Nice / Affordable Upgrades?

Katripus · September 9, 2011

I bought a 92 Lexus LS400. New owner and proud as hell, looks so very nice!

What kind of upgrades / mods that are cheap and affordable that one could do to enhance the look or feel? Maybe some kind of tachometer lighting or new LED switches on the door panels? What's the best wax? Should I pay for someone to buff wax with their buffer tools? HID lighting worth it? Chrome trunk addons? I haven't much a clue. Thanks for everything.

-Yoshi Moshi

pj8708 · September 9, 2011

I bought a 92 Lexus LS400. New owner and proud as hell, looks so very nice!

What kind of upgrades / mods that are cheap and affordable that one could do to enhance the look or feel? Maybe some kind of tachometer lighting or new LED switches on the door panels? What's the best wax? Should I pay for someone to buff wax with their buffer tools? HID lighting worth it? Chrome trunk addons? I haven't much a clue. Thanks for everything.

-Yoshi Moshi

First, nothing takes the place of a good, professional, wax and machine buffing. Do not do this yourself. Please take it to a professional detailer.

Secondly, for an idea that is very cool, go to the IS250 forum and look at the posting under "cf wrap"- tx1911fan. It's an example of using carbon fiber wrap.

steve2006 · September 9, 2011

The orange turn signals make the LS look dated grab yourself some clear or smoked replacements on Ebay for around $50.00 shipped. You can also get clear rear light clusters for a couple of hundred $$.

Katripus · September 13, 2011

Here's a picture attached of what it looks like at the moment (pic taken during the late evening).

I'll definitely get it pro waxed if the price is right.

Also, I found some bumper signals on ebay. What do you think would look better? Smoked or clear?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Depo-90-94-Lexus-LS400-Clear-Turn-Signal-Bumper-Lights-/180722714176?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3ALexus&hash=item2a13e9c640#ht_6824wt_1084

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/90-94-LEXUS-LS400-BUMPER-SIGNAL-LIGHTS-LAMPS-JDM-SMOKED-/250854459136?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3ALexus&hash=item3a68174700#ht_4271wt_1084

-Thanks!

1990LS400 · September 13, 2011

A pretty cheap mod would be to install aftermarket headlights so you can see where you are going on those twisty Colorado mountain roads. The OEM ones on especially the 90-92 LS400 are crap and the ones on the 93-94 were not much better. The poor headlights on my 90 LS was the main reason I sold it in 2003.

Get on ebay motors and look for the ones in the attached image. You would have to put new plugs on your wiring harness to attach to the H4 bulbs in the Eagle Eyes units but that's easy. You can buy the plugs with wire pig tails at an auto parts store and you could splice them in without cutting off the original plugs if you don't want to.

steve2006 · September 13, 2011

With the color of your car I would go for the clear turn signals,the smoked look better on darker paints.

If you look at my avatar picture mine was fitted with clears then I fitted the smoked,with the color paint I have they blend in well I think.

BTW if you or anyone else does order any I need another set of the smoked for a 1992-1994 model as one of mine was damaged in a recent accident. The price is good but the shipping is very high (way too high!) to the UK. So if anyone is willing to order a set for me and then forward ship at a more reasonable cost to me in the UK I would be happy to send the funds via Paypal.

Here is mine with the smoked. If you look carefully you can just see the damage to the front right side unit

Katripus · September 14, 2011

@1990LS400

I looked for those type of euro lights for my year because that'd look so nice, but I couldn't find any before 1993. So maybe as an alternative, are there custom/special kinds of bulbs that appear brighter or with a blue like glow?

@Steve

That's what I was thinking too. But, somehow, I feel that maybe the smoke signals would bring more style/new age with it. My bumper paint is lighter than yours, but would the smoke somewhat match with it? Would the clear/white look classy or boring?

What do you think it'd cost to paint only the bumper / lower side of the car to a different color. Maybe a black? I wish there was some kind of simulator. Maybe photoshop? Haha.

By the way, thanks for all the input everyone!

1990LS400 · September 14, 2011

@1990LS400

I looked for those type of euro lights for my year because that'd look so nice, but I couldn't find any before 1993. So maybe as an alternative, are there custom/special kinds of bulbs that appear brighter or with a blue like glow?

No. There have been many previous threads about this. The gen 1 LS400 headlight beam is controlled by the lens which is why light output is so poor. The U.S. DOT began allowing a Euro-style headlight beam pattern for the 1994 model year but the 1995 model year was the first year a Euro-style beam pattern with a focused pattern and sharp cutoff was used on the LS400. Blue coated bulbs will only give less light. The Eagle Eyes headlights work find on a 90-92 LS400 even if they are designed for a 93-94 LS4r00 - all you have to do is splice in connectors for H4 bulbs.

Katripus · September 15, 2011

Nice. $200 though, I think I'll start making a list and cross them out as time goes by :).

I found this place called http://www.4seasoncarwash.com/ and they'll clean/wax/buff my car for $45. Also, I read a google review on them where a guy brought them some "touch up paint";

"great service! I took my used 2000 Mercedes in for an exterior detail. I had intended just to drive around to a couple of places and get prices, but after Eddie took the time to show me what he could do to treat the superficial scratches and polish up the paint, I was sold! The company gave me a ride home and picked me up so I didn't have to stay at the store for the couple of hours it took him to finish. I left them my touch-up paint and Eddie did a great job of covering up some of the larger scratches on the bumpers. He asked me to bring it back in a couple of days later when the paint dried so he could finish buffing up the area to help it blend in with the original paint. I couldn't be happier with how the car looks! I will definitely return here again, and refer all my friends as well. "

I notice some nicks on my lower bumper. I looked at the Color Codes on my car.

I couldn't find anything for LA05, then I found this neat site. http://www.paintscratch.com/cgi-bin/makepaint2.cgi

Looks legit. Would it be realistic if I did this myself without any experience before visiting them on Sunday (it's been raining, should clear up by then) or best to leave it to them, shouldn't be expensive ya think?

Thanks for all the helpful input! :cheers: