mpla1506

Well, since this thread has been dead for a while, I figured I would post some random pics I have taken over the last few months. The only new mods I have done are interior lighting (which I have no pic's of) and exterior lighting. Also got some new brake calipers. Here's some pics:

Halfway!










random pics I took from the Chicago Auto Show:










Mom's g35, brother's celica, and the TL... it's a family thing




Finally did the fog light mod:



had to solder some wires:






Black Calipers (nothing special):


That's all for now, adios.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Well I, for one, certainly appreciate a clean older car. Great job keeping her looking amazing and thank you for sharing!

cdn_rider

this body style is really growing on me...looks nice.

Go90go

If you fold back the black flap on the rubber gasket for the license plate lights, you can get a little more light thrown onto the plate.

~Cheers~

mpla1506

thanks everyone

vipstar

I added leds to the tag frame and still wasn't happy, even folded the flap back to get more light and still wasn't happy.
So I then put a strip of led's up there and damn, lol. a lil overkill but i like it better and the cops don't seem to mind. I've had them follow and stalk me and they haven't pulled me over.
I left the county uncensored bc I thought a few of you could use a laugh since the forums have been a lil dead.

this is the strip I used.

mpla1506

damn the strip looks good. How do you control when the lights are on/off?

Go90go

What kind of LEDs did you put in? I can guarantee they weren't mine, haha.

The strip should be tapped to the normal plate light wires. That way they'd come on normally.

~Cheers~

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

the joke about the county, wasn't lost on me.
Nice...

I did something similar with lighting, but with CCFL's...so far so good and SUPER bright.

vipstar

idk, I went to some Smokey Mountain arts and crafts type flea market thats about 30 min away and some guy was selling led strips. they were cheaper than the two led bulbs i had purchased. I believe I paid $4 for the strip. I had a friend tap into the wires of the original plate lights and voila. its super bright. brighter than my reverse lights which are led bulb's too.

Go90go

You want better reverse lights?

~Cheers~

vipstar

what you got in mind?

Go90go

Besides full LED tails? Haha! I know you've been wanting a set, but I haven't had the time to get working on them.

I've been sitting on bulbs I got last year with US emitters, but there has been a rush of knockoffs flooding the market. I didn't have them collimated, either because of costs at the time, and now I'd have to sell them at a loss, honestly.

Since the TL's reverse area is rather small and has a crappy reflector, these would be perfect for them, too. I'll dig up the Inspire tails and hook them up with a comparison photo for you within a few days. I have some iPhone pics from other cars that I did, though.

This 96 Legacy wagon has an even worse reverse light setup. Chipping silver paint and lower grade plastic = tinted reverse lights, haha. The left side now has aluminum tape over the plastic, and both have some of my brighter bulbs. This is also before we did the brake lights.

Position lights:


Another friend's S13. You can really see the dirt on the bumper with the right bulb, haha.


When I take the other pictures, I'll do come controls with fixed shutter, aperture, etc. That way you have a better idea as to the differences in brightness compared to other bulbs.

Here's a peek at a retrofit I did for a Civic, though. Through a dirty windshield:


~Cheers~

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Are those reverse bulbs CREE?
I agree on the cheap bulbs entering the market...one of my last ones lasted 2 months before burning out.

Go90go

Yes they are.

There are a lot of CREE bulbs being sold now at very cheap prices, like $35-45 a pair. They all claim to be Q5s with wattages like 5W and 7W each, which just isn't true. Most I've seen claim to be using a Q5 (or even R5) XR-Es, but in reality they're using XR-Cs. XR-Cs are the budget versions of the 7090 package, and can only take a maximum current of 500mA in white, making it a 1.8W emitter. Even XR-Es can only take a maximum of 1A making them a 3.7W emitter, and only if they're cool white.

Then the other ones that use XP-Es. They claim 7W of power, which is way too much for that emitter (same die as an XR-E). 7W for both lights is more accurate, since the max current an XP-E will support is also 1A. That means it's a 3.5W LED.

~Cheers~

P.S. Damn, I wrote a lot, haha.

white2.5tl

planning on selling some in the BM? how much for a pair since mine tints are 5% back half. night time is like a gamble. hopefully i dont hit anything.

Go90go

The Legacy has 5% as well, I believe.

As for selling them, maybe. Sales in the BM haven't gone well in the past. I really want to do an LED tail, though. One that looks like a factory Inspire tail with amber signals and what not. Just need to find the time and the tails, haha.

~Cheers~

vipstar

i'll donate mine for u to work on, lol. shit idk i'm hoping to paint it soon and then prob sell it. I love it but I hate that its fwd and I'm really tryna build a vip ride. I was thinking of purchasing an LS400 but I may try and get a 750il, don't know how i'll like filling the tank on a v12 but shit it costs to be da boss.

ps, u completely lost me with that prior post. I guess there is a lot about led's I don't know.

Go90go

It's one of the things I do, haha. I got a personal invite to attend this earlier this year:





I had a blast, and walked around for about 8 hours straight the first day, and went home with about 15KG worth of brochures and catalogues, haha. I saw some machinery that I hope to be able to buy soon, too. Crazy cool stuff was being announced there.

~Cheers~

vipstar

well pm me some info on something exceptionally cool.

Go90go

Well, the cool stuff has to do with manufacturing, like chip sorters and what not. The speed and accuracy of some of them was just amazing. We aren't allowed to take photos or videos, though.

~Cheers~

vipstar

you should see about making some full led bumper lights, some retrofitted headlights with full led corners, and some full led tails that have the led's doing this <<<< , >>>> when you signal.

Go90go

Those are cool and all, but I prefer the OEM look, so maybe all of them except for the last part, haha. Problem is, all of mine were either smashed or thrown away, including my gunmetal JDM headlights. Besides, would anyone really want to pay $1000+ for new headlights?

~Cheers~

Go90go

Here's an example of some of my emitters as a DRL we did during a retro. None of these emitters are facing out, BTW.




Photos taken under ~100Ws of fluorescent lighting directly above. The lights are also behind the factory lens. When the turn signals are activated, they alternate with the DRL, hence the slightly less glaring section in the middle.

~Cheers~

white2.5tl

cant see the photo?

Go90go

Sorry, here they are:




~Cheers~

P.S. We really need to be able to edit posts after 5 minutes has passed.

Go90go

God, this is ridiculous. Here they are, re-upped:




~Cheers~

white2.5tl

thats blinding bright. u have any left over for the reverse light on out car and the license plate lights? im interested in some.

vipstar

yeah i may need some reverse lights as well. I let my friend drive my car last night so i could check out my ride and I noticed that my passenger side reverse has a short in it. It was dimmer than the driver side and had a lil flicker to it as well.

Go90go

Also to Rockstar, these DRLs aren't CREE. I like CREE a lot, but they aren't always the best. The current lighting project I'm finishing up is exclusively Nichia, the top LED manufacturer in Japan, but I've (reluctantly) used Samsung emitters because they were the best fit for the needs of the application.

That being said, I have two CREEs in my map lights.

~Cheers~

P.S. Let me look through the boxes of what was salvaged from my car to see if I can find my plate lights. I think they took the entire housing out for me along with the bulbs. Those weren't as bright as these, of course, but I might modify them and post them up.