy with the HIDs nice bright light. As for that Grand Prix, these idiots don't re-adjust their lights after the install. You have to lower the beam down from the stock position and then they don't bother the driver in front or the one coming at you. I get it all the time driving in SoCal.
 
Tony Starks said:
nice ls, we should have a meet in toronto sometime :cool:
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Thanks. Sounds good if more decide to show up :)

jolinc01 said:
You could tape off the red part of the tail light and use spray tint on the clear part.
Click to expand...

SlickLS said:
If you want it lighter than just wet sand them with some 1200 grit sandpaper. Use complete and even strokes from side to side. When I first sprayed mine, they were too dark and so I sanded it down alittle now they are perfect.

Hey LJ, hids aren't over-rated...I love mine and can see everything at night.
Click to expand...

From what i've gathered, most spray-on tint specifically asks for 4+ coats for it to adhere correctly, which is not the look i'm going for. I simply want a slightly smoked look, as pictured above. The lumin-x seems like a great way to do this, so i'll likely end up getting the red foil to go for the all-red LSE look, unless someone wants to sponsor this and buy me the smoked foil as well.

LEOV5 said:
I used to have the Hoen bulbs in my LS. I don't think they are bright enough drving down the road. they seem to blend into the darkness. They do reflect very nice on road and street signs. I am very happy with the HIDs nice bright light. As for that Grand Prix, these idiots don't re-adjust their lights after the install. You have to lower the beam down from the stock position and then they don't bother the driver in front or the one coming at you. I get it all the time driving in SoCal.
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Thanks for the input :) I cannot really comment on the true light output of the Hoens, as i forgot what the OEMs were like, and i've only done city driving at night on well lit streets.

As for HIDs.. don't make me start. :D In a halogen reflector, the extra light will not be focused, and will end up scattered all over the place. Glare also occurs, due to the improperly dispersed light output. Aiming them down will simply just reduce the already poor beam.

Someone with HIDs needs to go up to a flat building at night, 25ft away, and take a picture from the driver's seat so we can see the beam pattern. Then, drive up close (5ft) and snap another pic, to check for glare. Maybe the LS has special reflectors :rolleyes:

Not trying to be a d*uche by any means, but i cannot stand ricers in their little civics that have HIDs pointed at my eyes, so i did a bit of reading about this subject on hidplanet forums. The only way to experience the true power of HIDs is to have proper HID projectors.

Edit: Someone with the stock HIDs (Alax) could also do that and post pics? :D
 
M4rk said:
From what i've gathered, most spray-on tint specifically asks for 4+ coats for it to adhere correctly, which is not the look i'm going for. I simply want a slightly smoked look, as pictured above. As for HIDs.. don't make me start. :D In a halogen reflector, the extra light will not be focused, and will end up scattered all over the place. Glare also occurs, due to the improperly dispersed light output. Aiming them down will simply just reduce the already poor beam.

Someone with HIDs needs to go up to a flat building at night, 25ft away, and take a picture from the driver's seat so we can see the beam pattern. Then, drive up close (5ft) and snap another pic, to check for glare. Maybe the LS has special reflectors :rolleyes:

Not trying to be a d*uche by any means, but i cannot stand ricers in their little civics that have HIDs pointed at my eyes, so i did a bit of reading about this subject on hidplanet forums. The only way to experience the true power of HIDs is to have proper HID projectors.

Edit: Someone with the stock HIDs (Alax) could also do that and post pics? :D
Click to expand...

Well I have hids in my headlights and foglights and yet to have someone flash me or any problem with the law about them. Since I have installed them, I have yet to use my halogen high beams because they are useless compared to the hids. As for the tint, you don't have to spray 4 coats to get it to adhere correctly. I only sprayed 2 coats and wetsanded part of one coat off to get the desired tint I wanted. Just make sure you prep them correctly and you should have any problems. BTW I have had my tails tinted for 2+ years now without any problems.
 
Step 3 - LSE Tails, the economic way

Ordered some of that Lamin-x stuff as recommended by pete. It's fairly cheap and very easy to work with.

The lights look great unless under direct sunlight, which makes the lamin-x appear hazy/cloudy - the instructions state that is to be expected for a few weeks though, so i will give it some time.

Onto the photos..

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Closeup crop
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Let me know if you have any questions :)

Next mod will be an LSE grille!
 
Looks like you did a great job. Never really been a fan of the all reds, but it looks like you matched it up pretty well!
 
Nice. Good jon on those. I wondered how lamin x would look and you gave it to us.Good work
 
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