Okay... I finally got around to installing my H&R springs... First impressions: Sweeeeet!

The car "now" rides like how it looks... "Sporty". Not to harsh by far... But also not to soft.. It reminds me of my SC400 lowered on Supra TT springs. Braking has been improved (More stable. Less pitch forward. Greater control.) The ride quality is more responsive. I feel more confident during my "spirited" runs... Overall I would recommend this set up to anyone looking for a more sporty/lower ride/look. We do have the, considerably more expensive, option of getting Tein, but this is a perfect option for a fraction of the cost...

Now to the custom headlights:

I was in the process of "chatting" with JZSINTERNATIONAL JAPAN a.ka. Masahiro Tabata in regards to ordering a pair of JDM Honda Legend headlights. However, giving that awful disaster, things got derailed. So being that I was in the process of installing my new springs, I thought "why not do something with my headlights?"... So I went to my local paint shop and asked them to give me a color closest to the lens on my side view mirror... After they finished laughing and explaining that the lens was clear.. They came up with a silver/metallic "tint".... So $75 later I made it home with a can of clear coat, hardener, silver/metallic "tint", black "tint" and a portable paint sprayer.... 5hrs later... The end results were exceptional! The headlights look factory...No kidding! And you almost can't tell that it's not the Honda Legend headlights...

Well enough yapping... Here are a few pics.. Tell me what you think.

Enjoy.











There you have it!

 

Nice! Although the lens look a bit opaque compared to the JDM one. How does it look when lit up at night?

 

Thanks..

The corners light up amber at night... I tinted the the clear coat with the silver/metallic... I had to give it a few coats to cover up the original "amber look" of the lens... But for less than $100, I can live with it... I also sanded and painted the interior of the light with black tinted clear coat.. It gives it a factory look and shine...

 

Very impressive...

 

Excellent job!!! Those lights are making me jealous!!

 

Care to share the procedure for the lights? Where did you find the disassembly instructions?

 

nice job!

 

DIY for the lights, please?

 

Maybe Blazing GT has a DIY.

 

Sqranks, can you take a night time picture with the parking lights illuminated?

 

Sure... The corners illuminate "amber" as they should... Here are the pics:

 

where do you live... lol

do mine lol

 

LOL... I live in South FL..

 

No problem... I'm no professional by far.. However, I can list what I did step by step... I'll post it later on today or tomorrow...

 

 

Yea it feels good wait till you put A-spec shocks!

 

^ I don't think he's doing Aspec struts. He bought my stockies a few weeks back.

 

Awesome..... S. FL. FTW Where in S. FL. are you located at?

 

I'm in Palm Bay FL... About 2hrs north of Ft. Lauderdale...

 

Good job on the lenses. I got all excited because I thought maybe you had taken them out. If someone wants to give me theirs I can make clear replicas. I just need a set of ambers to start with.

 

I have 1 corner available... Let me know

 

PMd! And looking at it again, its pretty slick how the silver you have matches the other silver in the light housing. Great job

 

lookin good

 

Palm Bay that's almost central florida..... you are on the same road as Disney World:P...... SR192..... hahaha.... that's cool, I used to have friend that worked at Northrop Grumman

 

if you post a DIY great... but overall.. how long / hard is hte headlight mod? is it a one day job or is it more involved?

can you damage the headlights doing this?

 

looks good!!!

 

[ Assuming that you have knowledge of how to remove your headlights.]


Before I get started I would like to make it clear that I am NOT a professional. I did this project only because I've had prior experience with modifying my 540i headlights... So I was somewhat comfortable with "baking" my RL's headlights. If your not comfortable with projects that require patience and a "cool hand", then I would NOT recommend you doing this project without someone that is.

But if you are........ Lets do this!

Here's the link to the website that I followed in regards to the "baking" of the headlights.:

http://youtu.be/ok1a9jyfRYw

(not sure if I embedded the video properly but the link is above this line)

<iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ok1a9jyfRYw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

After you've followed the directions and now you have the lens off your headlights, your ready for the "cool hand" part.:

You will immediately notice that the lens has a few parts still attached to the lens itself. (you can put the back of the housing aside because you will not be doing anything with that part).
There will be 2 screws at the bottom and 2 clips at the top (first 2 pics are of the screws at the bottom and the last pic is of the clips at the top):




Now that you have totally removed the lens from the inner housing, you can set the lens aside. ( Disregard the crack in the lens. This was my practice headlight. The crack was NOT caused by any steps in this process):

The inner housing has a few more components left to be removed. The removal of the low beam and high beam housing is self explanatory...Now please remember to be very smooth with the next few steps..

At the bottom of the inner housing you will notice the clear lens that covers the turn signal. This piece needs to be removed. It is a bit tricky so be careful. The way I removed mine was by gently yet firmly squeezing the top portions. This will release the clips and allow you to pull up and away.:


Next is the most important part. The amber corner piece. This is the most challenging piece to remove. The proper way to do this is to use a flat head screwdriver and ((((gently)))) pry the housing up and use your other hand to pull the corner piece forward and out to release the clip at the top of the corner lens. Keep in mind that there are 2 other clips at the back of the lens as well.. It is not impossible to get it out, but it does require patience and a cool hand...:


Now that you have all the parts that will be painted separated, your ready for the prep work. I don't have any pics of the painting process. But I'll do my best to explain what has to be done. The clear lens that covers the turn signal has to be removed from the finishing piece as well.

The key to this process will be the "paint". (((DO NOT USE SPRAY PAINT))) Go to your local paint shop and purchase a QT. of clear coat and hardener. Have the rep tell you how to mix the two. My mix was 4:1 (4 parts clear and 1 part hardener). Next you want to ask the to give a tint of your choice. I asked for a tint to match the low beam and high beam housing. I also asked for a black tint so that I could paint the inner housing itself. I then went to Home Depot and bought a Preval portable sprayer:
Before you leave the paint shop be sure to get a mixing/measuring cup, strainer/funnel and mixing sticks... All of those supplies should be free.

NOTE: Make sure there is no dust in the area

The key to getting a flat/smooth/high gloss finish is to prep the area that your going to paint. By prep I mean sanding the surface all the way down... You can use "fine" sandpaper for the corner lens. (sandpaper can be purchased at Home Depot as well). Make sure that the lens does not have any shinny areas. If it does, the paint won't stick... mix your clear coat and tint. Spray on light coats. DO NOT lay down heavy coats because you will have runs... (((( Patience ))). You want to put on as many coats that are necessary to cover up the amber. But you don't want to put to many coats so that the light won't shine through.... Just go slow and be smooth...

Let dry.

NOTE: Make sure there is no dust in the area

If you want to paint the inner housing, you will have to sand all the way down until you see black... The shinny coat has to be removed in order to get a smooth factory finish. Mix your clear and tint (black) and lay down light smooth coats... (wait 3-5mins between coats).

Let all the pieces dry. (( I put the inner housing in the oven @ 170 degrees for about 15-20 mins to allow the paint to bake on the plastic )). That worked out perfect for me.... But you can allow yours to air dry.

Once everything is dried just replace all the components in reverse order.

NOTE: clean the inside of the headlight lens. Make sure that there are no finger prints, dust or spots on the inside... Because one its back together you will no be able to get inside to clean them. You will have to do the whole baking process again...

Refer back to the you tube video to put the back housing and front housing back together..

NOTE: I bought a tube of butyl from NAPA and caulking gun from Home Depot and ran a small bead in the channel just to be sure I didn't have any leaks....

There you have it. This was my "personal" account of what I did to give my headlights a JDM appearance. This is my first DIY. So if I left something out or didn't do a good job of explaining something, just PM me and I'll do my best to clarify....

ENJOY

 

The whole process took about 5 hrs... On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the hardest, I would rate this project as a 7.5 If you do not follow a few specifics steps, yes you can damage your headlights.. "The baking process" DO NOT over heat!!!

 

Thanks

Thanks

 

that was a good explanation! Thanks. I think that is over my head....

If someone made/sold these - it would be a nice mod! the clear corners sure make the car look cleaner.

How do you like the H&Rs? did you install yourself or pay to have it done? did your car come with 18s or did you add the wheels? just curiosu, if you upgaded wheels..do you think teh wheels/tires or the springs made a bigger difference in handling and/or ride?

overall sounds like you really like it!

 

I was worried that the DIY would make the process seem harder than it really is..

The H&Rs are great. They give an awesome ride. I'm currently running on stock shocks. I did the install myself... There is a DIY on here that gives a great step by step.. It was a fairly easy instal.

I purchased the car with the wheels. I believe that there was a package offered in '05 that included everything except the A-spec suspension... The car has the wood package, spoiler, wheels etc.... Overall, the ride is great! IMO this is how the RL should ride stock...

 

The lights look nice...might have to do that next

 

How are those h&r springs working out?